Lars von Trier has rounded out the cast for Manderlay, the second film in his USA trilogy after Dogville, with a contingent of US stars.

Danny Glover and John C. Reilly join the new leading lady Bryce Dallas Howard as well as Lauren Bacall, Jeremy Davies and Chloe Sevigny, who return for more after first appearing in Dogville.

France's Isaach De Bankole, who originates from the Ivory Coast and has starred in Jim Jarmusch's Night On Earth and Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai, will play the male lead opposite Howard, who steps into Nicole Kidman's shoes as Grace.

"Since we replaced Nicole in the lead, Lars [von Trier] didn't feel that he had to stay with any of the same actors in the same roles," said producer Vibeke Windeloev. "But it has been a difficult film to cast, because he didn't want to compromise his choices of actors. He only wanted the ones who were perfect for the parts."

Manderlay is the name of a manor which Grace and her father come upon after leaving Dogville. It is a place where slavery hasn't been abolished, and it will see Grace continue on her journey towards becoming a woman and a human being.

"There is no doubt that this film has taken courage to agree to appear in," she continued, "Lars really puts things on the edge here, for blacks and whites. They have to believe that he does the right thing, because it is highly provocative. They have to believe in him 100%, but these actors are strong people who know what they are doing."

The American stars are joined by Dutch talents Rik Launspach and Ruben Brinkman as well as a number of UK stage actors including Mona Hammond, Ginny Holder, Clive Rowe, Llewella Gideon, Emmanuel Idowu, Dona Croll, Javone Prince, Suzette Llewellyn, Joseph Mydell and Nina Sosaniva.

Other regulars include Jean-Marc Barr and Udo Kier, while Stellan Skarsgaard had to leave the project because of other engagements.

Manderlay closely follows the style established in Dogville, and like it predecessor will be shot in the Swedish town of Trollhattan, where the regional fund Film I Vast has transformed an old hangar into a 3000 square metre studio to house the production.

Trier will again be carrying the camera himself and will be collaborating with acclaimed cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, who won a European Film Award for his work on Dogville.

The cameras start rolling on Mar 8 and will continue until May 1. Manderlay is a Danish-French-Swedish-German-Dutch-UK co-production produced by Zentropa Entertainment13 ApS on a $14.1m (DKR86,7m) budget. Trust Film Sales handle international sales.

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