Melissa McCarthy set to reunite with Chris O'Dowd on The Starling

Melissa McCarthy is set to reunite with Chris O'Dowd on upcoming movie The Starling.

The pair previously co-starred in Theodore Melfi's 2014 comedy-drama St. Vincent and Paul Feig's 2011 hit Bridesmaids.

Now, editors at Deadline have reported that McCarthy and O'Dowd are in talks to appear in The Starling, with Melfi eyed to direct.

With a script from Matt Harris, the plot will follow a married couple who suffer a tragedy which puts a great strain on their relationship. The wife, set to be portrayed by McCarthy, stays home and builds a beautiful garden, though unfortunately, her tranquil space is interrupted by a sizeable black starling that has nested there. According to Deadline, the plot will be "an allegorical tale of how love can carry one through grief".

The script for The Starling has been floating around Hollywood for several years, with Keanu Reeves and Isla Fisher attached to appear back in 2017. That version was to be directed by Dome Karukoski, but never came to fruition.

Melfi most recently directed 2016's Hidden Figures and is in the pre-production phases of animated comedy The Fourteenth Goldfish and I am Rose Fatou, in which he serves as a writer and producer.

Meanwhile, McCarthy is coming off the back of her Oscar-nominated performance as Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me? and a role as Detective Connie Edwards in The Happytime Murders. The 48-year-old has also completed filming on Andrea Berloff's crime film The Kitchen and action-comedy Superintelligence, which was directed by her husband Ben Falcone.

O'Dowd has been working on How to Build a Girl with Emma Thompson and Beanie Feldstein, slated to hit cinemas later in the year, and is linked to Adventures of Super Frank, about an Irishman who embarks on a road trip in search of his girlfriend.

A potential release date for The Starling is yet to be announced.