Leonardo Dicaprio will star as fur trapper Hugh Glass who was left for dead in the wilderness of early 19th century North America in the period revenge thriller The Revenant. The film will be based on Michael Punke's 2002 novel, "The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge" and will be directed by the Oscar nominee Alejandro González Iñárritu, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The film will be DiCaprio's first after his role in the Oscar nominated Martin Scorsese black comedy "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Director Iñárritu's has been interested in turning the book into a film since 2011; overall the film has been in development for more than a decade in total. "The Revenant" now has a screenplay by the director and screenwriter Mark L Smith, who previously worked on the scripts for Vacancy and The Hole.

Punke's book is set in 1823 in the areas of the U.S. which now make up North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. The plot centers around 36-year-old Hugh Glass who joins the Rocky Mountain Fur Company on a journey into the wild. After he is mauled by a bear, he is left at the mercy of two travellers. Unfortunately the two would be rescuers steal his belongings and abandon him when their camp is attacked by Native American raiders. The injured Glass is left to travel the 350-mile journey back to civilization through dangerous territory. Iñárritu, who previously known for directing "Amores Perros" and "Babel," plans to begin shooting the film in September, and is aiming for an autumn 2015 release date.

DiCaprio received positive reveiws for his role as Jordon Belfort in "The Wolf of Wall Street," which has been Scorsese's highest-grossing film. The movie was nominated for five Oscars in January, including best actor for DiCaprio, best film and best director but unfortunately did not win any Academy Awards. DiCaprio did not win an Oscar for Best Actor, which went to The Dallas Buyers Club's Matthew McConaughey.