Christian Bale is set to work with his Out of the Furnace and Hostiles director Scott Cooper for a third time, having signed on to star in Cooper's serial killer thriller The Pale Blue Eye.
Based on a novel by Louis Bayard (pick up a copy HERE), The Pale Blue Eye will require Cooper to find an actor to play a young Edgar Allan Poe, as the legendary author is a character in the story. The plot focuses on
the attempt to solve a series of murders that took place in 1830 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Bale will play a veteran detective who investigates the murders, helped by a detail-oriented young cadet who will later become a world famous author, Edgar Allan Poe.
Poe was only at West Point from July 1830 to February 1831 before being court martialed, so this story takes place during a short window of time in his life.
Bayard's novel has the following description:
At West Point Academy in 1830, the calm of an October evening is shattered by the discovery of a young cadet's body swinging from a rope. The next morning, an even greater horror comes to light. Someone has removed the dead man's heart. Augustus Landor—who acquired some renown in his years as a New York City police detective—is called in to discreetly investigate. It's a baffling case Landor must pursue in secret, for the scandal could do irreparable damage to the fledgling institution. But he finds help from an unexpected ally—a moody, young cadet with a penchant for drink, two volumes of poetry to his name, and a murky past that changes from telling to telling. The strange and haunted Southern poet for whom Landor develops a fatherly affection, is named Edgar Allan Poe.
The Pale Blue Eye is being financed and produced by Cross Creek. Bale and Cooper are also producing the film alongside John Lesher and Tyler Thompson.
Cooper had this to say about the project:
Even though Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston and died, delirious, in Baltimore, the majority of his life was spent in Virginia, my home state. So I grew up with his presence. He bequeathed us the detective genre, and he’s still such a presence in our culture, with every horror, mystery and science fiction writer indebted to Poe. This is my attempt at a large-canvas whodunit, with a serial killer at its center. I want to make films that push me into a different, maybe uncomfortable space, but I am glad to have Christian go there with me. I’ve wanted to make this for over a decade and fortunately for me, Christian has perfectly aged into the lead character. He was far too young when I first thought of making this. Films are meant to happen at the right time. Christian is always in high demand, but to be able to make this with him will be such a joy for me."
The Pale Blue Eye is expected to go into production this fall. Even if Bayard's story didn't specifically begin in October, a fall atmosphere would still feel required for a serial killer thriller with Poe as a character.