James Franco To Star In New Stephen King Miniseries

James Franco is heading back to the small screen, with the announcement that he is to star in new Stephen King TV miniseries 11/22/63.

The nine-part Hulu original series has been adapted from King's 2011 bestseller of the same name and will see Franco follow up his controversial turn in North Korea-baiting The Interview by playing the lead role of Epping. Episodes will last an hour, and it has been described as an event series, aiming for the same success as King's Under The Dome.

The story follows Epping, a high-school English teacher, who travels back in time to save John F. Kennedy from his assissination, and has been described as "part thriller, part love story".

The book was originally optioned in 2013 by Star Wars director J.J. Abrams for his Bad Robot production company, who then teamed up with Warner Bros TV. As with Under The Dome, Stephen King himself will serve as executive producer, alongside Abrams, Bridget Carpenter (who has written the adaptation) and Bryan Burk. Meanwhile, Franco will also serve as producer. 

Before this, though, Franco will star alongside Jonah Hill and Felicity Jones in the Rupert Goold-directed True Story, due for general release in April.

[via Deadline]

(Image: Rex)