Steve Carell enlists as Brigadier Gerard

Steve Carell has signed up for a lead role in Brigadier Gerard, a period comedy about a French soldier during the Napoleonic wars.

Based on a series of stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, the film is a comic take on Napoleon's rise to power and his eventual downfall.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Carell is set to play the hapless soldier Etienne Gerard in the film, which is to be penned by King Of The Hill's John Altshuler and David Krinsky.

The publication added that the role could expand the "clueless man comedy" which Carell has honed in movies such as Get Smart, as well as his long-running performance as paper boss Michael Scott in the US version of The Office.

Elsewhere, Empire recently reported that Carell has signed up for a sequel to Get Smart,

The first film took an impressive $230 million (£132m) worldwide on a budget of just $80.

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