The Pale Blue Eye: Christian Bale to star in Scott Cooper thriller

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Christian Bale and Hostiles director Scott Cooper is gearing up to make their third film together. Shot and scripted by Copper, the project is an adaptation of the Louis Bayard novel The Pale Blue Eye. Why is there an image of Edgar Allan Poe for this article? Read on and find out.

The Pale Blue Eye revolves around the attempt to solve a series of murders that took place in 1830 at the US 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.

Quoth the raven, say what now? That's right, my friends. Our old friend Poe is about to solve some murders.

“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,” Cooper told Deadline. “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.”

In addition to his starring role, Bale will also produce with Cooper John Lesher and Cross Creek’s Tyler Thompson. Cross Creek is also the financier. This marks Bale and Cooper's third feature film together after teaming on Out of the Furnace and Hostiles. Cooper recently put the finishing touches on Antlers, which is one of my most anticipated films of 2021. Are you ready for what is essentially a buddy-thriller with Bale character and Edgar Allan Poe? I certainly hope so.