Variety has announced today that a plethora of actors, including Zoe Saldana, Casey Affleck and Robert Duvall, are in contention to join Christian Bale in Out Of The Furnace.
Saldana is negotiating to play “Bale’s ex-wife, a waitress now married to the town sheriff”, while
Duvall is in talks to play Bale’s uncle. Meanwhile, Casey Affleck is reportedly the favourite to snag the role of Bale’s brother, though Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch and Channing Tatum are also in contention.
An earlier report also stated that Viggo Mortensen was in talks to play the film’s villain, however, those reports have now been dismissed.
Out Of The Furnace is described as follows:
“A dark drama set in 1986 Indiana. The protagonist is Slim (Christian Bale), a man released after serving years in prison for murder who wants only to follow through on his promise to marry his long-suffering girlfriend. But when he discovers his brother has been murdered after getting involved in a gambling racket, his goals change and he avenges the murder.”
Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper is helming the project, which previously went under the title The Low Dweller. The project was original going to be directed by Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio was set to star. The pair departed the project a while back but will remain on as producers under their respective production companies, Scott Free and Appian Way.
Out Of The Furnace stars Christian Bale and is expected to go into production later this year with a 2013 release in mind.