Los Angeles - Jessica Chastain is in talks to play the late Marilyn Monroe in Blonde.
The 37-year-old actress is circling a deal to star as the 50s icon in the adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates book of the same name, reports TheWrap.com.
The novel - which was a finalist of the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 - chronicles the life of the American sensation who began a career as a model and eventually became known as a major sex symbol.
The screen beauty - real name Norma Jeane Mortenson - died on 5 August 1962, at age 36, and the book explores the theory that she might have been assassinated.
Andrew Dominik will direct while Brad Pitt's company Plan B is expected to produce with Worldview Entertainment.
Blonde was previously adapted into a CBS mini-series in 2001 where Poppy Montgomery played the lead beauty.
Meanwhile, Chastain is set to hit the big screen later this year in Miss Julie where she will play the titular character and star opposite Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton.