Nearly a week after the first teaser for Alejandro G. Inarritu’s The Revenant left everyone dazzled, the filmmaker and his star, Leonardo DiCaprio, have revealed some equally fascinating information about the film.

The Revenant has DiCaprio starring as Hugh Glass, an explorer who was left for dead by his companions after he was nearly killed by a bear. Somehow, he perseveres in the harsh weather of the American west as he tries to reunite with his family. Tom Hardy plays a member of the part that left him. Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter co-star.

There was very little dialogue in the teaser and it turns out that there is little dialogue in the entire film, as DiCaprio revealed in an interview with Grantland.

“It was a different type of challenge for me because I’ve played a lot of very vocal characters,” DiCaprio, who is hoping that this role might finally get him an Oscar, told the site. “It’s something that I really wanted to investigate — playing a character that says almost nothing. How do you relay an emotional journey and get in tune with this man’s angst … without words?”

Grantland reported that the film’s ending has still not been shot. DiCaprio was heading down to the Tierra del Fuego region of Argentina, which is about as close as you can get to the South Pole without being on Antarctica.

In addition, Hollywood Elsewhere notes that there was a recent Imagen article that revealed only 90 percent of the filming was complete. Hollywood Elsewhere contacted Inarritu, who confirmed that filming is still underway. However, he is confident that he will get the film finished by Dec. 25, when Fox hopes to release the film to qualify for the Oscars.

As with any big project like this, there were challenges. Shooting started in October 2014 and was actually supposed to be finished by March, notes The Hollywood Reporter. Things got so backed up that Hardy had to pull out of Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad. To make things worse, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki shot with natural light.

“I have nothing to hide," Inarritu, who won three Oscars himself for co-writing, producing and directing Birdman, told THR. "There were problems, but none of them made me ashamed."

The Revenant was written by Inarritu and Mark L. Smith. It is based on the novel by Michael Punke. The film will be released wide on Jan. 8.

image by Kimberley French/Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation