Cate Blanchett in Talks to Star Opposite Bradley Cooper in Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley

Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett is currently eyeing a role in Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, per Variety.

If Blanchett closes her deal for the film, the Manifesto actress will star opposite A Star is Born director and star Bradley Cooper in the del Toro film. In addition to directing, del Toro co-wrote the film’s script with Kim Morgan. Del Toro is also producing the film alongside J. Miles Dale.

The film is adapted from William Lindsay Gresham’s novel of the same name, and details the story of a young conman who teams up with a psychiatrist to con people out of their money with their “mentalist” act. However, when greed gets between the two, they both start to manipulate the other and create their own demise.

The novel was originally adapted in 1947 by Edmund Goulding, and starred Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell. The del Toro adaptation is his first directorial outing since The Shape of Water, which took home the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2018.

Recently, Blanchett has starred in The House with a Clock in Its Walls with Jack Black and the female-powered Ocean’s 8, and has done voice work in How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. She’ll soon appear in her first-ever American TV series regular role, starring in FX limited series Mrs. America as notorious anti-Equal Rights Amendment activist Phyllis Schlafly.