Cloud Atlas sounds like one of the more ambitious projects coming out within the next few years. Not only are the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer directing, but it has, of all people, Tom Hanks attached to star. If that weren’t enough, the story follows six leads, goes over thousands of years, and spans multiple genres. It’s all coming together kind of quick, and two new actors are confirmed to be joining the film.

THR says that Hugo Weaving and Ben Whishaw are playing “major roles” in the film adaptation of David Michell‘s novel of the same name. Neither are strangers to the filmmakers, as Weaving starred in the Wachowskis‘ Matrix trilogy and in V for Vendetta - which they scripted – while Whishaw was in Tykwer‘s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. In addition to that, the story also says that Halle Berry is closer to joining the movie, which isn’t a surprise; she’s already been mentioned as being attached, alongside James McAvoy and Ian McKellan. Weaving‘s name was also mentioned about a month ago, so rumors about the film’s casting seem to have some truth to them.

Their parts haven’t been specified, but considering their said to be big, it’s easy to imagine that they’ll each be one of the six main characters in the story. Most of the cast seems to have this apply to them, and what a cast it is. While I could see this movie ending up as a disaster, it’s hard to imagine that it wouldn’t be an absolutely fascinating one. We’ll find out in the near future; production begins in September, and a release could happen in late 2012. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Here’s a synopsis of the novel:

A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation — the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

Do you think Cloud Atlas could work as a movie? Have you read the book?