During the formative years of the 20th century, the leading nations of the world became involved in a movement now known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Back then, Antarctica was one of the few remaining frontiers still to be explored – on Earth, at least – and one brave adventurer that wrote his name in the history books was Ernest Shackleton.
His legendary exploits have flirted with the big screen numerous times in the past, but Deadline now brings word that The Revenant and Legend star Tom Hardy has agreed to take point as Shackleton. StudioCanal is lending full financial support to the biopic, with Peter Straughan on board to hash out a script. There’s no mention of a director just yet, though.
Leading three British expeditions to Antarctica during the early 1900s, Shackleton braved sub-zero temperatures and bitter conditions to make the journey, and is famous for the way in which he handled adversity. The legend goes that during one particular voyage his ship, aptly titled the Endurance, crashed against massive ice floes, making it all the more remarkable that Shackleton managed to keep all of his crew alive as they made the harrowing journey to safety. It’s still early days, but Hardy has long displayed an unyielding commitment to intense, scenery-chewing roles, and a Shackleton biopic appears to be right in the actor’s wheelhouse.
No word yet on when Tom Hardy will gear up as the legendary Ernest Shackleton, but we’ll keep you posted as more news comes to light. The British actor will next reteam with Christopher Nolan for WWII epic Dunkirk – it’ll deploy into theaters on July 21, 2017 – while talk of a sequel to Mad Max: Fury Road is never too far away.
