Ananova:

Sam Mendes has signed up to direct Jarhead.

The film is a drama based on Anthony Swofford's Persian Gulf War memoir, reports Variety.

Cast Away screenwriter William Broyles wrote the script for the film, which begins shooting in the autumn.

"This is equal parts black humour, honesty, rage, lyricism, profanity and the mixture of machismo jarhead culture," Mendes said

"With the exception of Three Kings, this is a war that has been overlooked but which has a burning relevance to what is happening right now in the Middle East."

The production team are currently casting and looking for locations for filming.

Mendes will have to postpone film adaptations of Stephen Sondheim's musical Sweeney Todd and Khaled Hosseini's novel The Kite Runner to take part in the project.