Will John Travolta play Bill Clinton?

Peter Morgan, the writer behind The Deal and The Queen, which dealt respectively with Tony Blair's succession to the Labour leadership in 1994 and his relations with the Queen directly after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is to take a third look at the former Prime Minister – and, for the first time, he’s going to direct the film himself.

Tentatively titled The Special Relationship, it will focus on Blair's relationship with President Bill Clinton in his last three years at the White House, beginning with Labour's landslide victory in 1997 and ending with Clinton leaving office in 2000. Morgan had intended incorporating the Blair/Bush relationship, but decided a narrower focus on the friendship with Clinton would be more rewarding.

For his directorial debut, Morgan, known for his thoroughness, has been researching both in Washington DC, and Little Rock, Arkansas, Clinton's home town, and is currently in talks with DreamWorks studio, though nothing has been confirmed.

He has enlisted British actor Michael Sheen to play Blair, as he did in the first two films. But finding someone to play the charismatic Clinton could prove harder. Ideally it would be John Travolta , who memorably and brilliantly captured a Clinton-like president in the 1998 film Primary Colors (Travolta pictured with Emma Thompson's Hillary in the film) , and who at 54 is around the same age as Clinton was at the time.

However Morgan may want to work on a fresh canvas. He will also have to cast an actress to play Hillary Clinton - a sensitive issue given that by the time the film reaches cinemas she will be serving as Barack Obama's Secretary of State.