Steve Carell joins Dogs of Babel

Steve Carell is set to star in 'Dogs of Babel'.

The 48-year-old funnyman is in talks with producers to showcase his more serious side in the big screen adaptation of Carolyn Parkhurst's 2003 novel.

The movie tells the story of a linguistics professor - set to be played by Steve - who arrives home one day to find his wife dead in the backyard and while police rule her death as an accident, the man isn't convinced. So as the couple's dog is the only witness, he attempts to teach the animal to speak so he can discover the truth.

The Mandate Pictures film will be produced by David Heyman although a director is yet to be confirmed.

As well as 'Dogs of Babel', Steve is also in negotiations to join the cast of David Frankel's romantic comedy 'Great Hope Springs', playing a marriage therapist with Meryl Streep as his on-screen patient.