Los Angeles, March 22 (IANS): Sony Pictures is gearing up to develop a reinterpretation of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", titled "Verona".

Verona is name of the city that became the setting of Shakespeare's famous tale.

The studio is in final negotiations to pick up the feature with Joe Roth attached to produce, and Neil Widener and Gavin James on board to write the script, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

The story of "Verona" is kept under wraps. However, the film is likely to revolve around a love affair between two teens from opposing Italian families. The script is said to reimagine the classic love story through a lens of an epic, "300"-style world.

Directed by Zack Snyder, "300" was a gritty take on the ancient Battle of Thermopylae between 300 Spartans, led by King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), and the massive Persian army, led by Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).

Casting, production and release dates of the upcoming "Romeo and Juliet" movie are expected to be announced soon.