Jason Bateman to direct, star in and produce new comedy

The Horrible Bosses actor will soon be seen in This Is Where I Leave You

Jason Bateman at the Bad Words press screening in Austin, Texas (Getty Images)

Jason Bateman, star of Juno, Horrible Bosses and Paul, is to direct, co-produce and star in an as-yet-untitled new comedy.

The film tells the story of two undercover FBI agents who pretend to fall in love and use their wedding as a law enforcement trap against the mob, reports suggest. Little more is known but so far it sounds like classic Hollywood comedy fodder.

As his second venture into directing after last year’s Bad Words, Bateman has taken a script originally written by David Flebotte and Phil Alden, with the story receiving a reworking from The Pest’s David Bar Katz.

If directing, producing and starring in a film wasn’t enough, Bateman is also working on several other projects. Before the results of this new movie are seen, the 45-year-old New Yorker will appear in This Is Where I Leave You, starring alongside US comedian Tina Fey.

The sequel to Horrible Bosses, inventively-titled Horrible Bosses 2, is also in the works and is due for release in November this year. As in the first film, Bateman will play the leading character of Nick Hendricks.

It was also announced last year that Bateman would direct and star in Family Fang, based on a book of the same name, alongside Nicole Kidman and Christopher Walken.

The rights to the novel were bought by Kidman’s production company Blossom Films. Family Fang tells the story of a brother and sister who return to their family home in search of their world famous parents who have mysteriously disappeared. The film is due for release later this year.