Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins have signed on to star in Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of the classic poem "Beowulf," says Variety.

The motion-capture project (which will be made with the same technology used on the director's "Polar Express") is being scripted by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman, two names that have the well-traveled genre geeks salivating even more than they would for Angelina.

"Jolie will play the queen of darkness, who tempts the Viking as he makes his way in the quest to become king."

Looks like Paramount and WB will be splitting the costs on this expensive-sounding production, but already it sounds like a fairly surefire hit. Or something truly unique, at the very least.

Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, and Robin Wright Penn have also been cast in the epic adventure.