This isn't the first time that the Winnipeg actress has worked with Hanks.
Playtone Productions was also behind 2002's My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which was the highest-grossing independent film in entertainment history until earlier this year, when The Passion of The Christ was released.
Vardalos will write the screenplay for the new film, in addition to playing the lead.
Nia Vardalos (AP photo)
Penned by Laura Zigman, the book tells the story of a publicist-turned-housewife who is called upon to revive a screen legend's flagging career.
"It is a fantastic vehicle for Nia, and we just love working with her," Gary Goetzman, who is a partner in Playtone with Hanks, told Daily Variety.
The company hopes that the adaptation will be a suitable comedic vehicle for Vardalos, whose last project – the Some Like it Hot reprise Connie and Carla – fizzled at the box office.
Vardalos will begin production later this month on Living in Neon Dreams, a modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland.
In the film, she plays the aunt of a girl who enters a fantasy world after slipping into a coma following a car accident. She also plays the duchess, a character in the alternate universe. Her co-stars include Marilyn Manson.
Vardalos is also reportedly working on a documentary called A Taxi Odyssey.
Vardalos wrote the one-woman play that inspired My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It caught the attention of Rita Wilson, who convinced Hanks, her husband, that it would make a good film.
