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Jurnee Smollett joins The Burial cast

Jurnee Smollett has joined the cast of 'The Burial' credit:Bang Showbiz
Jurnee Smollett has joined the cast of 'The Burial' credit:Bang Showbiz

Jurnee Smollett has joined the cast of 'The Burial'.

The 35-year-old star is set to appear alongside Tommy Lee Jones - who previously replaced Harrison Ford in the film - and Jamie Foxx in the Amazon Studios movie.

Sources told Variety that Smollett will portray the opposing counsel of Foxx's attorney character.

The forthcoming film is based on an article by Jonathan Harr in The New Yorker magazine, and based on the true story of a bankrupt funeral homeowner who decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong.

He hires a flamboyant attorney, who is played by Foxx, to handle the case.

Foxx is also producing the drama with Amazon Studios, Bobby Shriver Inc. and Double Nickel Entertainment.

Bobby Shriver and Double Nickel's Adam Richman and Jenette Kahn will all serve as producers.

Maggie Betts is directing the film from a script penned by Doug Wright.

In August, it was revealed Smollett was to get her own 'Birds of Prey' spin-off, reuniting with screenwriter Misha Green - her 'Lovecraft Country' collaborator - for the standalone movie based on Black Canary.

Smollett previously admitted she was keen to return to the DC Extended Universe as Dinah Lance/ Black Canary.

She said: "It's no secret how much I loved playing Black Canary, and (I was) so honoured to take on that mantle. I would absolutely do it again if given a chance.

"She's a beast, but I had to be really patient and kind of like reel that in because it is an origin story.

"She's not there yet, so it was great to explore this idea of, you know, a woman who's really needing to be emancipated from a state of mind.

"Because she's really the one in her own way. I mean, she's the most powerful person in the room. She's got the Canary Cry and yet she's choosing to hide it. And she's very much the reluctant hero."