Keira Knightley may play Catherine the Great for director Barbra Streisand

Keira Knightley has appeared in more than her share of costume dramas, but as she's almost always great in them, why not add another to the slate? The Wrap reports that Keira Knightley is currently in early talks to star in Barbra Streisand's upcoming Catherine the Great biopic. Streisand hasn't directed a film since 1996's THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES, but is looking to make her film-making comeback with this Catherine the Great epic.

Born Sophia Augusta Fredericka, Catherine the Great was the longest ruling female leader of Russia, sitting atop the throne from 1762 to 1796. Streisand's biopic will follow the future leader as a young woman who finds herself trapped in an abusive marriage to Emperor Peter III, but she eventually uses her intelligence and cunning to plot her own rise to power. Streisand signed on to direct the film last year from a screenplay by Kristina Lauren Anderson which landed on the top of 2014's Black List.

Keira Knightley will next be seen in COLLATERAL BEAUTY alongside Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Naomie Harris, and Michael Pena. COLLATERAL BEAUTY will see Smith portraying a successful New York advertising executive who experiences a personal tragedy and retreats from life entirely, prompting his colleagues to devise a drastic plan to help him recover. COLLATERAL BEAUTY is set for a December 16, 2016 release.

Keira Knightley as Cable via BossLogic.