Ah, the Joads. Those poor folks gave all-new meaning to the term down-trodden, did they not?

John Steinbeck's classic American novel "The Grapes of Wrath" — winner of the National Book Award, a Pulitzer Prize and permanent placement on pretty much any high school reading list in the country since its 1939 release — has already seen the cinematic light of day once before, but now it looks like this woeful tale might just be the next new project for Steven Spielberg.

Yep, per Deadline, he and DreamWorks are currently in talks with the estate of the long-passed novelist to secure the rights to re-adapt the book for the big screen.

Reportedly, Spielberg has exactly zero interest in directing the would-be project but does want involved in a producer capacity.

Seeing as the book approaches its 75th anniversary in 2014, suspicion has it that said timing will be capitalized upon with this potential remake, and Spielberg's already got his hands full with "American Sniper" expected to shoot soon.

The 1940 "Grapes of Wrath" film, directed by John Ford, starred Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine and Charley Grapewin, earning Ford and Darwell Oscar wins, with Fonda and others nabbing key nominations as well.

For those who barely paid attention to the Cliff's Notes on this one, "The Grapes of Wrath" is set in the Great Depression era with the double-whammy of the Dust Bowl. It tells the story of a simple Oklahoma farming family which has to hit the road after being driven (by one 'o them newfangled tractor machines, no less) from their home and then seduced by a random flyer's promise of prosperity out west. Needless to say, the journey doesn't quite pan out to plan for those Okies.

As an aside, if Spielberg & Co. are successful in nabbing the rights to this thing and pushing it forward, we have to wonder whether their trailer'll be even half as enthusiastic as the original.