Christian Bale doesn’t seem to be resting on his laurels even remotely post-The Dark Knight Rises, as he’s busied himself with roles in Out of the Furnace and no less than two Terrence Malick films (one is Knight of Cups, in which he’ll star, the other is that pesky untitled Austin-set sex thriller, in which he could – who knows – also be the star). But now the actor might jump back into the saddle of Ye Old Western films (he’s previously starred in 3:10 To Yuma, a modern Western classic) with Todd Field’s take on Boston Teran’s novel, Creed of Violence.
Bale is in negotiations to lead the film, according to Variety, which is set during the 1910 Mexican revolution and centers on the unlikely pairing of criminal Rawbone (the part Bale would play) and young Bureau of Investigations agent John Lourdes. The pair must infiltrate the Mexican criminal underground together, a hard enough task as is, but one made even more difficult by a lurking issue – Lourdes is from Rawbone’s past, but he doesn’t yet know it. It sounds like one heck of a Western and a nice fit for Bale.
After the break, check out an extended synopsis of the book, thanks to ComingSoon.
Mexico, 1910. The landscape pulses with the force of the upcoming revolution, an atmosphere rich in opportunity for a criminal such as Rawbone. His fortune arrives across the haze of the Sierra Blanca in the form of a truck loaded with weapons, an easy sell to those financing a bloodletting.
But Rawbone’s plan spins against him, and he soon finds himself at the Mexican-American border and in the hands of the Bureau of Investigation. He is offered a chance for immunity, but only if he agrees to proceed with his scheme to deliver the truck and its goods to the Mexican oil fields while under the command of Agent John Lourdes. Rawbone sees no other option and agrees to the deal – but he fails to recognize the true identity of Agent Lourdes, a man from deep within his past.
As they work to expose the criminal network at the core of the revolution, it is clear their journey into the tarred desert is a push toward a certain ruin, and the history lurking between the criminal and agent may seal their fates.
The film is aiming to start shooting early next year, so more news on it should be hitting the wire soon.
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