Film icon Warren Beatty hasn’t appeared on-screen in 13 years, since 2001’s rom-com ‘Town & Country.’ But that’s all about to change.

In the new issue of ‘Closer Weekly’ — on newsstands now — Warren’s friends and co-stars reveal his decades-long obsession with the upcoming film that brought him out of a 13-year retirement — and will likely be his one last fling on the big screen.

“He’s spent 40 years trying to get this project off the ground,” a Hollywood insider exclusively shares with ‘Closer Weekly.’ “He wants it to be perfect, since he says it will probably be his swan song.”

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Warren in January 1966.

Warren, 77, has come out of retirement to write, direct and star in a currently untitled film about reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes and his May–December romance with a young actress, played by Lily Collins. Sources tell ‘Closer’ that Warren has been obsessed with Hughes since the early ’70s, when their paths crossed at a Beverly Hills hotel where the eccentric aviation magnate (who dated Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Ava Gardner) housed his many girlfriends.

It took the famously slow-moving filmmaker decades to finance and finish the script for the $27 million drama, which was shot on a tight 72-day schedule earlier this year.

Related Story: Warren Beatty’s Big Return to Hollywood: The Real Reason For His 13-Year Disappearance!

“Everyone said, ‘He’ll probably never do it,’” co-star Matthew Broderick exclusively tells ‘Closer.’ “Then a few months later, we were shooting.”

Secrecy surrounded the production. “No one was given the full script, except for Lily Collins,” Scottish actress Louise Linton, who plays one of Lily’s friends, shares with ‘Closer.’ “But it was a delightful set to work on — everybody took their jobs extremely seriously.”

For all the details on Warren Beatty’s big return to Hollywood — and what the film icon has been up to during his 13-year disappearance, pick up the new issue of ‘Closer Weekly,’ on newsstands now.