Michael Keaton is in talks to play the villain in Tim Burton’s DUMBO!

Michael Keaton may be reuniting with his Beetlejuice and Batman director. Keaton is in negotiations to star in Disney’s new live-action Dumbo film, to be helmed by Tim Burton. Colin Farrell and Eva Green also are in talks to join the film, which is based on Disney’s classic animated 1941 movie about a baby circus elephant who is made fun of for his large ears and is separated from his mother. Ehren Kruger penned the script for the project. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but sources say that one thing the new version does is expand and deepen the circus aspect of the story. If the deal makes, Keaton would play a villian, who buys a circus with hopes of exploiting the elephants. Keaton hasn’t worked with Burton since 1992’s Batman Returns. Keaton’s recent credits include The Founder, Spotlight and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). He’ll soon be seen in Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and American Assassin. He’s repped by ICM Partners, Anonymous Content and Ziffren Brittenham.