Steve Carell has signed on to star in and produce the upcoming heist film ‘Conviction,’ Deadline is reporting. The film was bought as a spec script, which was written by Jonathan Herman, two years ago by Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures. The screenplay, which made the Black List, follows a mastermind bank robber who serves five years in prison after a botched heist. He’s forced to entrap his protege by the FBI, as he aims to pull off a multimillion-dollar job.

‘Conviction’s original script had a tone similar to ‘Heat,’ but ultimately stalled with the serious tone. Warner Bros. ultimately decided to turn it into an action comedy with a tone similar to ’48 Hours’ and ‘Ocean’s Eleven.’

Joel Silver, who previously found success with ‘Lethal Weapon,’ will produce the film with Carell and Andrew Rona, the head of Silver Pictures. Alex Heineman of Silver Pictures will executive produce ‘Conviction’ with Vance DeGeneres and Charlie Hartsock, who run Carell’s Warner Bros.-based Carousel banner. The producers are currently looking for a writer to redraft the script.

Carell’s casting in ‘Conviction’ comes as the former ‘Office’ star is in the midst of developing several other projects. He’s next set to shoot the magician comedy ‘Burt Wonderstone’ with Jim Carrey. He’s also set to take a dramatic role in Bennett Miller’s ‘Foxcatcher,’ which is based on the true story of paranoid schizophrenic John du Pont.

Written by: Karen Benardello