British filmmaker Gurinder Chadha is being tipped to direct the film version of the hit 1980s TV series "Dallas".

Variety newspaper said the director of "Bend It Like Beckham" and "Bride and Prejudice" was close to signing up as a replacement for original choice Robert Luketic, who backed out for creative reasons, BBC reported on its website.

John Travolta and Jennifer Lopez will play the leads J.R. Ewing and Sue Ellen in the film version of the TV soap that enthralled audiences around the world.

Chadha is currently working on another cinema adaptation of a long-running TV show, "I Dream of Jeannie", a 1960s sitcom about a mischievous genie.

Filming of the new version of "Dallas", to be produced by 20th Century Fox, will begin towards the end of this year.