Bradley Cooper is reportedly in talks to join Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley. Cooper has received an offer, but it is unclear if he will ultimately sign on for the upcoming project from the Academy Award wining director. Should Cooper sign on, he will be taking over for Leonardo DiCaprio, who passed on the project after the deal fell through. Del Toro is currently preparing to release his Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark big screen adaptation, which he serves as a producer and co-writer on.

Nightmare Alley is based off of the 1947 novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham. Guillermo del Toro will direct the movie and he also co-wrote it with Kim Morgan. The project is expected to begin shooting this fall, as long as the casting process goes as planned. Del Toro is also on board as a producer, along with J. Miles Dale and TSG Entertainment, with Fox Searchlight taking on the worldwide distribution rights to the project.

Nightmare Alley was already made into a movie in the late 1940s and is also based on the novel of the same name. However, it is believed Guillermo del Toro's take will be closer to the source material. In the original movie, an ambitious young con-man teams up with a female psychiatrist who turns out to be even more shady than he is. They enjoy great success fleecing people at the start of their relationship, but things go south when the female character starts to turn the tables on the con-man. She ends up being able to out-manipulate the manipulator. The movie was not a financial success at the box office upon its release.

Guillermo del Toro is coming off of his Academy Award winning The Shape of Water. The movie won Best Picture and del Toro ended up with his first Best Director award. In addition to the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark adaptation, del Toro is also working on his Pinocchio project, which he is directing, writing, and producing. The movie utilizes stop-motion animation and was recently picked up by Netflix. The director has a deep connection to the source material and he has been waiting to put it out for a number of years now.

As for Bradley Cooper, he is riding high after the success of A Star is Born. The movie was his directorial debut and it was a smash at the box office, earning over $400 million globally. The project earned several Academy Award nominations including best picture and best actor for Cooper, who starred alongside popstar Lady Gaga. The remake's soundtrack was another hit for Cooper. For now, it looks like he will be teaming up with Guillermo del Toro for Nightmare Alley and reprising the voice of Rocket the Raccoon in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Variety was the first to announce the Bradley Cooper casting news.