Although Alexander Skarsgård has been making a name for himself over the past few years on True Blood, 2011 will see him have a prominent role in two features — Rod Lurie‘s Straw Dogs and Lars von Trier‘s Melancholia. Neither are likely to make him migrate from the small screen to the big one, but it at least shows that he can find a balance between the two mediums. I mean, being a good actor is certainly a bonus. (I’m aware that he’s in next year’s Battleship, but let’s not talk about that.)

THR now says that he’s in talks for another film, Zal Batmanglij‘s The East. This is the follow-up for the Sound of My Voice director, who is once again co-writing the screenplay with star Brit Marling. The plot is centered on “a female agent who infiltrates an eco-terrorist group,” which is also called The East. It’s expected that Marling will play the female agent, while Skarsgård would have the role of the group’s leader, who “seeks revenge against unethical corporations.” Scott Free Productions is producing the film, which will begin shooting in October; Fox Searchlight is expected to distribute.

Skarsgård feels like a proper choice for that kind of character; not only is he physically intimidating, but he, simply enough, can already play a villain with skill. How often he takes that kind of role is something that we’ll have to wait to really know, but it would be nice if he at least did it in interesting projects like these.

There’s a strong thematic connection that’s shared between Sound and this next project, which Marling explained by saying that her and the director are interested in “the idea of changing your identity, changing the outside of yourself, in order to infiltrate something.” Sadly, Sound of My Voice has yet to get a release (that’s expected to happen later this year, courtesy of Fox Searchlight), but the buzz it’s earned at various festivals this year makes me excited to check it out. That creates a weird situation with Batmanglij, where I’m not only looking forward to something that he has coming out in a few months, but also another project that should hit theaters next year — and I haven’t even seen anything of his. The guy is obviously doing things right.

Would you be interested in Skarsgård working with Batmanglij? Have you seen Sound of My Voice, and if so, what did you think of it?