Cannes: Martin Freeman Boards Zombie Apocalypse Thriller 'Cargo'

The film is based on a seven-minute short by Australian directors Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke that became a viral sensation in 2013.

Fresh from his superhero franchise debut as Everett K. Ross in Captain America: Civil War, Martin Freeman is now set to enter a slightly less spandex-heavy universe.

The British actor has been cast in upcoming apocalyptic zombie thriller Cargo, playing Andy, a father who must try save his infant child at all costs. When he becomes infected following a violent attack and with only 48 hours before he transforms into one of the very creatures he's fought to evade, Andy sets out on a precarious journey to find a new guardian.

The film will be the feature-length debut from Australian directors Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke and based on their own seven-minute short of the same name, which became a YouTube hit in 2013 after was a finalist at the Tropfest film festival and went on to be featured on numerous web sites, including IGN, Bloody Disgusting and CNET.

In the producer's chair is Kristina Ceyton, who was behind 2014's breakout hit The Babadook, with Screen Australia backing the project.

Cargo will be making its market debut in Cannes, with British sales banner Bankside introducing the project to international buyers in the Marche du Film. CAA co-reps domestic rights to Cargo with Bankside.

Since consigning his Hobbitses feet to the back of the wardrobe, Freeman has lined up an eclectic slate of projects.

Alongside Captain America: Civil War, he also headed to the Middle East as a journalist in wartime satire Whiskey Tango Foxtrot alongside Tina Fey and Margot Robbie, and has returned to his BBC roots with the upcoming fourth season of Sherlock, which has recently been shooting. Titles in development include whistleblower drama Official Secrets next to Harrison Ford and Natalie Dormer and British supernatural horror Ghost Stories, based on the stage production.

He is repped by UTA and U.K.'s Creative Artists Management.