Actor Bradley Cooper has been roped in to play Mack Bolan, the fictional character created by author Don Pendleton, in a new film.

The character was a fighter against terrorism in the original Pendleton novels and the role will see Cooper reunite with "The Hangover" director Todd Phillips, reports contactmusic.com.

Linda Pendleton said that her husband wrote the first novel in the series "War Against the Mafia" "out of his desire to express his discomfort with the reaction of many Americans to our soldiers who were dying for our country in the jungles of Vietnam and those coming home to outrageous verbal and physical abuse."

She added: "Mack Bolan became Don's symbolic statement. He also became every soldier's voice. Don created a heroic character in Bolan, a true hero who was dedicated to justice."