Steven Spielberg is considering a directorial role on Robopocalypse.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker is lining up the project—based on a forthcoming novel by Daniel H. Wilson—with reports that Dreamworks is “in a frenzy” about the potential of the movie.

“With DreamWorks, everything is potentially a Steven project - until it’s not. That’s why everyone’s in a frenzy trying to read it,” a source told the Vulture blog.

The story, which was optioned by the studio back in November 2009, is believed to be a realistic portrayal of a possible robot uprising.

It is one of a number of robot-related projects being created by DreamWorks. Transformers 3 is due to be released earlier next year, while Reel Steel, a movie about robot boxing, is due to hit cinemas in November 2011.

Steven is currently filming War Horse - the tale of a boy who goes to the battlefields of World War I to find his beloved horse - and is attached to work on sci-fi movie Interstellar, due for release in 2012.