EXCLUSIVE: Peter Fonda is to replace the late Sir Christopher Lee in ensemble 9/11 drama The 11th, which is closing financing in Toronto.

Peter Fonda

Lee, who died in June aged 93, was set to play a distinguished but alcoholic former surgeon who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. Easy Rider star Fonda will now take on the role.

In addition, Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone will replace Uma Thurman in the leading role of an obsessive cop in the Copenhagen-set drama.

Director Xavier Nemo will be here at TIFF to close financing on the project, which is being sold by LevelK

The 11th follows eight interwoven stories that occur in the 24 hours before the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center but on the other side of the Atlantic.

The rest of the cast remains intact, including leading figures from Scandinavian cinema such as Michael Nyqvist, Lena Olin and Connie Nielsen.

Paris-based Dog One Productions and Danish co-producers Nepenthe Film (The Shamer’s Daughter) have delayed production until summer 2016 to accommodate the cast changes.

The 11th is written and directed by Nemo. Executive producers are Renaud Laplanche and Jean-Charles Levyare.

Nepenthe Film is run by producers Eva Juel Hammerich and Nina Lyng.  

The film has a budget of $4.7m (€4.2m), two thirds of which comes from private equity from France, Denmark and the US.