With the utterly brilliant Guillermo del Toro directing Nightmare Alley for Fox Searchlight, now comes word on who may be headlining the picture.

If you remember back, Leonardo DiCaprio was at one point lined up to star in the film before ultimately turning down the gig. And now, Variety is reporting that Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper is in talks for the role originally pegged for DiCaprio. In fact, the outlet claims that Cooper has already been offered the starring role, with talks currently ongoing.

Written by del Toro and Kim Morgan, Nightmare Alley will be del Toro’s take on William Lindsay Graham’s 1946 novel of the same name. The source material – not to mention the 1947 movie adaptation – centres on a conman who teams with a female psychiatrist to trick some poor saps out of their money.

As ever, expect more on del Toro’s Nightmare Alley as it continues to develop.