Chiwetel Ejiofor and Gwyneth Paltrow have signed up to star in a remake of Argentine foreign language film The Secret in Their Eyes, Digital Spy reported.

The 12 Years a Slave actor will play a former MI-5 agent who heads to Boston, Massachusetts to aid a team of FBI agents, who are investigating an unsolved murder.

The original movie was made in 2009 by Argentine director Juan José Campanella, who also co-wrote the script.

The Secret in Their Eyes claimed the Best Foreign Language Film prize at the 2010 Academy Awards, beating Ajami, The Milk of Sorrow, A Prophet and The White Ribbon.

Captain Phillips writer Billy Ray will adapt the script from the original crime thriller before directing the remake.

The film is to begin production in Boston later this year.