We heard on Monday that Warren Beatty made a deal with Paramount to produce, write, direct, and star in a new project after a decade-long hiatus from filmmaking.  At the time, there were whispers this was the opportunity for Beatty to play legendary movie mogul Howard Hughes, a role the actor has long coveted.  Story details are still scarce, but Deadline hears this is indeed a Hughes-centric project that “involves an affair [Hughes] had with a young woman in the later years of his life.”  Beatty’s script is not a biopic, per se.  That is understandable, since Beatty is older now (74) than Hughes when he died (70).  Deadline’s initial report suggested it may be a comedy.

Beatty is going all out to assemble a supporting cast, meeting with Andrew Garfield, Alec Baldwin, Shia La Beouf, Jack Nicholson, Evan Rachel Wood, Rooney Mara, and wife Annette Bening (duh).  Hughes had a lot of famous friends, and I encourage you to match this list of actors to their Old Hollywood counterparts in the comments.  Given Beatty’s age, though, the film presumably takes place during Hughes’ recluse years — I do not know who kept him company at this stage in life.  More after the jump:

A decade has passed since Warren Beatty’s last appeared on screen in Town & Country.  Last week at the Hero Complex Film Festival, Beatty brought up the possibility of a Dick Tracy sequel — but the skeptics outnumber the faithful 20 to 1 on that claim.  The Dick Tracy comment at least demonstrated Beatty’s disinterest in retirement.  Moreover, Beatty has reportedly been shopping around an original screenplay for the past couple weeks.  Tonight Paramount announced a deal with Beatty to produced, direct, and star in the untitled project.  Paramount declined to reveal story details — Variety hints it may be the Howard Hughes movie that Beatty has “long wanted to do,” yet Deadline refers to the project as a comedy.  (Not sure what to make of that.  If Dick Tracy fought Howard Hughes, that would be funny, right?)

Casting is currently underway; production is scheduled for later this year.  As someone who always wondered why follow the last stage of the Clint Eastwood career arc, I’d like to say, “Welcome back, Mr. Beatty.  Godspeed.”