Ridley Scott is in line to direct a Bee Gees movie, in the latest of a wave of biopics about high-profile music industry acts.

According to Deadline, Scott is in negotiations to direct a film about the popular hitmakers, in a project which has sole surviving Bee Gee Barry Gibb on board as executive producer, and Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King also involved. No details of the plot or cast have been revealed, but the film will have access to Bee Gees recordings through a deal that the Paramount studio made with the Gibb family in 2019.

Born on the Isle of Man and raised in Manchester before emigrating to Australia, the Gibb brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin formed a band and released their first album in 1965. After returning to the UK in 1967, they went on to achieve enormous popularity with a string of hits including How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Jive Talkin’ and Tragedy. Their soundtrack album to the film Saturday Night Fever has sold more than 40m copies. Maurice Gibb died in 2003, and Robin Gibb died in 2012.

Scott, 86, has recently completed filming a Gladiator sequel starring Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, which is due for release in November. According to Deadline, Scott was invited to direct a medieval-set film starring the Bee Gees in the 1970s by their manager Robert Stigwood, but the project never materialised.