Taylor Kitsch in SavagesDespite Taylor Kitsch not having the best year commercially, with John Carter and Battleship notoriously falling short of expectations, the actor has very much been a rising talent in recent years, and has quickly become a recognisable name on the big screen in the past twelve months especially.

We recently heard that DreamWorks had acquired EA’s Need for Speed game to give it the big screen treatment, and now Zap2it report that the studio has put out an offer to Kitsch to take the lead.

They note that the studio says no offer has been extended, but that their reliable source maintains Kitsch is the only candidate on the table right now.

Brothers John (Coach Carter, Real Steel) and George Gatins have penned the script, and Act of Valor’s Scott Waugh is set to take the helm.

Though John Carter and Battleship didn’t perform commercially, the blame for that largely hasn’t been placed on Kitsch’s shoulders, and Peter Berg (Battleship, Hancock) has already announced he’ll be returning to work with the star in Lone Survivor, with Mark Wahlberg and Ben Foster set to join him. So things continue to look bright for the rising talent.

It sounds like it could still be early days on the Need for Speed front, but a lead like this has the potential to reignite Kitsch’s career a little in the years to come. If the film works a little magic like The Fast and the Furious did back in 2001, and brings an ensemble together rather than a single leading man – like Kitsch’s latest film, Savages (which hits UK theatres on 28th September) – then it could certainly be a strong addition to his upcoming slate.

Need for Speed has an enormous audience who love the original video games, and whilst some – both players of the game, and newcomers to it – will be sceptical about a film adaptation, The Fast and the Furious franchise is doing better than ever, and with that series making the awesome transition into the heist/action genre, there could well be a market for a new racing film like this. More as we get it.