Tom Hardy is being lined up to star as tragic climber George Mallory in a new movie called Everest.
According to Deadline, the actor is in “early talks” to play the English mountaineer, who tried three times in the 1920s to become the first man to reach the mountain’s peak.
The film is being adapted from a Jeffrey Archey novel based on Mallory’s story called Paths Of Glory, which claims that the Englishman became the first climber to scale the world’s highest mountain.
Mallory disappeared during his final Everest expedition in 1924 and his body would not be found until 1999, but it is unclear whether he had already reached the peak when he died. New Zealander Edmund Hillary is widely considered the first man to conquer Everest after he led a successful 1953 trek to the summit.
Everest will be directed by known Mallory fan Doug Liman, whose previous credits include The Bourne Identity and Jumper. The script has been adapted from Archer’s novel by Up In The Air screenwriter Sheldon Turner.
Meanwhile, Hardy is currently filming Mad Max: Fury Road in Namibia. His most recent film, gangster flick Lawless, came out earlier this month (September 2012) and you can watch the trailer below. He also starred as the villainous Bane in this year’s The Dark Knight Rises, which is due out on Blu-Ray on December 3.