Christian Bale, ‘Black Mass’ director Scott Cooper reuniting for Western

Christian Bale is ready to work with director Scott Cooper again. The two are planning on making Hostiles, a Western set in 1892.

The project will have Bale starring as an Army captain who helps a Cheyenne war chief return to his tribal lands in Montana. During the journey, the two men who were once rivals have to navigate through a tough landscape and Comanche tribes on their tail.

According to Variety, Cooper will write, direct and co-produce. The other producers are John Lesher and Ken Kao, and it will be financed by Kao’s Waypoint Entertainment. Filming will start in July.

Cooper most recently directed Black Mass and shot to fame by directing Jeff Bridges to an Oscar win with Crazy Heart. He worked with Bale on his second film, Out of the Furnace. The director had several other projects he could have taken, but Variety reports that he became interested in making Hostiles with Bale since the actor became available.

Bale is already an Oscar-winner for his supporting performance in The Fighter, but he is competing for a second one thanks to his role in The Big Short. He was going to make Michael Mann’s Enzo Ferrari biopic, but backed out over the weight gain the project would have required.