A-listers attached to historical HBO mini

US premium cable channel HBO has ordered a historical miniseries that has actors Tom Hanks, Ed Norton and Brad Pitt attached as executive producers.

Lewis and Clark will be a six-hour scripted mini starring Casey Affleck and Matthias Schoenaerts.

Hanks (Castaway, Philadelphia), Norton (Fight Club) and Pitt (Se7en) executive produce along with Gary Goetzman (Game Change), Dede Gardner Tim Kelly and Adam Leipzig.

The historical mini is based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage. It tells the story of early 19th century US Army Corps of Discovery captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark as they explore uncharted territory along the Mississippi River and make contact with local native tribes.

HBO, National Geographic Studios are working on the series with Hanks’ prodco Playtone, Pitt’s Plan B and Norton’s Class 5.

“In Lewis and Clark, we can see American idealism and the breathtaking natural beauty of the continent, as well as the complexities and tragedies of what came to be known as America’s ‘manifest destiny’,” said HBO’s president of programming, Michael Lombardo.