After solving murders in central London with Sherlock and traipsing through Middle Earth in The Hobbit, actor Martin Freeman is heading into the Marvel universe, the Walt Disney Co.-owned studio said.

Freeman, 43, who played Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit trilogy and won an Emmy for his role as Dr John Watson alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s crime-solving detective in BBC’s popular Sherlock series, is joining the cast of Captain America: Civil War.

It is not known yet what role he will play in Marvel Studios’ third instalment of Captain America, in which Chris Evans will reprise his role as the patriotic superhero and is scheduled for release in May 2016.

Marvel Studios has had a string of blockbuster hits with its cinematic superhero franchises. Avengers: Age of Ultron, its latest film, has amassed $204 million in North America since its May 1 release.In Civil War, which will pick up the story from the end of Age of Ultron, the superheroes will be forced to side with Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) or Captain America as the two battle each other.

Freeman notably starred in the 2001 British mockumentary series The Office and more recently last year received Emmy nominations for his role as a cowed, small-town insurance salesman in FX’s hit miniseries Fargo.

Freeman’s Sherlock co-star, Cumberbatch, will also be joining the Marvel universe as the complex lead of Doctor Strange, scheduled for release in November 2016.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.