Angelina Jolie is seemingly planning to make a biopic of Catherine the Great.

The 40-year-old star - who directed the war-sports drama 'Unbroken' last year - is set to make a biopic of the 18th-century empress of Russia after her production company, Jolie Pas, bought an option on Simon Sebag Montefiore's book 'Catherine the Great & Potemkin: The Imperial Love Affair'.

The movie's central character will be the longest-ruling female sovereign in Russia's history, who led a war against the Ottoman Empire before her death in 1796.

News of the project comes shortly after Angelina's husband Brad Pitt signed a deal with Netflix to produce and star in online comedy 'War Machine'.

Under the terms of the deal, Netflix has agreed to fund and distribute the film, with the joint business venture said to be worth as much as $30 million.

Reflecting on the deal, a senior box office analyst said: ''No big screen star is going to completely give up the big screen, but it's just a natural evolution of how content is delivered and how the audience consumes it. The ability for Netflix to reach into so many homes and be on so many devices has become very appealing to a star or producer.''