Keanu: Ready to sail?

Los Angeles, March 9 (Reuters): Actor Keanu Reeves is in talks to headline Columbia Pictures? long-gestating Sinbad picture, The 8th Voyage of Sinbad.

Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious) is in negotiations to direct the film. Sinbad has been in the works for many years, with John Singleton most recently attached to direct.

The story follows the continuing adventures of Sinbad and his crew, who are marooned off the coast of China in the 8th century. Once shore, they embark on a quest for the Lamp of Aladdin, teaming up with an empress to battle fantastical creatures and a rebellious Chinese general.

Writers on the project have included Tedi Sarafian, who received story credit on Terminator 3, and Cormac and Marianne Wibberley (Charlie?s Angels: Full Throttle). Charlie Mitchell (Cinderella Man) is likely to come onboard as a writer.

The studio has produced and released a number of Sinbad adventures over the years, including 1958?s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

Cohenis working with Sony Pictures on the upcoming project Stealth, starring Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx, to be released July 29. The director?s recent credits include XXX and The Skulls. He also helmed the 1998 telefilm The Rat Pack.