EXCLUSIVE: Fred Hechinger (Gladiator II) has landed a key role opposite Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson in The Cackling of the Dodos, Netflix‘s new film directed by Jason Bateman.

Character details are under wraps, but we’re told the film is a three-hander led by Rockwell, Harrelson, and Hechinger. Others newly aboard include Academy Award nominee Michael McKean (Better Call Saul), Esther McGregor (Babygirl), Jenn Lyon (Claws), and Emy Coligado (Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair), whose roles also remain a mystery.

Based on an original screenplay by novelist Rye Curtis, The Cackling of the Dodos centers on George, a small-town farmer whose discovery of a corpse in a grain bin leads his shady boss Denny to force him into a chaotic, bloody cover-up.

Bateman and Michael Costigan are producing for Aggregate, alongside Elise Konialian for Untitled, Anna Schwartz and Jeremy Plager for Children at Play, and Mark Berger. Exec producers include stars Harrelson and Rockwell, as well as Erica Kay, Ara Keshishian, and Petr Jakl.

Breaking out with roles in projects like HBO’s The White Lotus and Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, Hechinger has most recently been seen in films like the Oscar-nominated Marty Supreme from Josh Safdie, as well as Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II. Other notable credits include The Pale Blue Eye, Thelma, Pam & Tommy, and News of the World, to name just a few.

Upcoming, Hechinger will be seen in Andrew Haigh’s drama A Long Winter. He is repped by WME.

McKean is best known for his work in films like This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind, as well as his Emmy-nominated starring role opposite Bob Odenkirk in AMC’s Better Call Saul. Upcoming, he has Spinal Tap at Stonehenge: The Final Finale, as well as the Tribeca-bound dramedy In Memoriam. He is repped by Paradigm and Harriet Steinberg Management.

Seen in Prime Video’s We Were Liars, A24’s Babygirl, and The Room Next Door from Pedro Almodóvar, McGregor is repped by WME, Underscore Talent, and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern.

Lyon has starred in shows like Claws, Stumble and Dead Boy Detectives. She is repped by Gersh, Principal Entertainment LA, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller.

Most recently seen in Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair and Jillian Bell’s Summer of 69, Coligado is repped by Stewart Talent and Authentic.