Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and a stellar cast of actors are set to descend on the village of Castle Combe this autumn.

The director of cinema classics including E.T. and Jaws has chosen to set his next movie, The War Horse, in the village.

Residents are looking forward to starring as extras and parish council chairman Fred Winup said: “I think people are getting used to the village being used for filming because we have had Stardust and Wolfman in recent years, but I think they are quite excited about this because it is a Steven Spielberg film.”

The film, due to be released next year, will be the screen version of the book War Horse, a 1982 children’s novel by Michael Morpurgo. It has already been made into a play.

The cast announced so far includes Harry Potter star David Thewlis, Emily Watson, who has appeared in Miss Potter, breaking the Waves and Gosford Park, Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeremy Irvine, and David Kross.

Coun Winup said: “Things like this certainly do put the village on the map, but we already get a lot of recognition from around the world.”