A formidable dynamic duo is forming on the new film from Hotel Rwanda director Terry George. The Wrap reports that Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac will star in The Promise, an epic period love story penned by screenwriter Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha). The drama takes place during the last days of the Ottoman Empire and revolves around a love triangle between a brilliant medical student named Michael, “the beautiful and sophisticated” Ana, and a Paris-based American journalist named Chris.
Bale will play Chris, an AP reporter, while Isaac will fill the role of Michael, a man conflicted by his love for Ana and old-world traditions. The setting is a curious one, as the fall of the Ottoman Empire coincided with the Armenian genocide. George chronicled the Rwandan genocide to heartbreaking results with Hotel Rwanda, so it'll be interesting to see how heavily The Promise delves into the politics of the era. Production on the pic is slated to begin this fall in Southern Europe, including Portugal and the Canary Islands.
Bale most recently wrapped the financial crisis drama The Big Short and was planning on following that up with the Travis McGee movie The Deep Blue Good-By, but he sustained an injury that has delayed that project—possibly permanently. As for Isaac, he’s been on a tear as of late. In theaters we most recently saw him do stellar work in last year's A Most Violent Year and this spring's hit sci-fi pic Ex Machina. He’s currently filming the villain role in X-Men: Apocalypse, and later this year he stars in both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the David Simon-penned HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero.
