Dreamworks Studios announced that two-time Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis ("Last of the Mohicans," "Nine") will take on the role of the 16th U.S. President. When news broke of the film in 2008, "Schindler's List" star Liam Neeson had been announced for the role.

"The Rivals: The Genius of Abraham Lincoln" – by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin – serves as the factual inspiration for the film, which will begin filming in fall 2011.

According to Dreamworks, the film "will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War."

Kathleen Kennedy and Spielberg produce the film that is aiming to arrive in theatres under Touchstone Pictures' wing in late 2012.

"Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema's distant future. I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with Lincoln," Spielberg said in a statement. Spielberg and Kushner previously collaborated on "Munich."