The Big Short is putting together a big cast.  According to Variety, the financial drama will star Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale.  Based on the book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (Moneyball), the story follows key figures who played a role in the financial bubble that crippled the economy in 2008.  Variety reports that Adam McKay's script will likely feature a collection of A-list actors to provide an ensemble piece similar to Traffic or The Counselor.

Hit the jump for more.

Last year, we reported that McKay was writing and directing The Big Short.  However, Variety reports that McKay is only signed on to write the film, and the director is currently unknown as is the start date.  When we spoke to McKay a few months ago for his short film that was a part of We the Economy: 20 Short Films You Can’t Afford to Miss (he's passionate about the issue, as you can also see from The Other Guys, especially the end credits), he told us he had turned a script into Paramount, and "fingers crossed that’s my next one."

As for when production might begin, Pitt has wrapped filming on By the Sea, but he also devotes time to his production company, Plan B, which is producing The Big Short.  Gosling recently wrapped production on Shane Black's Nice Guys, but Bale is shooting the Travis McGee film The Deep Blue Goodby in the spring, so The Big Short won't be going in front of cameras until sometime in the summer at the earliest.

A film like this could seriously risk becoming preachy and pedantic, but with a unique voice like McKay on the script (and hopefully the director's chair) and with this cast, The Big Short has just become a big film on my radar. [Update: Variety had amended their story to say that McKay is still on board to direct.]