Ethan Hawke has signed on to star in Lionsgate's futuristic vampire film "Daybreakers" says The Hollywood Reporter.

Australian horror veterans Peter and Michael Spierig ("Undead") wrote and direct helm the high-concept project, which begins shooting in July in Australia.

Hawke will play a researcher in the year 2017, when a plague has transformed most of the world's population into vampires. As the human population nears extinction, vampires must capture and farm every remaining human or find a blood substitute before time runs out.

However, a covert group of vampires makes a discovery that has the power to save the human race. Weta Workshop will create the creature effects.