John Travolta is unrecognisable after major transformation for new blockbuster film

John Travolta has once again confirmed that shapeshifting is possible, following a sneak preview of his transformation for a new role.

The actor is well versed in completely changing his appearance for roles, having famously worn a 30-pound bodysuit and prosthetics to play Edna Turnblad in Hairspray and even more facial prosthetics as mob boss John Gotti.

Now, the 72-year-old has undergone yet another astonishing transformation as he's set to star in the forthcoming biopic, November 1963, which will retell the infamous day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Travolta plays Italian-American mobster John Roselli in the movie, with a preview showing the actor donning a thick beard, tidy moustache and slicked back hair which looks unrecognizable from his usual appearance.

The film, which is set to focus on the 48 hour period around the JFK's assassination, will explore the former US president's connection with mob boss Sam Giancana, who infamously ran the Chicago Outfit, one of the US' most violent Mafia families of the century.

November 1963, which will explore the alleged involvement of the Chicago Outfit in JFK's assassination, was written by Giancana's nephew, Nicki Celozzi, who is also the nephew of Joseph 'Pepe' Giancana.

"Kill a man, he dies once. Kill his son, he dies 10,000 deaths," the official synopsis reads.

"Prior to the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960, his father Joe Kennedy, a former bootlegger during prohibition, asked for a favor from mob boss Sam Giancana and his Chicago Outfit: to destroy ballot boxes to ensure a win for the younger Kennedy."

It continues: "However, during JFK's reign as president, the national organized crime syndicate came under fire by way of the newly appointed Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, resulting in several convictions.

"The mob answered this betrayal with the ultimate revenge: the murder of the 35th President of the United States on November 22nd, 1963, and the subsequent cover up.

"Our story is told by somebody who was there – Sam Giancana’s brother Pepe."

Travolta's character Roselli operated on the West Coast and in Las Vegas, while Mandy Patinkin will play Anthony Accardo, head of the Chicago Outfit and Dermot Mulroney plays Chuckie Nicoletti, Sam Giancana's bodyguard and hitman.

Jefferson White will star as Lee Harvey Osward, the US Marine veteran who pulled the trigger on JFK, while Robert Carlyle portrays Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner and associate of organised crime.

November 1963 will land in theaters on November 20.