Scarlett Johansson is to play actress Janet Leigh in a film about the making of Psycho, Belfast Telegraph reported citing Variety.

The We Bought A Zoo star will share the screen with James D'Arcy, who has been cast as Anthony Perkins in Alfred Hitchcock And The Making Of Psycho.

They join Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, who will play Hitchcock and his wife.

The film within a film is based on a book by John McLaughlin, Tom Thayer and Stephen Rebello and follows Hitchcock's attempts to make the 1960 horror flick.

The filmmaker struggled to get the project off the ground because studios didn't want to be involved, so he had to look for financing himself. However, the movie went on to be one of his biggest hits and became known for its iconic shower scene.

The film will be directed by Sacha Gervasi and is set to start shooting next month.