Ben Mendelsohn to star in HBO's 'The Outsider'

Ben Mendelsohn is set to feature as the lead in HBO's adaptation of Stephen King's novel "The Outsider".

The studio has given a series order to the project.

Richard Price, the scribe and creator of critically acclaimed show "The Night Of", will be penning the script, HBO said in a press release.

The new series follows a seemingly straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy. The crime, however, leads a seasoned cop and an unorthodox investigator to question everything they believe to be real, as an insidious supernatural force edges its way into the case, read the official logline of the show.

Actor Jason Bateman will direct the first two episodes of the series and he will also produce the project along with Mendelsohn.

Executive producers on the project include Price, Jack Bender, Marty Bowen and Michael Costigan.

The series is produced by Bateman's Aggregate Films and Temple Hill Entertainment with studio support from Media Rights Capital.