Steven Spielberg to direct adaptation of American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper

Steven Spielberg is to direct Bradley Cooper in a film adaptation of American Sniper (Getty Images)

Steven Spielberg has his sights set on his next project, a movie about former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, who is considered to be the deadliest sniper in US military history.

A spokeswoman for DreamWorks Studios says Spielberg will direct Bradley Cooper in an adaptation of the best-selling book American Sniper.

Spread screenwriter Jason Hall wrote the script based on the autobiography of Kyle, who was killed this year at a Texas gun range. An Iraq war veteran he was trying to help deal with post-trauma stress is charged with the killings.

At the time of his death, Kyle was working on another book, American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms.

The film will be a co-production of DreamWorks and Warner Bros.

AP