Marion Cotillard to star in next film from the Dardenne Brothers

While Marion Cotillard has enjoyed big box office success with her English-language films, the French actress often goes back home to work with some of the most respected directors in France. In 2012, she worked with Jacques Audiard on Rust & Bone and in 2013, she will work with Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne on their next film, Deux Jours, Une Nuit (Two Days, One Night).

According to The Film Stage, Cotillard will star in the Dardennes’ follow-up to The Kid With The Bike. Luc Dardenne told the site, “We are looking forward to collaborating with Marion. We are all big fans of each others work.”

The brothers had been working on the script for a few years, but now that Cotillard is on board, the project can finally get started. Fabrizio Rongione, who starred in Rosetta and The Kid With The Bike, has a supporting role. Production is slated to start this summer in the Dardennes’ native Belgium.

Casting Cotillard is a departure for the Dardennes, who often use unknown actors, notes Indiewire. However, in a recent interview with the site, Luc Dardenne teased that they had been approached by Hollywood stars who were interested in working with the acclaimed directors.

The Dardennes have directed two Palme D’Or winners at the Cannes Film Festival - 2005’s The Child and 1999’s Rosetta. Their The Kid With The Bike won the Grand Jury Prize in 2011, so you can expect Deux Jours, Une Nuit to contend for prizes in Cannes in 2014.

Cotillard recently starred in The Dark Knight Rises.