Glee Creator Ryan Murphy Courts Julia Roberts for The Normal Heart Film

Julia Roberts may join previously announced star Mark Ruffalo in Ryan Murphy's upcoming film adaptation of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, the Glee creator told Deadline.com. No additional casting or start date have been announced for the movie.

"The Normal Heart is the thing that I'm going to do next," Murphy said. "I optioned it and there's a brilliant script that Larry Kramer wrote and I'm going to do that with Mark Ruffalo and maybe Julia Roberts. I believe in that play."

Roberts would presumably play Dr. Emma Brookner (the only female part in the play), a role that earned Ellen Barkin a Tony Award earlier this year. Roberts previously collaborated with Murphy on the 2010 film adaptation of the popular memoir, Eat Pray Love. The Oscar winner, who appeared on Broadway in Three Days of Rain, is also expected to star in the film version of the 2007 Tony-winning Tracy Letts play, August: Osage County.

Kramer’s The Normal Heart chronicles the terrifying early years of the AIDS epidemic in New York and the silence of official America in dealing with it. Originally produced by Public Theater founder Joseph Papp and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the piece debuted off-Broadway on April 21, 1985, starring the late Brad Davis as the hero Ned. The original production played for 294 performances. The Normal Heart was revived at the Public in April 2004, running two months, with Raul Esparza as Ned. The show's Broadway premiere opened earlier this spring on April 27 and won three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play, before closing on July 10.