Swank to star in Amelia Earhart biopic

Rex Features

Hilary Swank has landed the lead role in the forthcoming Amelia Earhart biopic.

Amelia will be directed by Mira Nair and based on a script by Ron Bass, reports Variety.

Swank will play the American aviation pioneer, author and women's rights advocate in the early stages of her career.

Bass' script was produced before the WGA strike and is based on three books about Earhart's life, Susan Butler's East to the Dawn, Mary Lovell's The Sound of the Wings and Elgin Long's Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved.

The movie is due to start shooting in April.