Dan Stevens in Talks to Star as 'Captain Flint' in SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS

Coming off his Broadway debut in 'The Heiress', actor Dan Stevens is currently in talks to take on the role of James Turner, aka 'Captain Flint' in a film adaptation of the beloved childrens book series by Arthur Ransome.

According to Deadline, SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS, the first entry in the book series, is scheduled to begin production this summer. The story takes place in 1929 in England's Lake District and will follow the "Walker kids and the Blackett kids whose respective sailboats are dubbed Swallow and Amazon. When the adventurous and imaginative children meet, they join forces against their common enemy - the Blacketts' uncle James whom they call Captain Flint."

Charles and Thomas Guard will direct from a script by Andrea Gibb. The books were previously brought to the big screen in 1974.

The actor, whose popular DOWNTON ABBEY character Matthew Crawley was tragically killed in a car accident at the end of the show's third season, recently made his Broadway debut in The Heiress opposite Jessica Chastain. He will soon be seen in A Walk Among the Tombstones opposite Liam Neeson, and The Fifth Estate, the story of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.