Jamie Foxx is close to tying up a deal to play Benjamin Stacks in Sony's update of the classic musical Annie. A variation of the Daddy Warbucks character, Stacks takes in an orphan named Annie, played by the Oscar-nominee Quvenzhane Wallis, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The Django Unchained star has received an offer from the studio and sources say his team has begun to negotiate. It's no surprise Foxx is top of the shortlist to play Stacks, given his pals Will Smith and Jay-Z are producing the movie. He's also a favorite of the studio and is currently shooting The Amazing Spider-Man 2, in which he plays villain Electro. Foxx will also star as the president in Roland Emmerich's tentpole White House Down, which opens on June 28, 2013. The Annie project is being directed by Will Gluck, with a script from Emma Thompson and Aline Brosh McKenna. It's all shaping up to be a hugely lucrative project, with a Christmas Day 2014 release date eyed.

Fox clearly has the musical chops to pull off the role. He won an Oscar and Golden Globe for playing legendary musician Ray Charles in 'Ray' as well as starring in the Oscar nominated Dreamgirls. He's also released a handful of successful R&B albums and won a Grammy award.

Annie the musical is based on Little Orphan Annie, the 1924 comic strip by Harold Gray.

Quvenzhane WallisQuvenzhane Wallis At The MTV Movie Awards in 2013