Actor/filmmaker James Franco will lead an impressive cast in a big screen adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel, In Dubious Battle. Franco will star in and direct the movie, set in 1930s California apple country and focusing on a labor conflict between migrant fruit pickers and members of the local growers’ association. The story explores themes of social injustice, group behavior and man’s inhumanity to man. Franco plays activist Jim Nolan, who becomes involved in the labor crusade, attempting to organize a strike, and matures emotionally as he discovers what it really means to do organizational field work.

In addition to Franco, the star-studded cast will feature Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place), Vincent D’Onofrio (Charlie Countryman), Danny McBride (This is the End), Ed Harris (Pain & Gain) and veteran actor Robert Duvall.

Franco has a number of projects debuting in the near future, including True Story with Jonah Hill and the biographical drama Queen of the Desert with Robert Pattinson and Nicole Kidman. The actor’s most recent release was the controversial comedy film The Interview, about a spoof assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

In Dubious Battle will begin filming in March and is expected to open in theaters by the end of the year.