Adrien Brody has signed to star in Giallo, the first English-language thriller from Italian horror director Dario Argento.

Emmanuelle Seigner (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and Elsa Pataky (Asterix and the Olympic Games) have also joined the cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Brody will play an Italian detective chasing a serial killer with a penchant for beautiful women. He joins forces with a US air stewardess whose sister is one of the victims.

Vincent Gallo (Buffalo '66) is rumoured to be playing the killer, while Brody has taken the role previously slated for Ray Liotta.

Giallo is the Italian word for yellow, as well as a slang term for the thriller genre in film and literature.

Jim Agnew and Sean Keller are writing the movie, which begins shooting in Italy next month.