After months of searching, director Kimberly Peirce has found her leading man for the Iraq war drama "Stop-Loss."

Ryan Phil-lippe is in negotiations to star in the film, which centers on a soldier (Phillippe) who returns home to Texas and is called to duty again in Iraq through the military's "stop-loss" procedure. The soldier then refuses to return to battle.

Abbie Cornish already has signed on to play the female lead.

Scott Rudin is producing alongside Peirce.

Despite a protracted casting process, the studio is eyeing a late-summer start date. Paramount's Pam Abdy and Alli Shearmur are shepherding the project for the studio.

Peirce has taken her time in finding the right project to follow up her feature directorial debut, 1999's "Boys Don't Cry." That film brought Hilary Swank her first best actress Oscar as well as a nomination for co-star Chloe Sevigny.

Phillippe, who co-starred in last year's Oscar-winning best picture "Crash," next appears in Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Father" and "Breach," opposite Chris Cooper.

He is represented by UTA, manager David Schiff and attorney David Weber.