Harrison Ford eyes ‘Call of the Wild’

Harrison Ford is in negotiations to star in “Call of the Wild,” Variety has learned.

If a deal is reached, the “Star Wars” actor will play John Thornton, a prospector braving the Yukon on the hunt for gold. The big-budget film is being adapted by 20th Century Fox from the classic 1903 Jack London novel about the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s. It has impressive cinematic as well as literary pedigree. Thornton was previously played by Clark Gable in a 1935 film version and by Charlton Heston in a 1972 version. Over the decades, “Call of the Wild” has inspired everything from a silent movie to a Snoopy TV special.