Hugh Jackman to star in sci-fi boxing tale

(AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD)

Australian heartthrob Hugh Jackman is joining forces with Steven Spielberg in a futuristic movie about robot boxers, entertainment industry press reported Tuesday.

According to Daily Variety, "Wolverine" star Jackman will play a former pugilist struggling to reinvent himself as a fight trade promoter after human boxers are replaced by machines.

The film - "Real Steel" - is described as a "Rocky"-esque story that follows Jackman as he guides a discarded robot through the rankings.

The movie is the first project to be produced by Spielberg since the legendary filmmaker secured 825 million dollars in financing for the reconstituted DreamWorks Studios following last year's split from Paramount Pictures.

Canadian filmmaker Shawn Levy, who is set to direct "Real Steel," told Variety the movie was about "a former boxer who can no longer do the only job he's good at, and one particular robot that may be his return to grace."

Filming is due to get underway in June.