It seems the Terrence Malick news train just can't be stopped today. Following reports that "Badlands" is headed to The Criterion Collection and "To The Wonder" has finally been picked up for U.S. distribution by Magnolia, now a movie that the very busy auteur is producing has added two very notable names to the cast.
Indie sensation of 2011 Brit Marling and new Malick buddy Wes Bentley have come aboard "The Green Blade Rises," which is not an environmental take on Christopher Nolan's Batman films. Penned and set to be directed by Malick protégé and collaborator A.J. Edwards, the movie could be viewed as an unofficial prequel to Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," as it tells the childhood tale of the president, focusing on his upbringing that turned him into the leader he became. The duo join Diane Kruger who plays Abe's stepmother who raised him, and Jason Clarke, who will be playing Tom Lincoln, the boy's father. Marling will slot into the role of Abe's birth mother who passed away when he was nine, while Bentley will be the young man's first teacher. Here's the official synopsis:
The Green Blade Rises tells the untold story of the youth of America's greatest hero. It chronicles the hardships that shaped him, including abandonment by his father in the harsh winter wilderness, the tragedy that marked him forever and the two women who guided him to immortality, putting him on the path to becoming one of the most influential Presidents in United States history.
The movie will mark Marling's first time in the Malick fold, while Bentley recently frolicked with Christian Bale on the set of "Knight Of Cups." No word yet on who will be the pint-sized Lincoln, but with filming to take place this fall, we'll soon find out.
