Barry Keoghan cast in Bird

Barry Keoghan has been cast in 'Bird'.

The 30-year-old actor is to feature in the new project from director Andrea Arnold alongside Franz Rogowski.

Little is known about the movie other than it begins shooting next month and is the reason that Barry had to pull out of Sir Ridley Scott's hotly-anticipated 'Gladiator' sequel.

Keoghan earned an Oscar nomination for his role in 'The Banshees of Inisherin' and will next be seen in Emerald Fennell's 'Saltburn' and in Trey Edward Shults' latest movie which also stars Jenna Ortega and The Weeknd.

The Irish actor had been due to star as Emperor Geta in the new 'Gladiator' movie but 'The White Lotus' actor Fred Hechinger is now in talks to replace him.

Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal are all set to appear in the sequel while Connie Nielsen and Sir Derek Jacobi are reprising their roles as Lucilla and Gracchus respectively.

Russell Crowe has ruled out returning as the main 'Gladiator' character Maximus Decimus Meridius in the new project - which is due to be released in November 2024 - and explained that it won't be a "direct sequel" to the Oscar-winning original.

Speaking on the 'Fitzy and Wippa Podcast', he said: "Yeah we've had dinner and talked about it and all that stuff. So I know roughly how he's shaping the story.

"But yeah, if you remember, there was a young kid who wanted to beat the Gladiator, which leads to the 'My name is' speech. So that young kid has grown up, and he's now the Emperor.

"I don't know what else happens at that point, so that's the idea. So it's not a remake. And it's not a direct sequel. It's not like the day after, you know, 30 years later or something."