Al Pacino Reportedly Will Play Joe Paterno in Jerry Sandusky HBO Movie

Oscar winner Al Pacino has agreed to star as former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno in an HBO film about the Jerry Sandusky scandal. 

Kate Stanhope of the Hollywood Reporter reported the news and noted that Barry Levinson, who won the Academy Award for Rain Man, will serve as the director and executive producer. 

No other stars have been attached to the film, which does not have a release date or a title at this time. Pacino has been linked to the project since January 2013. Upon its original announcement, Scarface director Brian De Palma was supposed to helm the film.

HBO halted pre-production over cost concerns in September 2014.

"We have not killed the project, so to say so inaccurate,” the network said in a statement to Deadline. “We have suspended pre-production for a moment to deal with budget issues, but the project is still intact at HBO with the entire creative team as before.” 

The project has now been greenlit once more, with Levinson, who has done multiple 30 for 30 documentaries, taking the place of De Palma.

Paterno, the winningest coach in Division I football history, was fired in November 2011 following the arrest of Sandusky, his longtime defensive coordinator, on child sex abuse charges. The allegations included multiple sexual acts on children that took place on Penn State's campus, including a 2001 incident that was reported to Paterno by graduate assistant Mike McQueary.

Investigations later uncovered that Paterno reported the incident to his superiors but failed to notify police or follow up on the situation. Sandusky was allowed to continue using Penn State facilities uninhibited for years, taking advantage of his stature within the community to abuse young boys.

FBI director Louis Freeh's report stated Paterno withheld facts and insinuated that the then-Penn State coach lobbied behind the scenes for the incident to go unreported. Many, including members of the Penn State community and Paterno's family, have rebuffed those claims.

Paterno died Jan. 22, 2012 due to complications from lung cancer. A jury convicted Sandusky of 45 charges related to the sexual abuse of children in June 2012. He remains incarcerated.