Hayden Christensen is signed on to play the lead role in The Decameron, a collection of 100 stories told by various individuals.

Hayden Christensen has signed on to play the male lead in The Decameron, Dino De Laurentiis’ upcoming adaptation of the 14th century Italian classic by Giovanni Boccaccio. Christensen will play the role of Lorenzo, starring opposite The O.C.’s Mischa Barton, who in December signed on as Pampinea, the project’s leading lady. Headed for an April shoot in Rome and Tuscany, The Decameron is being directed and adapted by Britain’s David Leland, whose helming credits include Band of Brothers. Il Decameron is a ribald collection of 100 stories told by a group of unmarried nobles – seven women and three men – as they wait out the Florentine plague in the nearby countryside. Each tells one story per day. Pier Paolo Pasolini directed an Italian-language version of the film in 1971.