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Hollywood stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts are finally ready to reunite on screen for a sequel to their 1990 romantic classic Pretty Woman.

Fans who have patiently waited 35 years for a follow-up film will be thrilled that both stars have already opened "detailed" talks with Disney studio bosses, according to a senior production source.

The source confirmed: "No contracts have been signed yet but an early script is being worked on and, barring unforeseen problems, both Richard and Julia are on board and Pretty Woman 2 appears to be very much on."

Gere, 76, and Roberts, 58, have privately remained "extremely close" since their standout performances in the original as wealthy corporate raider Edward Lewis who develops a romantic relationship with Hollywood escort Vivian Ward after hiring her to accompany him to business and social functions for a week.

Their on-screen chemistry cemented Gere's position as one of Tinseltown's leading men and catapulted his rising co-star onto the A-List of leading ladies, with Roberts winning a best actress Golden Globe, as well as Oscar and BAFTA nominations.

Pretty Woman made £342.8million at the box office, making it - at the time - the fifth highest-grossing movie of all time worldwide, behind only ET the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Jaws.

Despite years of rumours, Gere appeared to have abandoned any hope of a sequel when he announced in 2016 that any chance of another film died along with the original movie's director Garry Marshall.

But earlier this year, he suddenly relented, saying: "It all comes down to whether or not there's a good script."

Ironically, our source revealed that Gere and Roberts have been encouraged to reunite by a string of fake AI-created online "posters" claiming that Netflix would soon be releasing Pretty Woman 2: A Second Chance.

Our source said: "While millions of fans were fooled, Richard and Julie were far from angry. It made them realise just how popular their movie still is three-and-a-half decades on."

The original film's production company, Disney-owned Touchstone Films, has since gone out of business but the source added that "one of Disney's many other entities" will be responsible for making the sequel.