Jennifer Lawrence is in talks to reunite with her regular Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence on the romantic drama The Dive, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The project, which Avatar director James Cameron has been developing since 2002, centres on the relationship between true-life figures Francisco “Pipin” Ferreras and Audrey Mestre. Mestre was a French freediving world record holder who died at the age of 28 after attempting a 500ft dive without breathing apparatus. She had been married to her partner and fellow freediver for three years.
In 2006 Ferreras was directly blamed for Mestre’s death by dive co-organiser Carlos Serra in his book The Last Attempt, amid allegations the record attempt failed to adhere to standard safety procedures. However, the current title of the proposed big-screen retelling hints at an alternative perspective: it follows the title of Ferreras’ own 2004 book The Dive: A Story of Love and Obsession.
The screenplay for The Dive, which the ocean-obsessed Cameron at one stage intended to direct himself, has been written by Changeling’s J Michael Straczynski.
Francis Lawrence directed his namesake in the two most recent Hunger Games films, Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 1, as well as the upcoming second instalment. Jennifer Lawrence reportedly has an offer to star in The Dive, though it is not known how far negotiations have reached.
