BRADLEY COOPER is in negotiations to star opposite Clint Eastwood in Warner Bros.’ crime drama “The Mule.”

Eastwood is directing the project and is also starring, marking the first time since 2012’s “Trouble With the Curve” that the Hollywood legend appeared onscreen.

Cooper’s boarding reunites the two after their collaboration “American Sniper,” the war drama that saw Cooper Oscar-nominated for best actor and Eastwood for best picture. It grossed an eye-popping US$547 million.

“The Mule” is based on a 2014 New York Times Magazine story that tells the true story of Leo Sharp, a drug courier for a Mexican drug cartel. What makes the article unique is that Sharp was a 90-year-old man, an award-winning horticulturalist and decorated World War II veteran.

Eastwood has reworked the story with the studio’s official logline. The actor-director will play Earl Stone, “a man in his 80s who is broke, alone and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive — easy enough but, unbeknownst to Earl, he’s just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel, and also hit the radar of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates.”

Cooper would play the DEA agent hot on his trail.

Nick Schenk, who wrote Eastwood’s “Gran Torino,” and Dave Holstein (“Weeds,” “I’m Dying Up Here”) worked on the script. Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas (“All the Money in the World”) are producing with Eastwood.

Cooper is wrapping up his directorial debut for Warners, the remake of “A Star Is Born,” in which he stars with Lady Gaga. That movie is scheduled for an Oct. 5 release. Cooper is also to star and direct a Leonard Bernstein biopic that he will produce with Steven Spielberg.

(SD-Agencies)