Work on the film, 24 Hour Party People - named after a track by Factory band Happy Mondays - began in Manchester this week.
Little will portray New Order bass player Peter Hook in a new film about the rise and fall of the Haçienda venue and the city's legendary Factory Records label.
Hook was married to Aherne, who plays Denise in The Royle Family, the sister of Little's character. The couple split up in 1996.
Work on the film, 24 Hour Party People - named after a track by Factory band Happy Mondays - began in Manchester this week.
Steve Coogan plays the label's boss, local impresario and TV presenter Tony Wilson, who founded the label in 1978.
Factory's most successful early band was Joy Division, for whom Hook played bass. After the suicide of singer Ian Curtis in 1980, the band became New Order, whose hits include Blue Monday, Regret, and True Faith.
Bernard Sumner, singer since Curtis' death, will be played by John Simm, who worked with director Michael Winterbottom on his acclaimed film Wonderland.
As well as the signatures of bands including James and the Happy Mondays, the label also had its own club, the Haçienda, which saw early performances from Madonna, Oasis and U2.
But despite being a force in alternative music for more than a decade, the label collapsed in 1992. The Haçienda closed five years later, and is now being converted into flats.