Christian Bale Reteams With Terrence Malick For Another New Mystery Film

by Kevin Jagernauth
August 19, 2011 6:56 AM
17 Comments

Rooney Mara, Haley Bennet, Clemence Poesy & Mia Wasikowska Vying For Female Lead; Film Will Shoot In Early 2012

For much of Terrence Malick's career, his workflow has been defined by single projects taking years at a time to take shape and finish before he moves on to the next one. Now, it seems the guy is making up for lost time. With "The Tree of Life" hitting theaters this spring, the director currently has his untitled film -- aka "The Burial" -- in post-production and is also at some stage of development with his "Voyage of Time" documentary which recently added Emma Thompson as a narrator alongside Brad Pitt. Earlier this year word cropped up that Malick was starting another film, one that would be small in nature that would potentially shoot late summer/early fall. Not much has been heard since, but it looks like that film is now moving full steam ahead with an early 2012 start being eyed.

Twitch reports that Christian Bale -- who starred in "The New World" and was set for "The Burial" but was replaced by Ben Affleck -- is set to reteam with the director on the new project. Of course, details are unknown other than it will apparently feature an even smaller cast than "The Burial" (which features Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Barry Pepper and Jessica Chastain) which certainly falls in line with earlier reports that Malick intends "to be finished with this one in a matter of months.” The story will center around two leads, one male (Bale) and one female, with Rooney Mara, Haley Bennet ("Marley & Me," "Kaboom"), Clemence Poesy and Mia Wasikowska all said to be in contention for the part. And well, that's it.

Of course, when we'll get to see these pics is anybody's guess. The U.K. rights to "The Burial" recently sold to Optimum and we would guess that if indeed it's coming next year, another trip to Cannes will be in the works. As for "Voyage of Time" and this new project, who's to say. But with early word that Malick expects to get it done sooner rather than later, that certainly bodes well though anything can happen when the mercurial director gets behind the camera. Hell, his whole vision for the project could change between now and the New Year. But clearly, the 67-year-old director is newly inspired and we couldn't be more excited. Let's hope more details arrive soon.

More: Actors, Actresses, Terrence Malick, Mia Wasikowska, Rooney Mara, Clemence Poesy

17 Comments

| Reply
carrie | September 17, 2011 2:17 AMReply

finally it's true http://www.flickr.com/photos/danfun/6154942960/
Pete | August 21, 2011 7:04 AMReply

Rooney MAra yay!
Anonnymouse | August 20, 2011 3:56 AMReply

Assuming this story is legit (which I doubt it is), out of the four actresses mentioned here, Wasikowska is easily the best of the bunch. The female casting shouldn't even be an issue.
RNL | August 20, 2011 2:26 AMReply

I just hope he makes "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". That sounds like it'd be amazing.
Kevin Jagernauth | August 20, 2011 2:25 AMReply

"The Burial" already has a released image: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/first_look_at_terrence_malicks_untitled_romance_with_ben_affleck_rachel_mca/
Jason | August 19, 2011 11:54 AMReply

This is really fantastic news!
hanky | August 19, 2011 10:32 AMReply

this is absolutely real, the film at least. don't know about bale.
jimmiescoffee | August 19, 2011 9:56 AMReply

before any of this shit matters i want to know a release date and some new images from 'the burial.' until then i say none of this is real.
JP | August 19, 2011 9:54 AMReply

OK. I'd never heard of Twitch before until now. (Oh, and I just learned that Renner is not doing the project I mentioned in my previous post, so scratch that.)
sjvp | August 19, 2011 9:41 AMReply

Am I the only one who when they the story revolves around a man and a woman immediately thought that it would be 'The English Speaker'?
Kevin Jagernauth | August 19, 2011 9:34 AMReply

Yes, Twitch are reliable. They have good intel -- some of the same the trades use.
JP | August 19, 2011 9:21 AMReply

Hm. Mia W. will be shooting the new Jarmusch movie early next year and will (allegedly) star alongside Jeremy Renner in another project, in addition to the 35 or so films she has coming out in the next 6-8 months, so her plate looks pretty full.

Quite frankly, I'm having a hard time believing this story. Is Twitch even a reliable source? And if they're looking for a dominant female lead, why is Rooney Mara being considered?

(CherylCoyle: What, Bale wasn't overexposed enough last year for you?)
carrie | August 19, 2011 8:28 AMReply

please no big bang no dinosaur and i would be happy
kris | August 19, 2011 8:16 AMReply

wow i love bale's director choice
he also considered for new aronofsky film right?
nolan,aronofsky,mallick
KT | August 19, 2011 7:35 AMReply

dat Bale
Cheryl Coyle | August 19, 2011 7:32 AMReply

I hope Christian Bale does more movies from now on. We see too little of him.
StephenM | August 19, 2011 7:25 AMReply

' Malick intends “to be finished with this one in a matter of months.” ' Yeah. RIght.

Seriously, though, this is amazing. It's like a dream come true. At this rate, he might make it past 10 films before he dies/retires.