LOS ANGELES:

Eddie Redmayne is set to star in the Black Bear Pictures drama “The Last Days of Night,” sources confirmed to Variety.

The news comes following Black Bear’s acquisition of the Graham Moore spec last month, which also has “Passengers” helmer Morten Tyldum on board to direct.

The story follows the battle between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to bring electric light to the country. It’s set after Edison has won the race to the patent office and is suing his only remaining rival, Westinghouse, for the unheardof sum of one billion dollars. To defend himself, Westinghouse makes a surprising choice in his attorney: He hires an untested 26-year-old fresh out of Columbia Law School, Paul Cravath (Redmayne).

The film is produced by Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, with Black Bear Pictures fully financing. No distributor is attached at this time.

Redmayne was recently nominated for an Oscar for his turn in “The Danish Girl,” a year after winning the Academy Award for best actor for “The Theory of Everything.” He spent the weekend in San Diego at Comic-Con promoting his next film, the “Harry Potter” spinoff “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

He is repped by CAA and United Agents. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood. (RTRS)