The Oscar-tipped actor will star alongside Ken Watanabe in the film about a pair of men who meet in a Japanese 'suicide forest'

Matthew McConaughey is to star in Sea of Trees, the new drama from Gus Van Sant, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The film centers on a pair of men who travel to the Aokigahara‎ forest in Japan, a popular location for suicides – but instead of killing themselves, their meeting prompts a reflective journey. Ken Watanabe, the Japanese actor known for his roles in Inception and Letters From Iwo Jima, will play the second man.

It's the latest in a series of weighty dramas from McConaughey, previously the king of the glitzy romcom – his critical appreciation has exponentially increased with roles in the likes of The Lincoln Lawyer and Killer Joe, alongside deft, crowdpleasing turns in Magic Mike and The Wolf of Wall Street. He's now the firm favourite to win an Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, following wins at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild awards. Later in the year he'll take the lead in Christopher Nolan's new film Interstellar, about a group of astronauts who travel across dimensions via a wormhole.

Gus Van Sant, director of Milk and Good Will Hunting, most recently made Promised Land, starring Matt Damon as a natural gas company worker who sees the impact that fracking will have on a small community. His producer for Sea of Trees is Gil Netter, who last week also signed on to produce Forest Whitaker's next film, an adapation of Christian self-publishing sensation The Shack.