Even death can’t stop Orson Welles, arguably the greatest filmmaker of all time, from finding his way onto the big screen.

Since Welles died in 1985 you may be wondering just how he’ll be accomplishing this feat.  And no, James Cameron and his extravagant but only marginally useful technology are not involved.

THR reports that a rare recording only recently discovered featuring the enigmatic figure narrating a children’s Christmas novel will be used as the basis for a new film. Behind the project is Drac Studios, the outfit best known for its groundbreaking effects and makeup work on movies like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

“Christmas Tails” is the name the film and it will be a mixture of 3D live-action and CG.

Todd Tucker is slated to direct.

“It’s a movie about how Santa’s dog saves Christmas, but on one level, this a story about the discovery of Orson’s lost tapes,” Drac president Harvey Lowry said. “This is a substantial find. It’s something that a filmmaker dreams of.”

Apparently author Robert X. Leed self-published a book called “Christmas Tails,” and managed to persuade his friend, Orson Welles, to record five reel-to-reel recordings of narration for the book just months before his death in 1985.  After years of legend and rumor the recordings eventually surfaced and were acquired by Lowry.

The studio is hoping for a Christmas 2011 release.