LOS ANGELES – Steve Carell is taking a turn for the serious, agreeing to star in a drama described as a tragic story of love and loss.

"Dogs of Babel," a Mandate Pictures project based on a novel by Carolyn Parkhurt, centers on a linguistics professor (Carell), who returns home one day to find his wife dead in their backyard. Though police rule her death an accident, the professor is not quite sure. With the only witness to the death being the couple's dog, the grief-stricken man endeavors to teach it to talk in the hopes that he can uncover what really happened.

Carell will also serve as a producer. No director is attached yet. The adaptation of the 2003 novel was initially set up at Focus where Todd Phillips ("The Hangover") was attached to direct and produce. John Crowley ("Boy A") was also previously attached to direct it when it migrated to Mandate.

Recent releases from Mandate include "The Switch" and "Whip It." Carell was in theaters last years with "Dinner for Schmucks."