Oscar winner Penélope Cruz is set to star in the sequel to Ben Stiller's fashion comedy Zoolander (2001).

The Spanish actress's signing is seen as a boost to the follow-up, which has been in the pipeline for several years.

Stiller is expected to reprise his central role and direct the new movie, which shifts the action 10 years on from the 2001 original.

The news comes after a Dumb and Dumber sequel scored a box office hit 20 years after its first outing.

Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell also had major roles in Zoolander, with Wilson playing Stiller's rival for supremacy on the catwalk.

Ferrell took the role of sinister designer Jacobim Mugatu in the tongue-in-cheek glance into the world of fashion.

Source: Press Release