Gillian Flynn, the author of the bestselling thriller Gone Girl - which is set for a Hollywood adaptation starring Ben Affleck - is writing a modern version of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Flynn will rewrite the tragedy as part of the forthcoming Hogarth Shakespeare series.

Ben AffleckBen Affleck in the movie adaptation of Gillian Flynn's 'Gone Girl'

According to the Independent, the series will be marked in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of the bard's death, retelling Shakespeare's plays from other authors. 

Flynn, whose most famous novel touches on the similar themes of Hamlet, principally deception and madness, said: "Hamlet has long been a fascination of mine: murder, betrayal, revenge, deceit, madness all my favorite things.

More: watch the bizarre trailer for Gone Girl

"Add to that some of Shakespeare's most intriguing, curious characters from the titular brooding prince to rueful Ophelia ? and what (slightly cheeky) writer wouldn't be tempted to reimagine it?"

Flynn joins a glittering list of authors who will write their own take of Shakespeare's plays for the series. It includes:

Margaret Atwood (The Tempest), Tracy Chevalier (Othello), Howard Jacobson (The Merchant of Venice), Jo Nesbo (Macbeth), Anne Tyler (The Taming of the Shrew) and Jeanette Winterson (The Winter's Tale).

Gone Girl has sold almost 6.5 million copies since its publication in 2012. Ultimately the book focuses on suspense from an uncertainty about the protagonist Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy is killed. Ben Afflck and Rosamund Pike star in the lead roles of the movie adaptation, which is reported to have a different ending from the book.