Jim Carrey is getting back into the more serious side of acting, which has delivered mixed results in the past: he had hits with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Man on the Moon, but disappointed with The Number 23. His next project, like the latter, is also a crime thriller, but one that sounds a bit more promising as we enter yet another interesting period in the actor’s career.

According to The Wrap, Carrey has signed on to star in True Crimes, based on David Grann’s 2008 New Yorker article. True Crimes will be produced by Brett Ratner, who has a bit of time on his hands since Beverly Hills Cop 4 is stalled out at the moment. The Last King of Scotland scribe Jeremy Brock adapted Grann’s article for the film, which will be directed by Alexandros Avranas, who previously helmed the Greek drama Miss Violence.

True Crimes centers on a middle-aged detective named Jacek Wroblewski in the Wroclaw police department in Poland, who uses clues found in a crime novel to solve a murder case. The author of that novel, Krystian Bala, claimed that his story was a work of fiction, but Wroblewski found striking similarities between the novel and the actual crime — and his hunch proved to be correct.

Back in 2013, Christoph Waltz was set to play the role of the detective; it’s not clear if Carrey has taken over that role, or if he will play the part of the killer.

Carrey most recently appeared in Dumb and Dumber To, and hasn’t played a serious role since 2009's I Love You Phillip Morris. The actor has also signed on to star in the horror romance The Bad Batch, from A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night director Ana Lily Amirpour.

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