Russell Crowe joins 'Broken City' with Mark Wahlberg

(AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck)

Russell Crowe ( Robin Hood) will costar with Mark Wahlberg ( The Fighter) in Broken City, a political thriller, playing a shady New York City mayor.

The director, Allen Hughes, made The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington with his brother Albert as the Hughes Brothers.

The neo-noir story involves an ex-cop hired by the mayor to investigate his wife. After the detective confirms the mayor's suspicions, the wife's paramour shows up dead and a scandal involving a real estate scheme surfaces.

Wahlberg and Hughes will produce the drama, due in 2014.

Crowe last starred in Robin Hood. His next films include Man of Steel, the next Superman film as Jor-El, and The Man with the Iron Fists, set in feudal China.

Wahlberg will next be seen in Contraband with Kate Beckinsdale, due in January 2012, about a security guard considering returning to smuggling. He will also costar in the comedy Ted with Mila Kunis, about a man and his teddy bear that comes to life.

RC