Ben Affleck circling George Clooney's The Tender Bar

Ben Affleck is reportedly circling a leading role in George Clooney's next directorial feature The Tender Bar.

The 48-year-old actor is in negotiations to star in Amazon Studios' big-screen adaptation of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist J.R. Moehringer's memoir, according to Deadline. The Tender Bar was published in 2005, and recounts the author's childhood through to his early twenties, as he tries to find a father figure in a local pub and escape from his chaotic family life.

William Monahan is penning the script, with Clooney also serving as producer on the flick, alongside his Smokehouse Pictures partner Grant Heslov as well as Ted Hope.

The coming-of-age drama has been in the works for a while, and was originally at Sony Pictures, with Hidden Figures director Theodore Melfi attached to helm the project. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker later exited the film and the feature was snapped up by Amazon Studios, who hired Clooney to direct.

The Tender Bar will be a reunion for Affleck, Clooney, and Heslov, who previously worked together on the 2012 drama Argo, which won them the Oscar for Best Picture.

According to editors at Deadline, the trio have been hoping to work together again for years, and when Clooney landed the directing gig, Affleck was high on his list to front the tale.

Affleck is finishing off a busy year, as he recently wrapped production on thriller Deep Water and Ridley Scott's historical epic The Last Duel, which also stars Adam Driver and Matt Damon.

He's also set to direct The Big Goodbye, which depicts the making of Roman Polanski's 1974 classic Chinatown.