Leslie Mann and Janelle Monáe are set to star opposite Steve Carell in the Untitled Robert Zemeckis Project at Universal Pictures. The project, written by Zemeckis from a screenplay he penned with Caroline Thompson, is about is based on a 2010 documentary called Marwncol. That film follows a man by the name of Mark Hogancamp who is left brain-damaged and broke, finds recovery in a sixth-scale World War II-era town he’s built in his backyard. It’s really about how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit. Zemeckis is directing.

Steve Starkey (Forrest Gump, Flight) and Jack Rapke (Cast Away, Flight) of Zemeckis’ Universal-based ImageMovers banner are producing with Cherylanne Martin (The Pacific, Flight). Executive producers are Jeff Malmberg (who directed the riveting 2010 documentary) and Jackie Levine.

Universal’s VP of production Maradith Frenkel and its director of development Chloe Yellin are overseeing the project for the studio.

Mann (How to Be Single, The Pact) is represented by CAA and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller & Gellman L.L.P. Monáe (Hidden Figures, Moonlight), is represented by WME and Wondaland Entertainment.

This holiday season, Academy Award® winner Robert Zemeckis—the groundbreaking filmmaker behind Forrest Gump, Flight and Cast Away—directs Steve Carell in the most original movie of the year. Welcome to Marwen tells the miraculous true story of one broken man’s fight as he discovers how artistic imagination can restore the human spirit.

When a devastating attack shatters Mark Hogancamp (Carell) and wipes away all memories, no one expected recovery. Putting together pieces from his old and new life, Mark meticulously creates a wondrous town where he can heal and be heroic. As he builds an astonishing art installation—a testament to the most powerful women he knows—through his fantasy world, he draws strength to triumph in the real one.

In a bold, wondrous and timely film from this revolutionary pioneer of contemporary cinema, Welcome to Marwen shows that when your only weapon is your imagination…you’ll find courage in the most unexpected place.

The epic drama is produced by Oscar®-winning producer Steve Starkey (Forrest Gump, Flight), Jack Rapke (Cast Away, Flight), and Cherylanne Martin (The Pacific, Flight) of Zemeckis’ Universal-based ImageMovers banner produce alongside the director. It is executive produced by Jackie Levine, as well as Jeff Malmberg, who directed the riveting 2010 documentary that inspired the film.