Warner Bros has acquired the rights to the Mack Bolan novels, with Bradley Cooper in line to star in the project.

Cooper's Hangover director Todd Phillips is being lined up to direct the film based on Don Pendleton's anti-terrorism series, Digital Spy reports citing Deadline.

Avatar 4 co-writer Shane Salerno has acquired the rights to the franchise, which encompasses hundreds of books.

Pendleton wrote 38 volumes in 11 years before selling the rights to Worldwide Library.

He supervised a group of ghost writers who generated two books per month when the series was at its peak. Publisher Gold Eagle still publishes 12 new books every year.

Steve McQueen, Sylvester Stallone, Vin Diesel and Clint Eastwood have all been attached to Mack Bolan adaptations in the past, none of which made it to the screen.

Cooper is currently voicing Rocket Raccoon in Marvel Studios' hit Guardians of the Galaxy.

He will produce Mack Bolan with Phillips through their Warner production company.