Known for his dry wit and overt political commentary, Academy Award-nominated writer Armando Iannucci is in the process of adapting Charles Dickens' classic novel David Copperfield, and Peter Capaldi will star as the penniless, yet hopeful, Mr. Micawber. David Copperfield is a first-person narrative documenting the trials and tribulations of a young orphan making his way in the world, despite various setbacks. Iannucci's adaptation will also star Tilda Swinton, Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie, and Ben Whishaw, and will be a modern retelling of the story.

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The Personal History of David Copperfield - abbreviated from the novel's original title, The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any ) - will begin production in June, according to THR. It will double as a reunion for Capaldi and Iannucci, who worked together on the television series The Thick of It, as well as the spinoff film In the Loop, which earned Capaldi a BAFTA TV Award for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Role and Iannucci an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, respectively. Iannucci announced Capaldi's casting on Twitter, writing, "Who's going to be the new Mr. Micawber?" then following it up with a photo of both himself and Capaldi, captioned, "Look!"

Capaldi recently left Doctor Who in the 2017 Christmas Special, and David Copperfield will mark his second feature film following his departure from the show - the first being Marc Forster's loose adaptation of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh characters, Christopher Robin. Capaldi will lend his voice as Rabbit, alongside Chris O'Dowd, Toby Jones, and Ewan McGregor as the titular character.