‘Divergent’ Actor Miles Teller to Star in ‘The Life and times of the Stopwatch Gang’

Miles Teller, 28, best remembered for his roles in Two Night Stand, Whiplash and the Divergent films, is now attached to star in Universal's adaptation of The Life and Times of the Stopwatch Gang, a non-fiction work written by Josh Dean. Confirmed as director for the big-screen version of the true-to-life story is Ruben Fleischer whose credits include Zombieland and Gangster Squad.

As described in The Atavist, the digital publisher of Dean's narrative, "They were in and out in less than two minutes-that's how they got away with millions. And for the duration of their reign, no bank robbers were more feared (though they never fired their guns) nor more pursued or more mythologized than the Stopwatch Gang. The members themselves were straight out of central casting: Lionel Wright, a meticulous introvert who could disappear in a room full of people; Paddy Mitchell, a charming and well-connected crook who saw an angle in everything and would go to any lengths to avoid the hell of being locked away; and Stephen Reid, a fearless point man who could find the weakness in any system and whose story-of addiction and descent into crime, of redemption and literary fame-was all prelude to a tragic but life-saving fall from grace." Who will be penning the screenplay based on the non-fiction narrative has yet to be named.

At this point, it has also not yet been announced as to which of the three Stopwatch Gang members Teller will portray. However, according to Empire Online, he's also on to produce the film alongside Fleischer, Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark. Universal Pictures has just recently acquired the rights to Dean's work so the project is still at the development stage, and no theatrical release date has been set.

Teller will be seen again in his Peter Hayes character when The Divergent Series: Insurgent, the second in the series, hits the theaters on March 20. He will also be seen as the next Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic in the reboot version of the Fantastic Four film which is scheduled for cinema showing beginning August 7.