Andrew Garfield to play British mogul Richard Branson in high-stakes legal drama ‘Hot Air’

Series is based on Virgin Atlantic's legal battle with British Airways

Virgin Atlantic's founder Richard Branson, left, will be played by actor Andrew Garfield in the television miniseries. AFP

After making his name scaling skyscrapers as Spider-Man, actor Andrew Garfield aims for greater dramatic heights in his next major role.

According to Deadline, the actor will play the British mogul Richard Branson in Hot Air, a miniseries based on the Virgin Atlantic founder’s high-stakes court battle with British Airways.

Directed by US filmmaker David Leitch, known for action films Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde, and with a screenplay by Jon Croker (Paddington 2), the six-episode series is based on the book Dirty Tricks: British Airways' Secret War Against Virgin Atlantic by British journalist Martyn Gregory.

Published in 2000, the book details how the growth of Virgin Atlantic spurred British Airways to launch a secret campaign to undermine its rival.

Code-named Operation Barbara, the push included gaining insider information by impersonating Virgin staff, contacting passengers and persuading them to switch airlines to British Airways through upgrades, and generating false and negative media coverage surrounding Virgin Atlantic.

The campaign was eventually exposed when a British Airways whistle-blower alerted Branson, who went on to sue the company for libel at the High Court of England and Wales in 1992.

The case, dubbed by the British press as the "mother of all libel battles," was eventually settled with British Airways and then-chairman John King issuing a joint statement apologising for the campaign, in addition to paying Branson damage costs and legal fees.

News of the series comes as Garfield makes major strides in Hollywood.

The British-American actor is in the running for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, for the US true crime miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven. The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, September 12.

The Emmy nod comes on the back of this year's Best Actor Oscar nomination for the drama tick, tick... BOOM!, however, he lost out to Will Smith for King Richard.

Garfield is also part of Time magazine's annual list of 100 most influential people in the world.

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