The pair previously tried to pull together funding for civil rights movie ‘Selma’ two years ago, but following on from its failure they have set their attention on a project about the valued campaigner.

Millennium Films will produce and finance the film, although, a distributor has not been confirmed.

The movie will tell the tale of William Pepper, played by Jackman, the lawyer who has argued for decades that, on 4 April 1968, the US civil rights activist was murdered by unseen forces.

The man convicted of shooting King was James Earl Ray, an advocate of non-violent protest;
Ray renounced his confession and died protesting his innocence.

The film is adapted by screenwriter Hanna Weg from Pepper’s 1995 book Orders to Kill: The
Truth Behind the Murder of Martin Luther King.

Hugh was last seen in robot fighting movie 'Real Steel' and has been filming a number of projects recently.