It seems Tom Hardy really has a thing about animal poaching – or rather stopping it. Back in August he came up with an idea for a sprawling global tale about the animal trade, which has been described as being similar to Traffic in its scope and ambition.
Set up at Warner Bros., he teamed up with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire to help shepherd the movie to the screen. However not content with this, Deadline reports Hardy’s now pitched another poaching tale, and once more involved Warner, DiCaprio and Maguire. The studio will develop both films in tandem, although it’s likely only one of them will get made.
At the moment, the global tale is little more than a pitch idea, but the second film is already moving forward, with Up In The Air screenwriter Sheldon Turner hired to turn the idea into a script. This film is about an ex-special forces soldier (Hardy) who’s hired to teach rangers how to fight off poachers in the African wilds. Unsurprisingly he comes to love the land and its animals, and begins to fight back against the people trying to destroy them.
While a global tale could produce something extraordinary – and potentially has a very starry cast lined up – it’s also a bigger risk. The second movie is more straightforward, and it seems Hardy’s so keen to make something about poaching, he’s lining up options for the studio.