Oscar winner will write, direct and star

Ben Affleck is set to write, direct and star in "The Town" for Warner Brothers.

The project is based on Chuck Hogan's novel "The Prince of Thieves" and will be produced by Graham King through his GK Films banner.

According to the industry trades, Affleck would play a thief plotting his next job. The character is in a love triangle with a bank manager and an FBI agent trying to take the crook down.

The project is set in a Boston suburb, which would keep Affleck on familiar footing after making his directorial debut on the Beantown set "Gone Baby Gone."

An earlier draft of the script was done by Hogan and Peter Craig, but Affleck is expected to do a rewrite.

While the project's title has already been changed -- presumably to avoid confusion with a certain Kevin Costner swashbuckler -- it's unclear if Affleck will want to avoid associations with his director-to-DVD dud "Man About Town."

Affleck will next be seen in front of the camera in "State of Play" and "He's Just Not That Into You."