Liam Hemsworth and Woody Harrelson are close to signing on for Kieran Darcy-Smith’s revenge Western “By Way of Helena,” an individual familiar with the project tells TheWrap.
The “Hunger Games” co-stars will play foes in the 1880s set thriller from writer Matt Cook, which sees Hemsworth as David Kingston, a Texas Ranger sent to an isolated frontier town called Helena to investigate a series of bodies that keep washing up on its shores. Harrelson will play Abraham Brant, the town’s preacher who has its citizens in a cult-like grasp.
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Filming is expected to begin in the fall, before Hemsworth and Harrelson begin their promotional duties for “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1,” in which they play Gale and Haymitch, respectively, opposite Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss.
“By Way of Helena” joins a growing list of movies in production that center around violent confrontations amongst dangerous characters in a Western setting. Quentin Tarantino‘s “The Hateful Eight” is probably the most high profile, but there’s also Gavin O’Connor’s “Jane Got a Gun” starring Natalie Portman awaiting release, Ti West’s “In the Valley of Violence,” which is now filming, and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant,” which is also aiming for a fall start.
2015 is definitely gearing up to be the year of the revenge Western.