Hugh Jackman will have to brush up on his Italian if talks to star in a Michael Mann-directed biopic on the life of Enzo Ferrari prove successful.

Variety reported on Saturday that the Australian actor is in talks to star in the lead role for the film, principal photography for which is anticipated to start by spring 2021.

Fellow Hollywood rag Deadline reported as early as 2017 that Jackman was set for the film, alongside Noomi Rapace. Christian Bale was previously tipped for the role of Ferrari.

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman

The film, which has been incubating for decades and originally tied to director Sydney Pollack, is likely to center on the aftermath of the 1957 Mille Miglia in which one of Ferrari’s race cars careened into a crowd killing the driver, co-driver and 10 spectators. Ferrari was charged with manslaughter but prosecutors finally dropped the case in 1961 after a lengthy court battle.

Note, this is a separate movie to the one linked to Robert De Niro, which is tipped to portray Ferrari in his later life.

Jackman should have no trouble portraying the hot-tempered megalomaniac that Ferrari was often described as. If in doubt, just check out any of his Wolverine movies. And Mann certainly has some directing chops given his past catalog of works. In other words, car and history fans alike can look forward to another masterpiece in the same vein as "Senna" and "Rush."