Director Mike Newell is in advanced negotiations to direct a new adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, reports The Playlist.

The book, which follows orphan Pip across thirty years, as he encounters characters like escaped convict Magwitch and the shut-away Miss Havisham, while falling for the latter's adopted daughter Estella.

The story has had a number of adaptations over the years; David Lean's 1947 version, and Alfonso Cuarón's 1998 modern take, with Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert De Niro.

The script was written by David Nicholls.