Tom Hanks is in early negotiations with Disney to play Gepetto in the upcoming Pinocchio film, reports say.
The veteran actor, 64, is said to be highly sought after by Disney for the role in their live-action remake of the classic tale.
According to reports, Tom would be playing Gepetto, the wizened carpenter who brings the titular character to life.
Hollywood insiders told Deadline that both sides want to co-operate on the project, with Tom even reaching out to director and frequent collaborator Robert Zemeckis about the role.
They added that Disney have wanted to lock down Tom for years, and feel that Robert's attachment to the project could be the key to securing him.
Their work together stretches back to 1995's Forrest Gump, for which Tom snatched up the Best Actor Oscar and Robert took home the Best Director gong.
Since then, they've worked on Cast Away and The Polar Express together - meaning Pinocchio would be the fourth Hanks-Zemeckis collaboration.
Mirror Online has reached out to Disney for comment, while Tom's reps declined to offer comment.
Recent years has seen film giant Disney embrace live-action remakes of many of its flagship titles, including Aladdin, The Lion King, and Dumbo.
With Aladdin and The Lion King both soaring over the billion dollar grossing mark, the strategy looks to be working.
A subject of much speculation has been the live-action Mulan - with the as yet unreleased feature believed to be moving to streaming service Disney+ in September.
It was one of many titles across the film industry to face release date setbacks in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
Other titles have included Marvel Studios' Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh, and 007's latest outing, No Time To Die.
Meanwhile, Tom is set to star in Warner Bros. Elvis Presley biopic, which was forced to bring production to a grinding halt after Tom and his wife, Rita Wilson, both tested positive for COVID-19.
They've since recovered.
Tom most recently starred in Greyhound, a World War II picture and one of the flagship releases of Apple TV.
