Chris Pine to play Walter Cronkite in film about eve of JFK's death

Chris Pine has joined director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's movie about the evening of John F Kennedy's assassination.

The film titled "Newsflash" will feature Pine in the role of media icon Walter Cronkite, reported The Wrap.

The film takes place on November 22, 1963, when Cronkite "put everything on the line to get the story right as a president was killed, a frightened nation wept, and television came of age," according to the official synopsis.

Ben Jacoby penned the script, which appeared on the industry Black List before it landed with Gomez-Rejon and producer Greg Silverman's Stampede company.

"Ben's script beautifully captured what it felt like to be in the newsroom on that fateful day. I see it as an origin story about a hero born at a time when seeking the truth and uniting a country was more important than winning and ratings, which has never felt more prescient," Gomez-Rejon said.

Production on the project is expected to begin in February 2020.