Mel Gibson, Leonardo DiCaprio to don horned helmets for Viking epic

The news that Mel Gibson is making another period epic which will likely feature some pretty awesome battle scenes is not a surprise. I mean, of the four movies he’s directed, none of them have taken place in the present day and only one of them can’t be considered an epic (The Man Without a Face, which I liked).

(In fact, a more enterprising person—like a film student—could probably write a whole paper on why Gibson’s directorial efforts don’t take place in the modern day. If someone out there does write such a paper, I’d like to be mentioned in your bibliography, please.)

However, joining him on his next period drama will be Leonardo DiCaprio, and the two are going to set sail for the Scandinavian countries to make an epic about Vikings. Currently unnamed, the film is being written by William Monahan (The Departed, Kingdom of Heaven) and filming is set to begin in Fall 2010.

According to Variety, the thread that links Gibson, DiCaprio, and Monahan together is producer Graham King who has worked with Gibson once (Edge of Darkness), DiCaprio four times (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, and Blood Diamond) and Monahan three times (including Body of Lies and London Boulevard).

Of the collaboration, King told the trade paper, “This will be an awe-inspiring story, created with some of the industry’s finest cinematic talent, and I am just over the moon to be making this film with Mel, Leo and Bill.”

Considering that they’re not going to start filming till fall, it looks like I won’t be hearing more news about this project for at least two more months. It’s definitely one that I’m going to keep my eye out for, though.