Armando Iannucci is to direct his first movie, using the writing team behind The Thick Of It to create a satire about the build-up to war.

In The Loop will focus on frantic diplomatic bartering between Britain and America, he told an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

He said: ‘I’m working on an idea to look at the lives of people in the Foreign Office and the US State Department in the build-up to a war.

‘I’ve wanted to do a film for ages but I have always held off. I didn’t want to make it just for the sake of making a film. I’ve held off until I had the right idea.’

The Thick Of It writers Tony Roche, Jesse Armstrong and Simon Blackwell are have begun developing a script for BBC Films, but the plot is in the early stages. ‘We haven’t decided who to have a war on yet,’ Iannucci said.

He added that he did not want to make ‘The Thick of It: The Movie,’ but said he might include actors, or even characters, from the acclaimed political satire. Iannucci also said he intended to make another series of the BBC Four show.

In The Loop is expected in cinemas late next year, The Times reports.