Mark L. Smith to Pen THE REVENANT for Director John Hillcoat

During an interview, writer Mark L. Smith (Vacancy) revealed that he had been tapped to pen the script for John Hillcoat’s (The Road) upcoming thriller, The Revenant.  Smith also told Bloody Disgusting that Christian Bale is in talks to star.  The screenwriter ( whose latest film is Joe Dante’s The Hole 3D) didn’t say much else about the project other than it’s a “period action/revenge piece.”  Smith also said he wrote the latest draft of Martyrs, which is a remake of the French horror film of the same name.

Hillcoat’s latest project is a short animated film set in the world of Rockstar’s excellent new game, Red Dead Redemption.  The film will air this Saturday at midnight on Fox. As for Bale, he’s attached to star in Terrence Malick’s next film and can be seen later this year alongside Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams in David O. Russell’s The Fighter.  Oh, Bale’s also doing some superhero movie involving a flying rodent but no one cares about that.