John Malkovich is known for playing quirky characters

Malkovich, known for quirky roles, will play a cult leader, created for the film by the late Adams.

It will also star Sam Rockwell and Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent, who sets off an intergalactic adventure.

Adams died after a heart attack in 2001, with many fearing a film of his best-seller would never be made.

Adams had been working on a film version for more than a decade but it had never got past the planning stage. Karey Kirkpatrick has done a rewrite of Adams' script.

Memorable characters

The novel, the first of a series of comedy, science-fiction books by Adams, was originally a BBC radio series in 1978.

Adams had been working on a film version before his sudden death

The radio scripts were later fashioned into a book and then a TV series in the early part of the 1980s, making Adams a household name.

The five books in the Hitchhiker series detailed the adventures of Earthman Arthur Dent, who hitched a lift on a passing starship when his home planet was destroyed to make way for an interstellar bypass.

In the book, The Guide is a portable device that can tell you anything you want to know about wherever you are.