Antoine Fuqua directing new Cat on a Hot Tin Roof adaptation

Antoine Fuqua is directing a new adaptation of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'.

The 55-year-old filmmaker is helming a new take on the acclaimed 1950s play by Tennessee Williams and will team up with producers Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey, who backed a 2008 revival of the stage production that made history as Broadway's first all African-American play.

The original play centres on Brick, a former athlete turned alcoholic, his sexually frustrated wife Maggie and Big Daddy – the ailing but wealthy family patriarch.

'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' was previously adapted for the big screen in 1958 starring Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor as Brick and Maggie respectively.

The filmmakers have suggested that the movie "will combine elements of the play with new storylines and weave them together to bring the production to the big screen".

Antoine said in a statement: "Bringing such a historic production to the screen is an honour I am thrilled to have alongside Stephen and Alia.

"They have shown their commitment to the project with two successful stagings on Broadway and the West End and know what it takes to translate this iconic drama from theatre to cinema."

Byrd and Jones-Harvey added: "We set out to produce groundbreaking, high calibre work on both Broadway and London's West End with iconic plays, and now we hope to replicate this with 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' as a film.

"We are thrilled to be able to bring this Tennessee Williams classic play to life once again in a new iteration with the acclaimed Antoine Fuqua at the helm."

Fuqua, whose previous film credits include 'Training Day' and 'Olympus Has Fallen', will produce via his Fuqua Films production company and Byrd and Jones-Harvey will be producing through Front Row Productions.