Spielberg to make sniper drama with Bradley Cooper

Steven Spielberg's next film will be an adaptation of 'American Sniper', the best-selling autobiography by former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.

Bradley Cooper is signed up for the lead role, and will also be a producer on the film.

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Kyle was known as the most deadly sniper in US military history, with 160 confirmed kills, though 255 were claimed.

He was nicknamed 'the Devil of Ramadi' by the Iraqi insurgents, and had a hefty price put on his head through his four tours over the second Iraq war. He was shot twice and involved in six IED attacks.

His memoir spent 18 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, with 13 weeks spent at number one.

Kyle was shot dead at a shooting range in Texas in February this year by a fellow war veteran.

The book has been adapted by Jason Hall, who penned the 2009 comedy 'Spread' and the forthcoming 'Paranoia', starring Amber Heard, Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Liam Hemsworth.

The project has stepped into the gap left by 'Robopocalypse', the film Spielberg was set to direct next but has been put on hold indefinitely.

It's thought production will start at the beginning of 2014.