Christian Bale had previously been set to play the motoring pioneer.
Hot off a barnstorming launch at the global box office the Logan star is understood to be circling the project that Michael Mann will direct.
Jackman, whose final Wolverine spin-off has raced to $263m worldwide within a week, would play motoring pioneer Enzo Ferrari and Rapace his wife Linda.
Bale was due to play the lead in Ferrari until he pulled out a year ago upon the advice of his doctor, who was concerned over the weight the British actor would need to gain.
At the time the project had been earmarked for a summer 2016 shoot. According to Deadline Hollywood, which broke Wednesday’s casting story, a summer 2018 is now more likely.
Mann has been trying to film Ferrari ever since he and the late Sydney Lumet conceived the idea at the start of the millennium.
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