Mark Wahlberg is already set to star, though Matt Damon has exited

Brad Pitt is in negotiations to replace Matt Damon in Darren Aronofsky's "The Fighter."

Mark Wahlberg is still attached to the project even after Damon's departure due to scheduling conflicts.

According to the trade papers, the film centers on the life of boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) and his brother/trainer Dick Eklund (Pitt). The film will begin with their early days on the mean streets of Lowell, Massachusetts and follow with Eklund's battle with drugs and Ward's world championship in London.

Originally set to reunite "The Departed" stars Damon and Wahlberg, "The Fighter" may instead become a different sort of reunion for Pitt and Aronofsky. The two were famously supposed to work together on "The Fountain" (you'll recall Pitt's long beard), but the actor pulled out during pre-production. Although Aronofsky eventually got "The Fountain" made with Hugh Jackman, there were reporters of bad blood.

There is, of course, plenty of time for things to go haywire on "The Fighter." With Scott Silver in the process of rewriting the script, the film probably won't begin production until next fall.

In the meantime, Pitt is set for another professional reunion, this time with his "Fight Club" co-star Edward Norton on Universal's "State of Play." Pitt first has "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" going into limited release this weekend.