TMZ reports that Ben Stiller's next project will be a 20th Century Fox comedy called "The Hardy Men", a spoof take the popular Hardy Boys detective novels.

What's surprising about the news is that Tom Cruise is being pursued to play one of the other leads in the story which takes on the premise that the Hardy Boys finally grew up.

Shawn Levy, helmer of the mega-successful "Night at the Museum" and the upcoming "The Flash" movie, is said to be directing with an October production start slated.

Cruise initially met with Stiller over the comedian's plans for the comedy "Tropic Thunder" but Cruise turned him down on that front.