Russell Crowe joins the pack for "Lies"

Russell Crowe poses for the media to promote his film 'A Good Year' in Madrid October 4, 2006.[AP]

Twelve years after working together in "The Quick and the Dead," Russell Crowe is in negotiations to reteam with Leonardo DiCaprio in "Body of Lies," a spy thriller that Ridley Scott is directing.

The Warner Bros. project centers on an idealistic CIA agent (DiCaprio), newly stationed in Jordan, who develops an intricate scheme to sow seeds of suspicion among the terrorists he is hunting. However, the plan puts his life in turmoil and threatens his relationship with the head of Jordanian intelligence. Crowe will play DiCaprio's boss.

William Monahan ("The Departed") adapted the novel by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. The project was previously known as "Penetration." A late-summer start date is being eyed.

In "Quick and the Dead," Sam Raimi's 1995 Western, Crowe and DiCaprio had second billing to Sharon Stone, who had personally cast them after watching their performances in "Romper Stomper" and "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," respectively.

Crowe is a Scott favorite, having starred in three of the director's films, including "Gladiator," for which both won Oscars. Crowe next stars in James Mangold's remake of "3:10 to Yuma" opposite Christian Bale, and "American Gangster" opposite Denzel Washington.