According to Variety, Angelina Jolie will join Matt Damon in The Good Shepherd, the Robert De Niro-directed drama expected to begin production in March.

Universal will distribute the film domestically; Morgan Creek is negotiating to handle foreign territories.

Neither Jolie nor Damon will close their deals until Morgan Creek's participation is finalized. Pic was on firm footing until late last year, when Initial Entertainment Group ankled over budget concerns.

The picture is an Eric Roth-scripted history of the CIA as seen through the eyes of a career agent whose marriage is destroyed by the stress and difficulties of the job. Jolie has been tapped to play the wife.

Last seen in Alexander, Jolie recently wrapped Mr. and Mrs. Smith opposite Brad Pitt.

The actress has been immersed in making A Moment in the World, a documentary she financed. Jolie sent 38 teams of cameramen and narrators to locations in the U.S. and throughout the world to capture events that occurred during the same random four-minute span. She is cutting the footage into an educational film for children about cultural diversity.