Danny DeVito directing Pierce Brosnan and Morgan Freeman in ‘Doyle’

Danny DeVito will direct Morgan Freeman, Pierce Brosnan and Saoirse Ronan in "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" – based on the bestselling young adult novel by Avi. Danny DeVito - The 8th Annual International Beverly Hills Film Festival - Opening Night - Clarity Theater - Beverly Hills, CA. USA © Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos

Danny DeVito - The 8th Annual International Beverly Hills Film Festival - Opening Night - Clarity Theater - Beverly Hills, CA. USA © Albert L. Ortega / PR PhotosVariety reports DeVito will also handle writing the screenplay and the film is already in pre-production with shooting scheduled to start in September. Ronan has been cast for the title character - a teen who makes a trans-Atlantic crossing from England to America in the 1830s. During the journey, she finds herself in the middle of conflict between the ship’s captain and his mutinous crew. Brosnan has signed to play the ship’s captain and Freeman will handle the role of ship’s cook - who also helps Ronan on her journey. HandMade Films is set to finance the movie with Plaza Productions Intl. HandMade Films Intl. is lined up to handle the worldwide sales with CAA handling domestic distribution rights. The film will be produced by Michele Weisler, Lori McCreary, Beau St. Clair and Patrick Meehan. Thomas D. Adelman and Hawk Koch are handling executive producing chores. DeVito’s Jersey Films 2nd Avenue, Freeman and McCreary’s Revelations Entertainment and Brosnan and St. Clair’s Irish DreamTime are also producing. The film will mark DeVito’s return to the young adult market following his 1996 adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel "Matilda."

In Variety, DeVito stated: "Like ‘Matilda,’ this had topnotch moral lessons in terms of choices that a 13-year-old girl has to make."