Tom Hardy in talks to play both Kray twins in new film

'Legend' will focus on the rocky relationship between Ronnie and Reggie

Tom Hardy is in talks to play criminal Kray twins in forthcoming film Legend (Getty Images)

The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy is in talks to play the infamous Kray twins in a forthcoming film.

The actor has been approached to play both brothers in the film, which will chart the tortured relationship between East End gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, Screen Daily reports.

The film offer comes weeks after Hardy confirmed he would be joining the cast of acclaimed BBC period crime drama Peaky Blinders.

The project is thought to be one of several that the British actor is currently considering, sources told the trade publication.

The film, which will follow the identical twin brothers and their criminal exploits in London during the Fifties and Sixties, is currently in development with production due to start in the UK later this year.

LA Confidential screenwriter Brian Helgeland has penned the script after revealing at a Writer’s Guild of America event last year that the film will concentrate on the life of Reggie Kray, the elder brother by ten minutes, as he seeks to control the psychotic tendencies of his younger twin.

The brothers’ organised criminal gang, The Firm, was involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets, assaults and the murders of criminals Jack “The Hat” McVitie and George Cornell.

As West End nightclub owners, they mixed with prominent entertainers including Diana Dors, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland, and with politicians such as Lord Boothby, who features in the script.

The Kray twins were arrested on 9 May 1968, having narrowly avoided being sent to prison several times.