Gregory Smith and Heroes star Christopher Eccleston are joining the cast of the fantasy action/adventure, The Dark is Rising for 20th Century Fox and Walden Media.

David L. Cunningham is directing the film is based on the Susan Cooper's best-selling books; the cast includes Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Amelia Warner, Emma Lockhart, Gary Entin, Edmund Entin, Jonathan Jackson and John Benjamin Hickey. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it tells the story of a teenager (newcomer Alexander Ludwig) who learns that he is the last of a group of warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the Dark. Traveling back and forth through time, he hunts for clues while encountering the forces of evil and discovers that the future of the world rests in his hands. Smith is playing the teen's older brother, an edgy young man with piercings and tattoos who questions their father's authority; Eccleston is playing the movie's villain, the Rider.

The Dark is Rising will start shooting February 26th in Romania.

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising was released October 5th, 2007 and stars Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, James Cosmo, Jim Piddock, Amelia Warner, John Benjamin Hickey. The film is directed by David L. Cunningham.