'Biutiful', 'Babel' director to make revenge drama?

Babel director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is to make period revenge drama The Revenant.

Mark L Smith's screenplay is an adaptation of Michael Punke's novel set in the 1800s which is based on the life of the fur trapper and frontier traveller Hugh Glass, The Wrap reports.

Glass was attacked by a bear before being robbed and stranded in South Dakota by his fellow frontiersmen, who were assigned to take Glass to a place where he could die comfortably.

On waking, he pursues the culprits across the desert in a 3,000-mile mission that sees him battling with death.

Samuel L Jackson was originally set to be in the lead when director Park Chan-wook was attached to the project.

The actor dropped out of talks before director John Hillcoat was drafted in, with Christian Bale reportedly interested in the role of Glass.

In December, Javier Bardem described working on Biutiful with Inarritu as one of the best experiences of his career.

The actor said: "This is, by far, the professional experience that has helped me the most when thinking about my craft, about my job, about my responsibilities [as an actor]."

Watch the trailer for Biutiful below: