Ben Stiller is in talks to star in 20th Century Fox's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which has long been in development.

After scrapping the script, and signing on The Pursuit of Happyness writer Steve Conrad, Ben Stiller wants this project to be his next film. Fox is looking to set a director to start production in the fall.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is based on the 1947 Danny Kaye film from the James Thurber short story, about a perpetual daydreamer, first published in The New Yorker in 1939.

A long list of actors have circled the project, including Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen, as well as directors Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Gore Verbinski.

Production is being eyed for the fall.