When Hollywood has two similarly themed projects brewing at the same time, it’s often a case of two studios competing to see which one comes out on top. In the case of two upcoming animal poaching movies, however, it’s actually a single studio joining forces with the same starry team for multiple projects centered around a single topic.
Warner Bros. is planning two films about the illegal poaching of endangered creatures in Africa, both of which will be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Appian Way, Tobey Maguire‘s Material Pictures, and Tom Hardy‘s Executive Options. One is said to be a star vehicle for Hardy, while the other could star all three.
We got word of the three movie stars getting together for an animal trafficking/poaching film back in August, but Deadline‘s new report indicates that the trio are actually collaborating on two separate movies with overlapping themes. At least for now — it’s not clear yet whether both will actually make it to the big screen.
The first is set to star Hardy, who came up with the concept for the story himself. Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air) is already on board to write the script, which revolves around an ex-special forces soldier (Hardy) teaching rangers how to fight off the rhino and elephant poachers lurking in the Zimbabwean bush. Over the course of the job the soldier comes to love the land and its animals, and begins to fight back against the people trying to destroy them. Dean Baker and Paul Grey will produce alongside Hardy, Maguire, and DiCaprio.
The second movie has no writer or director as of yet. But it may have the beginnings of a really good ensemble cast, as Deadline says the A-list trio “might” appear onscreen. The narrative is envisioned as a sort of Traffic for the animal trafficking industry, exploring the shady business from a multitude of perspectives ranging from corporate execs to poachers to “others involved in the underbelly of a global scourge that occurs not only in the jungles but also the oceans, where illegal shark fishing runs rampant.” This project originated with Maguire and DiCaprio, with Hardy signing on after discovering that his interests matched well with theirs.
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