Thomas Vinterberg’s submarine survival drama Kursk is beginning to scope out a preliminary cast ahead of entering production later in the year, and Deadline reports that Kingsman: The Secret Service star Colin Firth has opened talks to land a lead role.

Should a deal fall into place, Firth will join Matthias Schoenaerts in the maritime adventure, one centering on a “nuclear-powered Russian submarine that sank during a training exercise in the Barents Sea in 2000. Twenty-three sailors survive the crash and desperately wait for help to arrive while their oxygen runs out minute-by-minute.”

Lifting inspiration from Robert Moore’s novel A Time To Die, Kursk has all the makings of an intense and visceral drama, adapting the author’s insightful account of the tragic accident – a dummy warhead sent the titular sub plunging to the depths – that occurred almost two decades ago when 100 crew members lost their lives. Robert Rodat will pen the script,...