Dad's Army Film Reboot Central Cast Members Announced

Source: BBC

Michael Gambon, Sarah Lancashire and more British greats are officially declaring war on the box office.

BBC Films have this week revealed the identities of the actors who will comprise the central cast ensemble for their upcoming period comedy film Dad's Army. A reboot of the classic 1980s TV series of the same name, the movie will presumably spin a similarly slapstick- and satire-centirc yarn to that of its inspiration, resultantly ditching stars of the original programme such as Arthur Lowe and Clive Dunn in favour of a wealth of renowned and up-and-coming thespians alike, many of whom fans of British telly are sure to recognise instantly.

Surprisingly, in stark contrast to the vast majority of big-screen studios out there at the moment, the Beeb have been hugely forthcoming with regards to production details (at least for this particular project), confirming that the bulk of the motion picture will be filmed in the English county of Yorkshire and that its resident helmer is none other than Oliver Parker, a director who's arguably best known for his work on blockbusters including St. Trinian's and Johnny English Reborn. The crux of their latest promotional press release, though, focused on the aforementioned star-studded cast list, a wholly justifiable strategy on the marketing department's part given the esteem in which the names contained within the list are currently held. Read on below to discover who'll be featuring in a leading capacity at some point during Dad's Army, what their past filmic credentials are and which key construct they're set to portray:

• TOBY JONES (Doctor Who ("Amy's Choice"); The Hunger Games: Catching Fire) - Captain Mainwaring
• BILL NIGHY (About Time; Love, Actually; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) - Sergeant Jones
• CATHERINE ZETA JONES (Chicago; Rock of Ages) -  BBC News brands Zeta Jones' character as "a glamorous journalist sent to report on the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard before MI5 discovers that there is a German spy in the fictional British town", so make of that what you will.
• SIR TOM COURTENAY (Quartet; The Golden Compass) - Corporal Jones
• MICHAEL GAMBON (The King's Speech; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) - Private Godfrey
• BLAKE HARRISON (The Inbetweeners Movie 2; The Inbetweeners Movie) - Private Pike
• BILL PATERSON (Outlander) - Frazer
• MARK GATISS (Game of Thrones; Sherlock) - Role TBC
• SARAH LANCASHIRE (The Sarah Jane Adventures; Last Tango in Halifax) - Role TBC

Stay tuned to On-Screen in the coming months for all the latest coverage on Dad's Army - a release date for which has yet to be officially announced - and each and every one of BBC Films' other upcoming motion picture projects.