Ashton Kutcher in Negotiations Replace Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men

Credit: Amanda Edwards/WireImage.com; Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.com

Ashton Kutcher is putting the final touches on a deal to replace Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men

A number of news outlets have  reported that the creator of the show has crafted a storyline to introduce Ashton Kutcher, 33, as a replacement for Sheen, 45, who was officially fired in March after a public battle with the network and show creator, Chuck Lorre.

Charlie’s base pay on the show was $1.25 million an episode.  As part of the deal, we’ve learned  from TMZ that Ashton will get more than half — more than $625,000 — but less than $900,000. It is unclear whether that figure includes any share in the back-end profits from reruns of the program.

There are reports Charlie received upwards of $2 million an episode when including his profit participation.

While official spokesmen for CBS and Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., declined to comment about Mr. Kutcher, on Twitter late Thursday, the star asked “what’s the square root of 6.25?” in an apparent reference to the number in the title of “Men.”

Earlier this week, British actor Hugh Grant had also been close to a deal for the same role, but those talks fell apart, people familiar with the talks said at the time.

While official word has not yet been made, Deadline Hollywood says the deal is done — Ashton is the new Charlie Sheen.

Charlie Sheen Loses Custody Battle

Charlie Sheen appeared before Judge Hank Goldberg today in an ongoing legal battle for sole custody of his two boys, Bob and Max. The twins’ mother, Brooke Mueller is also seeking custody. TMZ been covering the case when the judge kicked the media out of the courtroom to discuss “questions of abuse. ”

Later, TMZ reported that Charlie Sheen lost his bid for sole custody of his and estranged wife Brooke Mueller’s twins on Tuesday afternoon.

Sheen, 45, was denied a change in the current custodial agreement by L.A. County Superior Court Judge Hank Goldberg, which gives custody of the kids to Mueller who, like Sheen, has had a public battle with drug abuse and rehab.