Having hung up the Bat cowl for good, Christian Bale looks to be sticking to heady dramas for the near future.  He recently wrapped Scott Cooper’s Out of the Furnace, and he’s currently busy filming two new Terrence Malick films.  Now it looks as though he may be teaming up with In the Bedroom writer/director Todd Field for an adaptation of Boston Teran’s novel The Creed of Violence.

“Set against a backdrop of intrigue and corruption,” the story takes place in Mexico in 1910 and centers on a criminal named Rawbone.  His plan involving the delivery of a truck full of weapons is altered when a young Bureau of Investigation agent captures Rawbone and offers him immunity in exchange for continuing on with his scheme under the direction of the agent.  Bale would play Rawbone, but there are a few obstacles to overcome before closing the deal.  Hit the jump for more.

News of Bale’s involvement is a bit complicated.  His name popped up on Cross Creek’s official website, which was caught by the eagle eyed folks over at The Playlist.  Variety then corroborated the story, adding that there’s a bit of a gap in the negotiations between the studio and Bale.  They apparently offered the actor $5 million, while Bale’s folks have been asking for $10 million (I mean, he is Batman after all).  As such, this is far from a done deal. The plan is to start production early next year in the American southwest and parts of Mexico, so things will need to be worked out relatively soon.  Universal Pictures will distribute.

Field has only written and directed two features, but they’re both doozies: 2001’s In the Bedroom and 2006’s Little Children.  The two features racked up a combined 8 Oscar nominations, including three for Field.  He’s no stranger to dark subject matter (Little Children practically gave me nightmares), and it’ll be interesting to see him tackle a period crime story.  Though Bale is fielding a number of offers following The Dark Knight Rises, I’d definitely be interested in seeing him team up with Field for this adaptation.  Read a synopsis of the book below.

Mexico, 1910. The landscape pulses with the force of the upcoming revolution, an atmosphere rich in opportunity for a criminal such as Rawbone. His fortune arrives across the haze of the Sierra Blanca in the form of a truck loaded with weapons.

But Rawbone’s plan spins against him, and he soon finds himself at the Mexican-American border and in the hands of the Bureau of Investigation. He is offered a chance for immunity, but only if he agrees to proceed with his scheme to deliver the truck and its goods to the Mexican oil fields while under the command of Agent John Lourdes. Rawbone sees no other option and agrees to the deal—but he fails to recognize the true identity of Agent Lourdes, a man from deep within his past.

Set against a backdrop of intrigue and corruption, The Creed of Violence is a saga about the scars of abandonment, the greed of war, and America’s history of foreign intervention for the sake of oil. [Amazon]