The 34-year-old, who played Sean Penn's character's lover in "Milk", has been inspired to shoot his own version of the 1980 film, which starred Al Pacino as a New York cop searching for a serial killer in the city's gay underground.
However, Franco's "Cruising" will not be a remake because the director could not secure the rights to the movie, reported Daily Express.
Franco hired director Travis Mathews to shoot the film and he has warned fans to expect a lot of gritty and sexually explicit imagery.
"He knew he wanted real gay sex in it. His people went looking for a filmmaker who had filmed real gay sex, and I suspect someone who would complement his vision. We talked about why we would be interested in still looking at this film.
"We talked about his interest in the film and his interest more broadly in so many gay-themed stories and visionaries. He's worked with so many in front of and behind the cameras over the years," Mathews said.
The project will premiere in part during New York Fashion Week next month, before being released on the festival circuit next year.