Orlando Bloom has been tipped as the favourite to play notorious zookeeper Joe Exotic in an upcoming film based on Netflix hit documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor is said to be in early talks with producers at 20th Century Studios working on a film, while production is still a way off due to the development of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Read more: Netflix’s wild documentary ‘Tiger King’ looks like a cartoon but has plenty to teach us about morality right now

According to The Sun, a “movie insider” shared details about the potential project. “All filming is on lockdown at the moment but the studios are exploring projects they can get going on as soon as possible and they think Tiger King is the perfect story,” they said.

On Bloom’s casting, the source continued: “Discussions about a movie have only just started but they believe the idea has legs, especially if they get a big star like Orlando on board. They think he could really bring Joe to life on screen.”

The actor fuelled the rumours by posting a Tiger King meme on his Instagram feed, with no caption, which sees Bloom’s face photoshopped onto Exotic’s, with the tiger’s head replaced by that of a puppy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Orlando Bloom (@orlandobloom) on Mar 31, 2020 at 2:51pm PDT

The news comes after it emerged that a new episode of Tiger King might be on the way soon, according to one of the show’s main participants, businessman Jeff Lowe. In a message recorded for fansite Cameo, Lowe says: “It’s a wrap-up, we’re gonna tell you what happened.”

Meanwhile, Exotic himself suggested Brad Pitt or David Spade to play him in an upcoming biopic.