Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston tipped to play officers in Journey's End movie

Prince Andrew has written to Warner Bros asking for the film to be made

Benedict Cumberbatch as the idealistic Christopher Tietjens in 2012's Parade's End (Rex)

Benedict Cumberbatch has been tipped for a lead role for a proposed First World War movie based on RC Sherriff’s Journey’s End.

The Sherlock star, 37, is being considered to play hero Captain Stanhope in the film about a group of officers fighting in the trenches, the Sunday Times reports.

In the original 1928 play, Stanhope is looked up to as a father figure by his men despite despising war with a powerful bitterness.

Cumberbatch has starred in a war drama before, as Christopher Tietjens in the BBC’s Parade’s End.

Other British actors rumoured for a part include Tom Hiddleston, remembered for his role as the doomed Captain James Nicholls in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, and Eddie Redmayne, who took the lead as officer Stephen Wraysford in the BBC adaptation of Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong.

Eddie Redmayne stars in the BBC's adaptation of Sebastian Birdsong (BBC)

The project, in the pipeline with Fluidity Films, has been delayed for years due to complications surrounding deals made as far back as 1929.

A movie was made in 1930 but banned by the Nazis in 1933, before a TV adaptation followed in 1988 starring Jeremy Northam as Stanhope.

Interest has been freshly sparked after Prince Andrew sent a letter to Warner Bros asking them to reconsider reclaiming the film rights ahead of the 100th anniversary of the First World War later this summer.