Clint Eastwood enlists Sam Rockwell and Paul Walter Hauser for new film The Ballad Of Richard Jewell

Clint Eastwood has confirmed the key cast for his new movie, The Ballad Of Richard Jewell. 

According to Deadline, Sam Rockwell and BlacKkKlansman star Paul Walter Hauser will take the lead in the project, which will be produced by Warner Brothers. 

Eastwood will direct, working from a script from Captain Phillips/Overlord writer Billy Ray. 

The film is a re-telling of the real-life story of Jewell, who discovered a suspicious backpack in the sports compound while working as a security guard at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. 

Jewell cleared the area and was initially hailed as a hero, but after it was leaked by police to a reporter that Jewell was a possible suspect in the bombing, his life was ruined. 

Subsequently, the FBI cleared Jewell as a suspect three months later, but he never recovered and he died in 2007 of a heart attack at age 44.

Hauser will play Jewell, while Rockwell will portray his lawyer. Initially, Eastwood had cast Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in the lead roles, but both have moved on, though they remain attached as producers. 

Eastwood's latest release The Mule was released on DVD on Monday and is available in hmv stores now.