Jennifer Lawrence will star in Luca Guadagnino's 'Burial Rites'.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence

The 27-year-old actress has signed up for the movie, which is based on the story detailed in Hannah Kent's 2013 novel of the same name.

The story is based on Agnes Magnúsdóttir, played by Lawrence, who was the last woman to be publicly executed in Iceland back in 1830. She was sentenced to meet her end after she killed two men and set fire to their home, with the story itself picking up when Agnes is waiting to get confirmation from the high court that she will be sentenced to death. During that time, she finds herself forging bonds with others as she reflects on just what she was have supposed to have done.

Lawrence will take the leading role but will also produce whilst TriStar Pictures has worldwide rights for the movie. Allison Shearmur (The Hunger Games, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and Justine Ciarrocchi will also produce and Gary Ross and Jerry Kalajian will executive produce.

TriStar president Hannah Minghella said in a statement: "Luca is a rare talent. His movies capture an exquisite sense of place inextricably linked to the emotional state of the complex characters he creates. I can't imagine a more thrilling partnership than Luca and Jennifer coming together to bring Agnes' beautiful and tragic story to life."

Whilst Shearmur added: "Luca Guadagnino is a masterful storyteller who brilliantly captures the nuance of the human condition in his films. I cannot wait for him to bring his original voice to the raw, visceral brutality, and poetry of Hannah Kent's haunting true story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman to be publicly executed in Iceland for the murder of two men. Jennifer Lawrence, Justine Ciarrocchi, and I love this project and we could not be more excited by the way it is coming together with Hannah Minghella's passion and drive to get it done at TriStar."