Tom Hardy has been cast in a new BBC One drama Taboo.
The eight-part series will see Hardy reunite with his Locke director and screenwriter Steven Knight, while Ridley Scott will executive produce.
Knight created the period drama based on an original story by Hardy and his father, Chips Hardy, Deadline reports.
Taboo is set in 1813 and centres around adventurer James Keziah Delaney (Hardy) who returns to England from Africa with 14 stolen diamonds while seeking to avenge the death of his father.
He refuses to sell the family business to the East India Company and aims to build his own trade and shipping empire, before finding himself playing a dangerous game between warring nations Britain and America.
Hardy said: "We're creating a flagship British drama for this generation", adding that the show is a "hybrid of orthodox and unconventional storytelling, packed with darkness and spirited characters".
He continued: "I think Steve Knight and Ridley Scott are the perfect partners and the BBC the perfect home for this hugely exciting and compelling project."
Scott commented: "This is a period in British history where the rising power of the Empire seeped into every dark corner."
The series is expected to begin shooting in the UK in January 2015.
