Bradley Cooper linked to American Blood movie role

Bradley Cooper is set to star in and produce a movie adaptation of upcoming crime novel American Blood.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros has acquired the rights to New Zealand author Ben Sanders’s crime drama ahead of the book’s release in autumn 2015.

Cooper is being lined up to play the story’s lead Marshall Grade, a New York police officer turned mob informant. The character is living in witness protection in New Mexico but is soon pulled into a dangerous investigation involving a missing woman.

The project is currently only a partial manuscript but Andrew Sodroski is attached to write the adaptation.

John Lesher and Adam Kassan will produce alongside Brendan Deneen, Pouya Shabazian and Cooper.

American Blood is Sanders’s debut novel in the US and is likely to form part of a series, meaning the big-screen development could lead to a franchise if successful.

Cooper is attached to a number of projects at present, including further producing opportunities developing a television series based on his hit thriller Limitless.

He is also nominated for an Oscar for his role in American Hustle.