AFI Fest was put in bit of a bind last week when the disappointing news broke that Sony Pictures Classic was opting to push director Bennett Miller’s excellent-looking drama Foxcatcher to 2014.  The film had been poised to be AFI Fest’s centerpiece premiere film, and so the festival organizers were no doubt left scrambling to find a replacement.  In Foxcatcher’s stead, AFI Fest announced today that director Scott Cooper’s (Crazy Heart) new film Out of the Furnace will now make its world premiere at the festival.  The promising pic stars Christian Bale as an ex-con steel worker who seeks vengeance when his brother (Casey Affleck) disappears after getting involved with a local crime ring.  Additionally, Nebraska and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty have been added to the AFI Fest slate.

Hit the jump to check out some new images from Out of the Furnace.  The film also stars Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, and Sam Shepard and opens in theaters on December 6th.

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Here’s the official synopsis for Out of the Furnace:

The film is a drama about fate, circumstance, and redemption. Russell and his younger brother live in the economically depressed Rust Belt, and have always dreamed of escaping and finding better lives. But when a cruel twist of fate lands Russell in prison, his brother is lured into one of the most violent and ruthless crime rings in the Northeast – a mistake that will almost cost him everything.  Once released, Russell must choose between his own freedom, or risk it all to seek justice for his brother.