Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg will work together for a fourth time on a new Cold War thriller.

The untitled DreamWorks film is being produced by Steven Spielberg who is also said to be considering a directing role, according to Variety.

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg have previously teamed up for Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me if You Can and The Terminal.

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg will work together for a fourth time on a new Cold War thriller

The new project is about real-life US lawyer James Donovan, who was enlisted by the CIA during the Cold War.

Tom Hanks will play James Donovan, who had to negotiate the release of a pilot captured when his U2 spy plane was shot down over Russia.

DreamWorks has declined to comment, but the film is thought to be one of several directing projects being considered by Steven Spielberg, who is already producing the film along with Marc Platt.

Other possibilities are Robopocalypse and the historical drama Montezuma, from American Gangster and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo writer Steve Zaillian.