Kevin Costner to play high school coach for Disney

The American actor has landed the lead in the upcoming Disney sports drama "McFarland," reports Variety.

Costner, who's no stranger to sports films ("Field of Dreams," "Tin Cup," "For the Love of the Game"), is gearing up for another swing at the genre. This time around, the Hollywood star will be playing a high school track coach in a predominantly Hispanic California town. In keeping with the age-old formula, his team will of course "overcome social and physical hurdles" to win the day.

Based on a true story from the 1980s, "McFarland" will be a new addition to Hollywood's long list of sports movies. Meanwhile, Disney is working in parallel on "Million Dollar Arm," in which Jon Hamm, famed for his performance as adman Don Draper in the TV series "Mad Men," plays a sports agent who discovers two new baseball pitchers in India on a reality TV show.

After a lull in his career, Kevin Costner has recently made a comeback thanks to the success of the three-part Western TV miniseries "Hatfields & McCoys" and his supporting role in the new Superman adventure, "Man of Steel."