Bradley Cooper is to star in Steven Spielberg's 'American Sniper'.

The 'Silver Linings Playbook' actor has signed up to the 'Lincoln' director's next project based on the book 'American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in US Military History' by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice, TheWrap.com reports.

The book follows the story of Kyle and his journey from being a Texas rodeo cowboy to a Navy SEAL chief, earning the title of the highest number of sniper kills in US military history with 160 deadly shots.

Cooper's production company 22nd & Indiana Pictures optioned the rights to the paperback in 2012 and production has now been fast-tracked following the death of Kyle in February, who was shot and killed at a shooting range in Texas.

'Paranoia' screenwriter Jason Hall penned the script and Cooper will produce the feature with Spielberg, Andrew Lazar and Peter Morgan. DreamWorks' Kristie Macosko Krieger and Adam Somner will co-produce, with Sheroum Kim overseeing on behalf of 22nd and Jon Berg participating for Warner Bros.

Spielberg initially planned for his next project to be 'Robopocalypse' following the success of his award-winning 'Lincoln', however the project was postponed until further notice earlier this year.

Cooper - who recently dropped out of 'Jane Got a Gun' - can next be seen in 'The Hangover Part III' alongside Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha and Ken Jeong, released later this month.