Getting Leonardo DiCaprio to commit to doing your movie is a pretty huge deal, so I imagine that the folks at New Regency are pretty happy right now. The actor has just signed on to star in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s gritty thriller, The Revenant. Though he’s been attached to the project for a while now, his involvement wasn’t confirmed until today.
An adaptation of Michael Punke’s novel of the same name, the film will have DiCaprio playing a 19th century fur trapper named Hugh Glass, who’s attacked by a grizzly bear and left for dead by some thugs who rob him. Luckily, he survives the ordeal and sets out to “exact revenge on those who betrayed him.”
Inarritu is known for his bleak, haunting and often compelling work, so this story definitely sound like it’s right up his alley. With a star as big as DiCaprio now on board, you can bet that the film will start picking up some buzz. It’s also likely that it will be positioned as an awards contender. After all, most of the director’s previous efforts have picked up Oscar nods for acting and I wouldn’t be surprised if The Revenant did as well. Could this be the film that bags Leo his first Best Actor statue? It just might be.
The Revenant does not yet have a release date, but it’s set to head into production this September. We’ll keep you posted when we hear more.
