Abigail Lawrie is set to play Ann Axtell Morris

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coerte Voorhees, who helmed 2014 legal drama The First Line along with his older brother John Voorhees, will direct the indie project.

Los Angeles: Abigail Lawrie has been roped in to play Ann Axtell Morris, one of America’s first female archaeologists, in the true life historical epic Canyon Del Muerto. Lawrie is best known for Amazon Prime Video’s web series Tin Star.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coerte Voorhees, who helmed 2014 legal drama The First Line along with his older brother John Voorhees, will direct the indie project.Joining Lawrie in the film are Harry Potter star Tom Felton, Hollywood veteran Val Kilmer, and Trainspotting star Ewen Bremner. Canyon Del Muerto will tell the true story of Axtell Morris, who helped discover North America’s first civilisation.

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Morris was married to Earl Halstead Morris (Felton), who, along with the historical character Sylvanus G Morley (Bremner), offered the inspiration for Indiana Jones, the fictitious archaeologist immortalised on screen by Harrison Ford.

Coerte Voorhees said he is looking forward to working on the film when production begins on October 26.”I want to introduce the story of this heroic and tragic, pioneering woman to audiences around the world because her story was so inspiring to me. We are honored to be working with Ann’s remaining family in addition to the Navajo Nation and National Park Service to retell her story that was lost to time,” he added.

Coerte Voorhees penned the script for the film based on two books by Axtell Morris, who was also an artist and writer, and will also produce the film alongside John Voorhees. Some Kind of Wonderful alum Elias Koteas, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides actor Bronson Webb and Hanako Footman, known for the Amazon Prime Video series Absentia, are also part of the cast.