James Franco is reportedly in talks to join the X-Men universe as James Madrox aka Multiple Man. The 39-year-old actor is in negotiations to play Multiple Man in a new standalone movie being developed by producer Simon Kinberg - who is currently working on X-Men: The Dark Phoenix, reports say.

The film will reportedly be written by Allan Heinberg, and will be produced by Kinberg under his Genre Films label and Franco's Ramona Films.

Franco won't be the first actor to bring the character to life on the big screen. Eric Dane previously played the same character in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, which was directed by Brett Ratner and written by Kinberg.