George Clooney could be headed to Disney for the first time in his movie career.

The actor is in negotiations to star in the studio’s ultra-secret sci-fi project written by Damon Lindelof and directed by Brad Bird, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The project was originally working under the temporary title 1952 but switched to being called Tesla. It is now back to being called 1952. Both titles are understood to be fake names, much like Blue Harvest was the code name for Star Wars.

The plot is being kept under wraps, though it has been described as being in the vein of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg’s 1978 movie about a man searching for extra-terrestrials on Earth.

The project is one of a handful of live-action efforts that the studio’s movie division hopes to ramp up next year in what might be its most active period in years. The studio is looking at a new 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea movie to be directed by David Fincher and a live-action Cinderella, among other projects.

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com

Twitter: @Borys_Kit