Skyfall director Sir Sam Mendes and Oscar winner Olivia Colman are set to shoot a new movie at a Kent landmark next year.

Production for the film - titled Empire of Light - will be taking place at Dreamland between January and March.

The Margate attraction is to undergo major work to cater for the shoot, with a 20,000 sq ft sound stage being installed at the site.

The temporary structure, which is to be "wrapped in a weatherproof enclosure", will be located on an area of wasteland at the theme park - between the A28 and Hall by the Sea Road

Empire of Light is scheduled for release in autumn next year, with filming beginning in Thanet in less than two months.

A planning application for the installation of the large sound stage has been submitted to the district council.

Mendes, whose most recent film was the war epic 1917, will be the man at the helm of the project.

It will be the Skyfall and Spectre director's first solo outing as screenwriter, and is described as a love story set in an old cinema in the 1980s.

Olivia Colman - star of The Favourite, Broadchurch, The Crown and Peep Show - is set to be the film's lead, along with Jamaican-born British actor Michael Ward who plays Jamie in Netflix hit Top Boy.

Planning documents state: “The demountable stage construction will form part of the Dreamland complex and will build on what is already a hub for media activity.

"The stage can be considered as a large opportunity to drive economic growth in Margate, addressing the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The production space at Dreamland will be usable from January before being removed in June.

The filming in Margate, which will take place next to The Fabulous Showboat amusement arcade, will herald the installation of new fencing to secure the shoot.

Production is due to run between January and March, with the stage being dismantled before June.

"The stage will be adequately sound attenuated to allow dialogue to be filmed and recorded inside, noting that it just as important to stop sound entering the space from the exterior as much as sound affecting surrounding properties," the documents continue.

Academy award-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who won acclaim for his work on 1917, will be the man behind the camera during the shoot.

The space used for the sound stage has planning permission to be turned into a 124-bed seafront hotel, but work is to be held back to allow for filming to take place.