A few months back, Lionsgate announced that Francis Lawrence would be directing an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Clearly impressed with what he has been able to do with The Hunger Games franchise, the studio is moving forward with the project, which has been slowly developing.

Now, there are reports that X-Men film franchise star Hugh Jackman could have the starring role in the adaptation.

The Wrap reports that it is still too early to confirm the actor in the lead role of Odysseus, with a representative for Jackman telling them that “this is a conversation at this point. Very early stages and nothing is confirmed.”

Peter Craig will write and Nina Jacobson will produce. Craig and Jacobson also worked on The Hunger Games sequels with Lawrence. Lionsgate has scheduled the film for an early 2016 start date.

Jackman will reprise his role as Wolverine in the upcoming Wolverine solo film. He can next be seen as the nefarious pirate Blackbeard in Joe Wright’s Pan, Warner Bros’ Peter Pan origins story. He co-stars with Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) in Dexter Fletcher’s ski jumper movie Eddie the Eagle, which recently finished shooting.

The Odyssey centers on Odysseus’s ten-year journey home from the Trojan War. During his travels, Odysseus comes across sirens, a cyclops, monsters, and Greek gods. There is also infidelity, executions, and vengeance. With the epic poem covering over ten years’ worth of story, the film could easily be broken down into multiple films, though it is unclear if Lionsgate would want to take that approach. The book, widely taught in colleges and one of the most popular Greek tales, was previously adapted as a television miniseries in 1997 with Armand Assante as Odysseus.

[Source: The Wrap]