CHARLIZE THERON - CHARLIZE AND VIGGO HIT THE ROAD

Charlize Theron has signed to join Viggo Mortensen in the cinematic adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

The Monster star is likely to be "mostly" seen in flashback, according to Variety, with shooting set to begin next month.

McCarthy's bestseller tells of a father and son traversing a desolate and ruined America, all the while pursued by thieves and cannibals also using the titular thoroughfare.

Theron, currently filming The Burning Plain, is believed to have taken the bit-part due to her love of the novel and a desire to work with producer Nick Weschler, with whom she teamed up on 2000's The Yards.

Australian director John Hillcoat, helmer of The Proposition, is to shoot a screenplay from Enduring Love scribe Joe Penhall, while Weschler is to produce with Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz.

Eastern Promises lead Mortensen meanwhile has been linked with the film for months but was only confirmed yesterday.

The Dane recently reunited with his History of Violence co-star Ed Harris for the latter's Appaloosa, a Western tale of two friends hired to police a small town ruined by the tyrannical rule of a rancher.

The Coen brothers' adaptation of McCarthy's No Country For Old Men hits UK screens this Friday.