It seems two big-name actors could be joining the cast of Francis Lawrence's new film. According to Variety, Sean Penn and Robert Pattinson are in negotiations to star in Water for Elephants.

Reese Witherspoon is already attached to star, and Francis Lawrence will direct from a script by Richard LaGravenese, which is based off the book by Sara Gruen. It wasn't clear what roles Penn and Pattinson would play.

Gruen's book, set during the Great Depression, tells the tale of a veterinary student at Cornell who drops out of school, after the death of his mother, and becomes the vet for a traveling circus.