There were some earlier rumors, but no mention of Harvey Keitel in the official press release for Wes Anderson‘s production start and Focus Feature acquisition of his next live-action film Moonrise Kingdom. We now have confirmation from multiple sources (Go Local, Providence Journal, and Middletown Patch) that the actor is indeed in the film and has been spotted on the set. This will mark Keitel’s first involvement in a Wes Anderson film. His role is unknown, only that he has been spotted alongside Bill Murray on set.

Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Jason Schwartzman also round out the cast, including newwcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward, who star as a young boy and girl falling love. They run away together and a search commences for them in a 1960s New England coastal town. Part of that search, includes more than 300 boy scouts, Middletown Patch reports. They profiled one of the extras, a 14-year-old boy named Alden Jenkins. With the story, we get a small batch of photos, which can be seen below, along more set photos featuring Edward Norton and Bill Murray from The SocialSwan on IMDb.

The story is also capped off by an interesting tidbit of a rumored summer 2012 release date. We previously knew a release next year was planned, but nothing has been set. With the wide appeal of cast like this, I could see this being a big summer hit for Focus Features, instead of going the fall Oscar route. If it indeed got a summer release, it would mark the very first for Anderson, whose films have all got a fall/winter release, aside from Bottle Rocket in February 1996. Stay tuned for updates on Moonrise Kingdom, as it is certainly one of our most-anticipated films of 2012.

What do you think about Harvey Keitel joining Moonrise? Do you think a summer 2012 release would be good for Focus Features?