Scarlett Johansson set to star in The Psychopath Test movie

The book will be adapted for the big screen by Al Gore's daughter Kristin

Scarlett Johansson will play the lead in a new TV period drama (Getty Images)

Scarlett Johansson is set to star in the film adaptation of Jon Ronson’s best-selling novel The Psychopath Test.

The actress is reported to be on board to appear in the film, which will be directed by Meet the Parents’ Jay Roach, according to Deadline.

Kristin Gore, the daughter of former US vice president Al Gore, will write the screenplay from Ronson’s non-fiction investigation into psychopathy.

It has yet to be made clear how the book will be adapted into a narrative for the big screen, or which role Johansson will take on.

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry explores the concept of psychopathy, as well as the broader mental health industry including mental health professionals and the mass media.

The book also includes a number of anecdotes about and interviews with people who are thought to be psychopaths.

The Psychopath Test spent the whole of 2012 on the UK’s bestsellers list and ten weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.

Johansson is due to begin filming on the forthcoming sci-fi film Ghost in the Shell about a cyborg that attempts to bring down a computer hacker.

It is not known yet when filming for The Psychopath Test will begin, or when it will be released.

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