Charlie Hunnam joins ‘Lost City of Z’ as film gains heat

Charlie Hunnam is embarking on a journey to “Lost City of Z,� filmmaker James Gray’s adaptation of the bestselling nonfiction book by David Grann.

The “Sons of Anarchy� star will portray Col. Percival Fawcett, a British explorer who disappeared in the 1920s while searching for a mythical city in the Amazon jungles that he believed he discovered on a prior expedition.

Hunnam joins previously announced cast members Sienna Miller and Robert Pattinson in the film, which is being produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. Production on “Lost City of Z� is scheduled to begin this summer.

The castings and start date come after years of development false starts for “Lost City.� The film was initially set up with Gray at former Plan B home Paramount as early as 2008, with the movie conceived as a potential Pitt starring vehicle. But it never got off the ground at the studio. It will now be financed independently and seek foreign sales at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.

Benedict Cumberbatch had been set to play Fawcett before Hunnam but departed to star in Marvel’s “Doctor Strange.�

Gray is known for moody, textured dramas such as “We Own the Night� and “Two Lovers.� His most recent movie, the Ellis Island melodrama “The Immigrant,� was well received when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013, but then went through an arduous editing process at distributor Weinstein Co. It was eventually released last year to strong critical acclaim but very limited commercial exposure.

Hunnam’s other upcoming movies include Guy Ritchie’s “Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur� as well as Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak� and his sequel to “Pacific Rim.�

Follow @ogettell for movie news