Christian Bale in talks to scale 'Everest' for Universal

'Dark Knight Rises' co-star Tom Hardy attached to a different 'Everest'

By HitFix Staff Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013 2:47 PM

Christian Bale

Credit: AP Photo

"The Dark Knight Rises" adversaries Christian Bale and Tom Hardy are set to battle once again, but this time in rival movies about climbing Mount Everest.

Bale in talks to star in Universal and Working Title's "Everest" from director Baltasar Kormakur ("The Deep"), according to Deadline.

"Everest" centers on the failed 1996 expedition, where a sudden storm resulted in the deaths of eight climbers. The film will be partially based on "Into Thin Air," Jon Krakauer’s acclaimed first-person account.

Working Title partners Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce along Liza Chasin and Evan Hayes. Justin Isbell wrote the most recent script draft.

Meanwhile, Bale's "Dark Knight Rises" enemy Tom Hardy is attached to star in a different Mount Everest film, also called "Everest," at Sony with Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity") set to direct. This "Everest" is based on Jeffrey Archer's book depicting Sir George Mallory's famed initial expedition up the peak in the 1920s.

Bale will next be seen in Scott Cooper's "Out of the Furnace," and in a pair of films from "Tree of Life" director Terrence Malick.