The 51-year-old actor will play the ruthless mayor of Prentisstown who is searching for the young man he once mentored in the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Directed by Doug Liman, the movie will star actors Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley in the lead.
The story is an adaptation of the best-selling YA novel by Patrick Ness and is set to begin filming later this summer in Montreal.
The script has been penned by Charlie Kaufman and Jamie Linden.