It sounds like A-listers are about to collide in a new movie project. Christian Bale and Matt Damon are searching for their next projects and it looks like they might be appearing onscreen together soon. Even better, the two of them would be working with James Mangold, the director of the critically beloved and commercially successful superhero movie Logan. This new project would see Damon and Ford tackle the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans World Championship.
Buried in a Deadline story about an entirely different James Mangold project, Matt Damon and Christian Bale are reportedly close to signing a deal to star in a movie about the rivalry between Ford and Ferrari. The two were previously circling the project but now seem to be closer to a deal. Damon would play legendary Mustang designer Carroll Shelby, while Bale takes on driver Ken Miles. The two men are tasked by Henry Ford II to build the world's fastest car in order to compete with Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans World Championship. James Mangold is developing the project at Fox with Scott Frank (the screenwriter for Logan) penning the script.
Racing movies tend to be something of a mixed bag, but there's always something interesting about the merging of big-name talents. Matt Damon and Christian Bale are obviously very good actors and pairing them up with James "On a Hot Streak" Mangold is just extra icing.
However, this project has some competition with -- interestingly enough -- another Mangold project at Fox. The director is also attached to helm an adaptation of the novel The Force, a gritty crime thriller about a dirty cop in the NYPD's most elite fighting unit. Fox acquired the rights to the novel for seven figures in 2016 and has been working on getting it into production. Scott Frank, who is considered a "closer" in the business helping screenplays get to production is also attached to work on the screenplay. The original draft was written by movie scribe, David Mamet.
Either The Force or the Ford/Ferrari movie could be Mangold's next picture and it might all depend on which one is greenlit first. If The Force is first up to bat then that might mean that the racing movie will have to go to a different director. That would be a bummer but either of these movies sounds pretty solid, though if I'm being honest, The Force seems right up Mangold's alley.
Who can say which project is coming to theaters first, but stay with CinemaBlend and we'll be sure to keep you updated with new information as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, keep track of all the big movies that are definitely coming to theaters this year with our 2018 movie release guide.
