Bradley Cooper in talks to direct ‘Star Is Born’; Beyoncé eyed to star

“A Star Is Born” is getting reborn, and so may be Bradley Cooper.

The “American Sniper” star is in early talks to reunite with Warner Bros. and make his directing debut on the studio’s long-in-the-works remake about a fading movie star who helps an aspiring young actress make it big, The Times has confirmed.

Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.

Warner Bros. has been trying to get “A Star Is Born” off the ground for several years, and has long eyed pop diva Beyoncé Knowles for the lead role. She originally circled the project back in 2011, when “Sniper” helmer Clint Eastwood was attached and the short list of candidates for leading man included Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Cooper.

Though the Eastwood incarnation fell through, Cooper is now back in the picture — as potential director and leading man — and the hope is that Knowles might be wooed once again. The prospect of pairing a four-time Oscar nominee and a global entertainment icon is no doubt an intriguing one.

If Cooper ends up directing, he’d work from a script most recently written by Will Fetters (“The Lucky One,” “The Best of Me”). Cooper would also produce, with Jon Peters, Bill Gerber and Basil Iwanyk.

As for Knowles, she has dabbled in film but has yet to really make her mark, with credits including “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” “Dreamgirls” and “Obsessed.”

“A Star Is Born” has a long history on the silver screen, dating back to William Wellman’s 1937 version starring Fredric March and Janet Gaynor. George Cukor directed a musical remake in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason, and Frank Pierson made a rock-inflected version in 1976 starring Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand.

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