The untitled Ford vs. Ferrari film has kicked into gear, and begun circling their leads. Helmed by writer/director James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Logan), the top picks in question have come to be Matt Damon and Christian Bale.
The project itself will follow the two motor companies’ battle for dominance at the 1966 Le Mans World Championship. As Variety summarises it:
“Based on a true story, the film follows an eccentric, determined team of American engineers and designers, led by automotive visionary Carroll Shelby and his British driver, Ken Miles, who are dispatched by Henry Ford II with the mission of building from scratch an entirely new automobile with the potential to finally defeat the perennially dominant Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans World Championship.”
Damon has reportedly expressed interest in playing the Mustang designer, Carroll Shelby, with early discussions amongst the right people, while Bale is in the negotiating stages of being cast as Shelby’s driver, Ken Miles. Together, the two will endeavour to build the world’s fastest car by Henry Ford II.
This is the second time Bale has been in talks to claim a role related to Ferrari. At one time, Bale was set to portray Enzo Ferrari in a biopic helmed by Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice, Collateral). Now, Hugh Jackman is supposedly replacing the American Psycho actor. Which adds another layer of crossing streams and so forth, considering Jackman starred in the last two Mangold directed Wolverine flicks.
Complete and 100% assured confirmations have yet to be made, but given the nature of the recent 75% confirmations such as these (which tend to eventuate into fact), we could more than definitely be in for a helluva treat.
