Keanu Reeves tapped for 'Jekyll' film

LOS ANGELES, May 9 (UPI) -- U.S. actor Keanu Reeves has been pegged to star in a planned new film version of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," the Hollywood Reporter says.

The publication, without naming sources, said Reeves is to star in Universal's new take on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novella, which is reportedly being adapted by screenwriter Justin Haythe, who last year penned the screen adaptation of the Richard Yates novel "Revolutionary Road."

The Hollywood Reporter said Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is negotiating to direct the project, which is tentatively titled "Jekyll," and is being produced by Erwin Stoff and Red Wagon Entertainment's Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher.

Refn gained recognition with the small-scale, gritty thrillers known as the "Pusher" series, also co-writing and directing the independent crime film "Bronson," which premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival, the publication said.