Leonardo DiCaprio is in negotiations to make Warner Brothers dramatic thriller The Blood Diamond his next picture, Variety reports. The project was originally developed by producer who brought aboard Ed Zwick and to rewrite it.

Along the way, Zwick became so interested in the African adventure, he agreed to direct as well, the entertainment trade publication reports.

“The Blood Diamond” is set in Sierra Leone circa 1999, a time when the nation was in the midst of a horrific civil war. DiCaprio would play the role of a smuggler who specializes in the sale of “conflict diamonds”—linked to the financing of rebellions, privateers and terrorists, the publication reports.

When the smuggler encounters an indigenous Mende farmer whose young son has disappeared into the RUF’s army of child soldiers, the two men’s fates become linked. Warners is hoping to shoot “Diamond” early next year, the publication reports.

JCK