Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds are poised to star in 'A Christmas Carol' musical retelling.

Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell

The 52-year-old comedian and Ryan, 42, have both agreed deals to playing leading roles in the remake of the Charles Dickens-written story.

The project is being penned by Sean Anders and John Morris of the 'Daddy's Home' films, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which explains that details of Will and Ryan's character will remain a closely-guarded secret for the foreseeable future.

Rights to the upcoming movie are currently being shopped around Hollywood, with multiple studios rumoured to have already expressed an interest in the project.

Previous adaptations of the classic tale include Bill Murray's 1988 comedy 'Scrooged', as well as 1992's 'The Muppet Christmas Carol', which starred Sir Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge.

Meanwhile, Will previously admitted he only stopped thinking about possible career "plan Bs" around the turn of the decade.

The Hollywood actor is one of the most popular comedy stars in the movie business, but during the early part of his career, Will worried his success would evaporate and that he'd need to find an alternative job.

Speaking in 2018, he shared: "Up until seven or eight years ago, my wife and I still joked that if it all fell apart, what could we possibly do? Maybe open a business of kenneling dogs or be UPS drivers.

"We finally stopped thinking of plan Bs."