The Spider-Man actor is replacing Penélope Cruz as the lead in the Antichrist director's new 'psychological drama-cum-disaster-movie'

He sent Bjork to the gallows in Dancer in the Dark, organised a gang rape for Nicole Kidman on the set of Dogville and had Charlotte Gainsbourg hack herself with a pair of rusty scissors in last year's Antichrist. Now Danish director Lars von Trier is poised to direct his dubious attentions at the American actor Kirsten Dunst, best known for her role in the Spider-Man franchise and as the fragrant star of Marie Antoinette.

Dunst, 28, was today confirmed as the star of Von Trier's latest project, Melancholia, which comes billed as a "psychological drama-cum-disaster-movie". She replaces original choice Penélope Cruz, who bailed out in favour of shooting the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean outing, On Stranger Tides.

Dunst will next be seen in the murder mystery All Good Things, opposite Ryan Gosling and Frank Langella. She has also directed a short film, Bastard, that will play at this year's Tribeca and Cannes film festivals.

Von Trier was accused of misogyny after his last film, Antichrist, cast Gainsbourg as a bereaved mother with a penchant for wild sex and self-mutilation. Undeterred, Gainsbourg takes a supporting role in Melancholia, alongside a lineup that also includes Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling and Stellan Skarsgaard.

The $7m (£4.6m) production is due to shoot this summer in Sweden and is rumoured to deal with an impending global apocalypse. Producer Peter Aalbaek Jensen has promised that the film will be "romantic, in a Lord Byron sort of way". Von Tier, meanwhile, has restricted his comments to a terse, four-word statement. "No more happy endings," he said.