A blockbuster film with the possible participation of American actor Dustin Hoffman could be shot in Malta later this year, sources close to the filming industry told The Malta Independent.

But the Malta Film Commission is reluctant to give more information for the time being, preferring to say that “three more films” are slated to be filmed in Malta later this year.

Film websites indicate that Dustin Hoffman is currently involved in the filming of The Program but it is not known whether this is the same film that will be shot in Malta.

When asked by this newsroom about the possibility of the legendary Hoffman coming to Malta for filming, Film Commissioner Engelbert Grech said the commission has “three more films slated for this year, but before releasing any information about them we have to get clearance from the studios”.

Malta has hosted foreign film productions since the 1920s, steadily building up a good reputation throughout.  The historical origins as to why Malta became a film production destination relied mainly on aquatic needs. Producers who were first drawn to Malta for the sea soon noticed other assets, such as how the cliffs, coastal inlets and architecture of the islands allowed for filming locations for historical epics, such as Gladiator, Troy and The Count of Monte Cristo. More recent motion pictures filmed in Malta include By the Sea, World War Z, Captain Philips andThe Devil’s Double.

Hoffman’s latest film, which was released in July 2015, The Choir, sees him play the role of musical director of an American boy choir boarding school. In this feature, the boarding school takes in an orphan despite a gut instinct that the young boy does not have what it takes to become a top class musician. Hoffman is also expected to be in the upcoming Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), once again giving a voice of Master Shifu.

The critically acclaimed star was born in Los Angeles, California on August 1937. He is known for taking a wide range of difficult roles, his most famous ones as a crippled street hustler in Midnight Cowboy (1969), an actor pretending to be a woman in Tootsie (1982) and an autistic man in Rain Man (1988). He will also be remembered for the controversial Kramer vs Kramer (1979).