Sam Rockwell has joined the cast of 'The Ballad Of Richard Jewell'.

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell

The 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' star is set to portray the attorney defending police officer and security guard Jewell after he is wrongly accused of planting the bomb during the Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Atlanta Games.

The upcoming movie, helmed by Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, follows Jewell as his life is transformed after the police leaked that he was a suspect in the incident.

Jewell - who found a suspicious backpack in the Olympic Park, before clearing the area and saving lives - quickly went from being considered a hero, to one of the most disliked people in the US.

Leonardo DiCaprio was previously attached to portray Jewell, but he is no longer starring in the movie and will simply produce.

Jonah Hill was also set to star in the film, but will now join DiCaprio in a producing role.

The script has been penned by Billy Ray, who previously wrote 2013's 'Captain Phillips'.

The role of Jewell is still yet to be filled.

Following Fox and Disney merging together, Warner Bros. have now signed a deal to the rights of film.

Following his starring role as Officer Dixon in 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' in 2017, Academy Award-winner Rockwell went on to portray George W. Bush in the hugely successful Dick Cheney biopic 'Vice'.

Meanwhile, even at the age of 89, Eastwood is showing no signs of slowing down.

The 'Million Dollar Baby' filmmaker previously insisted he doesn't have any intention to retire from the movie business, although he is planning to be more selective about his projects in the coming years.

He explained: "Maybe I just don't want a certain volume of work, but, no, it hasn't lessened. I love what I do...

"I'll probably keep on going. I feel good, but it depends on material. I probably wouldn't do something just because it was marginal - I have to kind of think it has some validity and has some relationship to today."

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