Walken, Rourke, Farrell and Rockwell; The Psychos!

Oscar-winning Irish playwright, screenwriter and director Martin McDonagh is in pre-production on his follow up to the much lauded In Bruges.

McDonagh has been teasing the film community with plans to direct his script, ‘Seven Psychopaths‘ for years now but has focused his talents primarily on Broadway hit ‘A Behanding in Spokane’. Now it has been officially announced that ‘Psychopaths’ is go with a distribution deal inked in Cannes last week and a cast consisting of such cinematic off-kilter heavyweights as Christopher Walken, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell and Colin Farrell.

The rather strange plot involves a dog kidnapping orchestrated by two partners in crime (Walken and Rockwell) with their screenwriting friend (Farrell) caught up in the mix. Their victim is real-life ‘dog enthusiast‘ Mickey Rourke, playing a gangster on the hunt for the culprits.

Farrell, Walken and Rockwell are no strangers to the writings of McDonagh, with Farrell having won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of tormented hit-man Ray in In Bruges; as well as Walken and Rockwell both appearing in A Behanding in Spokane (alongside Anthony Mackie). Adding Mickey Rourke to this dynamic mix will bring out even more scope to the bizarre, yet secretive storyline.

In Bruges brought critical praise to McDonagh as a first time feature filmmaker, proving himself a contender at the helm of a heavyweight ensemble and showing a range in Colin Farrell not seen in previous outings – giving his career a much needed boost. He’ll next be seen in the remakes of Fright Night, Total Recall and the comedic ensemble Horrible Bosses starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx.

However, the range and depth of such lovable eccentrics such as Walken and Rourke sharing a frame of celluloid leads us to hope and a pray that McDonagh’s new material will be as rich as his previous work.

Seven Psychopaths is currently in pre-production and is slated for a 2012 release.