Lord of the Rings and "Game of Thrones" star Sean Bean has signed on to headline Devil's Peak, Variety reports. Based on the South African series of novels by Deon Meyer, the film is planned to launch a trilogy focusing on the adventures of the same detective protagonist, Benny Griessel. Peak, the first book, is officially described as follows.

My name is Benny Griessel and I am an alcoholic.

"Hello, Benny," said thirty-two voices in a happy chorus.

"Last night I drank a whole bottle of Jack Daniels and I hit my wife. This morning she kicked me out the house. I have gone one day without drinking. I am here because I can't control my drinking. I am here because I want my wife and children and my life back."

But getting his life back won't be easy for Detective Inspector Benny Griessel of Cape Town's Serious and Violent Crimes Unit, because there is a vigilante killer on the loose - a ruthless executioner with a personal vendetta against the scum committing crimes against children.

With the media screaming, politicians turning up the heat, his young, inexperienced colleagues bumbling, and the body count rising, Griessel has to resort to the desperate measure of setting a trap.

But his brilliant plan does not quite take into account the love of a sex worker for her child, the ruthlessness of the deadly Sangrenegra drug cartel or his own passion for the healing powers of the bottle.

Subsequent volumes include 13 Hours and 7 Days.

Malcolm Kohll, Michael S. Murphey and Ofir Kedar will produce Devil's Peak with production planned for September in Cape Town, South Africa.

(Photo Credit: FayesVision / WENN.com)