According to the Hollywood Reporter, it looks like the Miramax and Rocket Pictures’ film “Gnomeo and Juliet” is on its way to settling on a voice cast. The CG animated film is still in the development phase, but negotiations have begun with agents repping James McAvoy and Emily Blunt to play the leads. The producers of “Gnomeo” say they are actively searching for other big-name talent to join the film in supporting roles.

Rocket initially brought “Gnomeo” to Walt Disney Feature Animation, but several years later the project was dropped by incoming Pixar executives John Lasseter and Ed Catmull. Miramax president Daniel Battsek, who followed the project while at Buena Vista International, persuaded Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook to revive it at his specialty division in April 2006.

Kelly Asbury will direct from an original script by Rob Sprackling and John R. Smith. Kevin Cecil, Andy Riley and Mark Burton have worked on later versions of the screenplay. Now in the storyboard stage, production is expected to be completed by 2010.

The music for this loose Shakespearean adaptation will be furnished by Rocket Pictures’ own Elton John, showcasing his many classic songs.