Who will get to the top first? After starring together in The Dark Knight Rises for Christopher Nolan last summer, Christian Bale and Tom Hardy will battle it out once again. This time, however, it’s a studio war featuring two different films surrounding a Mount Everest climb. One is over at Sony Pictures, with Hardy set to star for Doug Liman. Now Deadline is reporting on another.
Set up over at Universal Pictures, Bale has come aboard another film titled Everest, this one set to be directed by Contraband and 2 Guns helmer Baltasar Kormakur. With a script from Justin Isbell, this project follows the fatal 1996 expedition that resulted in the death of eight climbers. While Jon Krakauer’s firsthand account in his book Into Thin Air is a major source, this one will actually use interviews from the survivors and other sources.
Although they share the same title and common landmark, Hardy’s project is much different, instead telling the 1920s-set story of Sir George Mallory as he attempted to be the first to climb the peak. I’d be interested in either one of these dueling projects making it to screen and I could see both stars easily excel in the respective roles. Bale’s next shoot will be David O. Russell‘s Silver Linings Playbook follow-up, so he could take on this project afterward.
Which Everest project are you most interested in seeing?