About a month ago, Christian Bale exited Michael Mann‘s brewing "Enzo Ferrari," citing fears that the weight gain needed for the role would endanger the health of the actor, who has definitely wildly bulked and slimmed down for roles in the past. The movie was going to shoot this summer, and leaving left a open slot on his calendar. But he’s found a way to fill it.
Christian Bale will reteam with his "Out Of The Furnace" director Scott Cooper for "Hostiles." Based on a reimagining of a manuscript by the late screenwriter Donald Stewart ("Missing," "The Hunt For Red October," "Patriot Games," "Clear And Present Danger") the western will follow an Army captain who is tasked with bringing a dying Cheyenne war chief and his family back to their tribal lands. Here’s the synopsis:
Set in 1892, HOSTILES tells the story of a legendary Army captain, who after stern resistance, begrudgingly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief and his family back to tribal lands. Making the harrowing and perilous journey from an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico to the grasslands of Montana, the former rivals encounter a young widow whose family was murdered on the plains. Together, they must join forces to overcome the punishing landscape and hostile Comanche tribes that they encounter along the way.
At a very surface glance, this sounds not unlike the survival narrative for "The Revenant," albeit with a different flavor. Production will begin on the picture in July.