The Man of Steel actor and Green Street star have caught the interest of the director – whose previous work includes the final four installments of Harry Potter – after it was given the go ahead by Warner Bros.
Joining them on the shortlist are Alex Skarsgard and Tom Hardy, though it is not known whether Hardy would be interested in taking on the iconic role, according to Vulture.
Jerry Weintraub is set to produce the feature after developing it for several years. Although though Yates has taken on the project, reports say Craig Brewer was initially tapped to do the job.
Yates’ big screen adaptation will be the second of Edgar Rice Burrough’s classic novel after the 1999 Disney animation.
Cavill can next be seen playing Superman in Zach Snyder’s movie Man of Steel, while Hunnam is starring alongside Idris Elba in Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi film Pacific Rim.
