Michael Fassbender is a very busy man, and he looks to be showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.  This summer he’s been filming a supporting role in Steve McQueen’s period pic Twelve Years a Slave and the lead in Ridley Scott’s star-studded drama The Counselor, he recently signed on to star in and co-produce a film iteration of Assassin’s Creed, and he’s developing a pic based on Celtic warrior Cuchulainn.  Now it appears the Shame actor is looking to add Western to his varied resume, as reports have Fassbender looking at starring opposite Natalie Portman in the incredibly promising Western Jane Got a Gun.  Hit the jump for more.

Per Vulture, Fassbender is currently in negotiations to join Portman in We Need to Talk About Kevin director Lynne Ramsay’s Jane Got a Gun.  The script by Brian Duffield landed on the 2011 Black List and centers on “a woman whose outlaw husband returns home barely alive and riddled with bullet wounds. She is forced to reach out to an ex-lover and ask if he will help defend her farm when her husband’s gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job.”  Fassbender would play said ex-lover who teams up with Portman's character.

Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin blew me away, so I’m incredibly excited to see her take on the Western genre—especially with a strong female character at the center.  Fassbender has more than proven his talent in front of the camera, and I think he and Portman would make a fine duo.  Jane Got a Gun is being financed independently on a budget under $20 million, with Portman producing through her handsomecharlie films banner.  If Fassbender’s deal closes, the plan is to start production early next year.