What a throng of talent we’re looking at. According to Deadline, Baltasar Kormákur‘s Everest — a title that, last we heard, is expected to star Christian Bale — has rounded out its central set of players with quite the ensemble: John Hawkes, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, and Jake Gyllenhaal, the lot of whom are expected to go before cameras this coming November. Universal, Emmett/Furla Films, and Working Title will back the project.
The real-life expedition which serves as Everest‘s inspiration saw eight climbers, spread across three parties, perish in the cold and snow of Mt. Everest, their 1996 expedition serving as a source for Into the Wild author Jon Krakauer‘s Into Thin Air; screenwriter Justin Isbell has reportedly used that text as a central inspiration, though the project at hand has the added benefit of additional interviews with the survivors. While this collection of actors — overall, a fine group — are most likely to portray members of the party, who star as the lucky and who star as the dead remains to be seen. The overall casting on Everest isn’t 100% sure, still, given that Bale hasn’t been mentioned in the current report — yet, given his star status, you’d think an in-place contract would warranted some notice. We shall see.
In most cases, this would mark a decisive blow against a separate, Everest-centered project starring Tom Hardy — but as that’s a separate story and more of a “period piece,” they should be able to exist side-by-side. What a pleasure not to have these petty rivalries.
For some idea of how Kormákur will handle a story of struggle and perseverance, be sure to see 2 Guns on August 2.
What do you make of the Everest lineup?