Ricky Gervais is the first actor to come aboard Ray Griggs' big screen adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame story The Wind in the Willows. Gervais will play the lead character Mole in what will be a live-action/animatronic independently produced version of the children's tale.

Radar Pictures' Ted Field has recently come aboard The Wind in the Willows as a producer, locking the project in for a 2011 start date in New Zealand. Griggs will be working closely with Peter Jackson's visual effects company Weta in bringing the animals of the Willows to life. More cast members are expected to be announced shortly.

Deja Vu screenwriter Bill Marsilii is responsible for this particular take on The Wind in the Willows, which focuses on Mole, Rat, Badger, and Toad in a story that combines adventure with morality and camaraderie. Marsilii has the animals banding together to save their land from those who threaten to destroy it.

About the hiring of Ricky Gervais, Ray Griggs stated, "It's a natural fit to have an iconic British actor star in an iconic British tale. I had Ricky in mind for this role from the inception of this project."