MUMBAI: Production has begun on The Dark Is Rising, an action-adventure fantasy to be released on 28 September, 2007 by Fox-Walden, a new joint venture between Twentieth Century Fox and Walden Media.

The film’s international ensemble includes Golden Globe Award winners Ian McShane (Deadwood) as Merriman, and Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) as Mrs. Greythorne. Christopher Eccleston (Heroes, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds) has been cast as The Rider, and newcomer Alexander Ludwig will portray the story’s hero, Will Stanton.

Also joining the cast are Jonathan Jackson, Amelia Warner, Gregory Smith, Emma Lockhart, identical twins Gary Entin and Edmond Entin and John Benjamin Hickey.

Based on the novel by Susan Cooper, The Dark Is Rising is the first film adaptation of the author’s acclaimed The Dark Is Rising Sequence. The film tells the story of Will Stanton, a young man who learns he is the last of a group of warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the Dark. Traveling back and forth through time, Will hunts for a series of mysterious clues and encounters forces of unimaginable evil. With the Dark once again rising, the future of the world rests in Will’s hands.

The Dark Is Rising is directed by David L. Cunningham, the screenplay is by John Hodge, whereas Marc Platt is producing.