xXx Director Takes On 'King Kamehameha'

Rob Cohen ("The Fast and the Furious") is in early negotiations with Columbia to helm "King Kamehameha" with the Rock aboard to topline the historical epic that aspires to be a Polynesian "Braveheart," reports Variety.

Cohen is expected to see as early as today the first draft of the Greg Poirier script about Kamehameha, who conquered the tribal-ruled Hawaiian islands in the 1700s, made himself king and became a trading partner with the British and other nations that had been exploiting the primitive tribes.

Based on a Poirier pitch that appealed to the Rock, who grew up in Hawaii and was well- versed in the exploits of the king.

Poirier grew up on a Maui commune, the son of hippie parents. Cohen has a home on Maui and has become equally steeped in Polynesian lore.

The Rock, who starred in early summer hit "The Scorpion King," starts work this fall on the Peter Berg-directed U pic formerly titled "Helldorado."