Robert Redford, according to ‘The Hollywood Reporter’, is filming the complicated plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln in the historical drama The Conspirator. A couple of years after Lions for Lambs, the actor and director delves into a political theme telling the story of Mary Surratt, the woman who helped Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth commit the 1865 crime in Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Surratt, a tavern owner in the US capital city and Confederate sympathizer, supposedly supplied weapons to Booth and his accomplice David Herold in their escape attempt after carrying out the assassination. John, Surratt’s son, was also supposedly part of the conspiracy.

Mary Surratt was sentenced to death and hanged for conspiracy to assassinate the president, while her son, who was initially a fugitive from justice, was later tried but not given the death sentence.

Filming of the story, with a script by James Solomon, is set to begin this autumn. Producers are currently putting together the cast and a top name for one of the leading roles is Scottish actor James McAvoy.

This is not the only project being cooked up in Hollywood centered around the figure of Abraham Lincoln. Steven Spielberg also is working on a film which will be a biopic of the president starring Liam Neeson.