Terrence Howard and Brad Silberling are in negotiations to star in and direct, respectively, "The Crusaders," a drama for New Line Cinema. Bob Cooper is producing through Landscape Entertainment.

Written by Lawrence O'Donnell and Paul Redford, "Crusaders" is the true story of Thurgood Marshall as seen through the eyes of Jack Greenberg, a dedicated young lawyer who became the only white member of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and who fought side by side with Marshall in the courts to destroy segregation.

If a deal is made, Howard would portray Marshall, who would later become the first black Supreme Court justice. When he worked for the NAACP, Marshall won 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court.

Overseeing are Toby Emmerich, Mark Kaufman and Michael Disco.

Howard is coming off a breakout year that included performances in "Hustle & Flow," "Crash," "Four Brothers," "Lackawanna Blues" and "Get Rich or Die Tryin.' "

Silberling last directed "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." Other credits include "Moonlight Mile" and "City of Angels."

Both are repped by WMA.