Seriously, what is going on with Terrence Malick? After releasing about a single film a decade since the 1970′s he just released The Tree of Life and wrapped a still untitled film this year, starring Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel Weisz, Barry Pepper, Charles Baker, Amanda Peet, Michael Sheen and Jessica Chastain. Then he has his documentary Voyage of Time in the works and now we know the mysterious project he was shooting with Christian Bale just a few weeks ago.

Deadline and Variety report that Malick is planning to shoot not only one, but TWO films back-to-back next year that both star Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett. No plot details have been revealed, except that they will be two separate projects, narratively speaking.

The first will be titled Lawless and besides Bale and Blanchett, Ryan Gosling will actually lead the film and The Girl with the Dragon Tatto star Rooney Mara has a supporting role with the rest of the cast. Haley Bennett will also star here, so we can assume this is the project she was seen shooting with Bale in Austin.

The second film is titled Knight of Cups and will star Bale as the lead, while Blanchett and Immortals star Isabel Lucas are part of the supporting cast. FilmNation is handling both titles at American Film Market this week and they are both currently in pre-production. The Tree of Life and The New World producers Sarah Green and Nicolas Gonda will re-team with Malick here.

As any cinephile, my mind is completely blown away by this news. I thought the one film after The Tree of Life was beyond expectations and the fact that we are getting four more Terrence Malick films within the next few years is something that is difficult to comprehend, especially with the major cast that includes Half Nelson and Drive star Gosling, one of my favorite actors. As for how two separate films that both feature two main actors (Bale and Blanchett) won’t tie together in some way is difficult to understand, but I look forward to the many details to come.

Expect his untitled romantic drama rumored as The Burial currently to hit theaters next year, with these two features to follow in 2013.

What do you think of this Terrence Malick mega-bomb of news?