Once he's done picking up his inevitable Oscar for his role in The King's Speech, Colin Firth will be moving on to the caper comedy remake Gambit, written by none other than Joel and Ethan Coen and directed by The Last Station's Michael Hoffman. Firth will be filling a role originally played by Michael Caine, as a London art curator planning to con a wealthy dealer, and now Deadline is reporting that Cameron Diaz will star opposite him, in a role originated by Shirley MacLaine, as a Texan who joins him in the con.

Shooting starts in London this May, giving Firth enough time to properly polish his Oscar and return to normal life for a bit. He's a co-star a far step up from Diaz's latest work opposite Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet) and even Justin Timberlake (this summer's Bad Teacher), and I actually kind of like the mismatched nature of the two. Both are good with comedy when given the chance, and they seem likely to cause a little cross-cultural friction together the same way Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine might have (I admit, I've never seen the original Gambit). Diaz's starpower has waned in recent years, but with Firth more popular than ever, he might be able to give her kind of a boost. Are you guys also willing to see Diaz tackle some good material again?