British helmer Duncan Jones is tapped to direct a biopic based on Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books that launched one of the longest-running and most profitable movie franchises, Deadlie reported.

Fleming gained first-hand knowledge of his subject matter working for British Naval Intelligence during World War II. Masterminding real operations inspired him to create Agent 007.

News about the project emerged in Cannes and on Jones’ fan-blog site and Twitter feed. His previous projects were Source Code and Moon. Casting is underway. Matthew Brown’s screenplay is based on the biography Ian Fleming, The Man Behind James Bond by Andrew Lycett.

Jones’ movie, which is said to have the support of the Fleming estate, is expected to go into production later this year. K5 Film (Oliver Simon and Daniel Baur), PalmStar Media Capital’s Kevin Frakes and Liberty Films’ Stuart Fenegan will produce the film in association with Jim Young and Robert Laycock of the Fleming estate. K5 International will handle worldwide rights. Status of an Ian Fleming project set up at Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way is unclear.