Fiennes to battle baron

Well before Tom Cruise- Maverick- and Val Kilmer-Ice- battled it out to be the best of the best in the 1986 cheese-fest that was Top Gun, air to air combat was a more gentlemanly affair, where knights of the sky would tremble at only one name.

Manfred Von Richthofen- the Red Baron for those who haven't brushed up on their World War One history- was the original maverick and widely credited as the most successful pilot of his generation, with his 80 victorious air battles installing him as the scourge of the British airforce.

And with the Red Baron's exploits all set for the silver screen Joseph Fiennes has signed on to play the Baron's eventual nemesis, Canadian flying ace, Roy Brown.

Shooting of the picture is already underway in Prague under the guidance of German director Nikolai Mullerschon, with Lena Headey (Ripley's Game, The Brothers Grimm, The Cave) supplying the love interest.

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo star Til Schweiger is set to play the Goose to Fiennes' Maverick, while the title role will be performed by Matthias Schweighofer, who is well known in Germany- if not anywhere else.

Titles related to this article

Related/similar articles

• 300 competition (16 October 2007)
• Inglourious Basterds (14 August 2009)
• Top 10 Terry Gilliam (27 August 2010)