Topher’s back on the case. The Cabin in the Woods star and Whedon favorite Fran Kranz will replace Jay Baruchel in the lead role in Gillian Greene-Raimi‘s upcoming noir comedy, Murder of a Cat. Written by Christian Magalhars and Robert Snow, the script was granted a spot on the 2010 Black List of unproduced screenplays and has recently been seeing a lot of action in Hollywood.  [ComingSoon]

Check out the synopsis, courtesy of the Film Catalogue:

A hapless 28-year-old eccentric vows justice when he finds his beloved cat shot dead with a crossbow arrow. After some sleuthing, he is shocked to discover that his cat was living a double life with a mysterious young woman. Forced into an awkward partnership, the two cat owners must embark on an epic suburban murder mystery that leads them to a conspiracy far greater than they ever imagined.

Having seen Kranz’s past work, this seems right up his alley. His work in this year’s best horror film showed that he can act his way through a mystery film while his previous work with Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse displayed a natural talent for both comedy and more dramatic moments. On Dollhouse, Kranz’s wise-guy science bro Topher quickly became my favorite character not just for his wit and charm but also for his ability to make the audience feel for him just as much as he could make them laugh with him. Though we’ll be seeing more of him in the near future with the upcoming release of Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing, it’ll be great to see what Kranz can do with a true leading role.

Dianne West and J.K. Simmons co-star in the Lionsgate film in Greene-Raimi’s directing debut. The director’s husband, Sam Raimi, will produce.