Empire Online have reported today that Hugh Grant is set to be taking a place on the ever growing cast list of the film adaptation of David Mitchell’s epic ‘Cloud Atlas’, which is a 2004 novel that won the British Book Awards Literary Fiction Award and the Richard & Judy Book of the Year award, and was short-listed for the 2004 Booker Prize, Nebula Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, amongst other awards.

The novel is apparently going to be quite a challenge to put onto the big screen with an unconventional structure and interlinking narratives telling the story of one soul across several centuries, from 19th century boat journeys across the Pacific to a post-apocalyptic distant future (in Hawaii).

The production that is currently building up quite a cast list thus far includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, David Gyas and Susan Sarandon, with Chinese actress Zhou Xun and Doona Bae from Korea. But it doesn’t stop there, with three directors working on the film; the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Perfume).

Hopefully this will be a return to some sort of form for Grant, seen as his last major release was Did You Hear About The Morgans?. Well, did you hear about it? Thought not. I don’t think I need to go any further on this point, but for a British actor who has had great roles including Edward C. Ferrars in Sense & Sensibility and Daniel Cleaver in the Bridget Jones films, it would be nice to see him be part of something that makes up some box office revenue.

Shooting hopefully will be beginning in Glasgow at the end of this week and Cloud Atlas is due for release some point in late 2012.