Halle Berry is in negotiations for a starring role in the thriller The Surrogate for 20th Century Fox.

According to Variety, director Paul Verhoeven is developing the project, which revolves around a couple who hire a surrogate to carry their child and find out mid-term that the surrogate is insane.

The project would mark Berry's return to the bigscreen after having a baby last year. She hasn't starred in a film since 2007's Perfect Stranger opposite Bruce Willis.

The Surrogate, which had been in development at the now-shuttered Fox Atomic, would also reteam Berry with producer Ralph Winter, who produced Fox's X-Men trilogy, in which the actress starred.

Rod and Bruce Taylor (The Brave One) penned the screenplay, which is based on a novel by Kathryn Mackel.