Actor Russell Crowe is in talks to star in actor-filmmaker James Franco's upcoming directorial venture "Blood Meridian", an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s book of the same name.

Apart from directing, Franco will also act in the film along with Tye Sheridan and Vincent D’Onofrio, reports variety.com.

McCarthy’s book is based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s and traces the journey of the Kid, a 14-year-old Tennessean who stumbles into a nightmarish world when he joins a ruthless gang of scalphunters that includes the mysterious and menacing Judge Holden.