Andrew Garfield will star opposite Michael Shannon as a contractor who winds up working for the ruthless real-estate broker who evicted him in the drama 99 Homes, reports Deadline.

The two comic-book movie stars – Garfield currently plays Spider-Man, while Shannon portrayed General Zod in recent Superman reboot Man of Steel – will take a break from superhero duties with the independent drama. Venice film festival favourite Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo) is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Amir Naderi and Bahareh Azimi-Khoie, which is set against the backdrop of the financial crisis.

The plot sees Garfield's character kicked out of his home, where he lives with his mother and nine-year-old daughter, leading to a moral quandary as he fights to get a roof back over the family's heads. Deadline describes Shannon as the "powerful, greedy, charming, gun-toting" businessman who takes the opportunity to recruit a new apprentice.

The film will be seen as an opportunity for Garfield to remind audiences that he is capable of headlining grown-up material. The British actor plays the teenager Peter Parker in the Amazing Spider-Man series of films, but is 30 years old in real life.

Garfield will next be seen in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which debuts in May, while Shannon will next reunite with Take Shelter director Jeff Nichols (opposite Kirsten Dunst) on the sci-fi tinged drama Midnight Special.