Ron Howard is in talks to direct Chris Hemsworth for In the Heart of the Sea, Digital Spy said.

Hemsworth is attached to star in the 19th-century drama as the first mate on board the Essex, a doomed ship whose encounter with an angry sperm whale was the inspiration for Moby Dick.

The ship went down in the middle of the South Pacific after being rammed by the whale, and its crew drifted for more than 90 days, ultimately forced to turn to drastic measures in order to survive.

Vulture reports that Howard may soon be confirmed for the project, which is written by Blood Diamond scribe Charles Leavitt and based on the National Book Award-winning novel of the same name by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Hemsworth and Howard recently wrapped Rush, a biopic of Formula 1 driver Niki Lauda which also stars Daniel Brühl and Olivia Wilde.