Tom Cruise in talks for role in Cronenberg's Matarese Circle

Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg could soon be directing Tom Cruise in his updated version of The Matarese Circle.

Cruise is in final talks to star as one of the rival spies in the action thriller, according to reports in Variety and Hollywood Reporter.

That would put him opposite Denzel Washington, who has already signed onto the film adapted from the Robert Ludlum novel.

They'll play Scofield and Taleniekov, enemy spies who have tried to kill each other for years, but have to join forces to defeat a powerful conspiracy created by the mysterious Matarese.

Screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas have updated the Cold War-era story to the present day.

Cronenberg, who proved his hand at thrillers in Eastern Promises and A History of Violence, is expected to start production this year. He met with Cruise in Toronto late last year.

Cruise has been reported to be considering several projects, including comedy Food Fight, but The Matarese Circle is closest to the action-hero he plays in Mission Impossible. Cruise's most recently released film is Valkyrie.

It also has potential to be a franchise, similar to the Bourne films, also based on Ludlum novels.