Ridley Scott to Direct Fox’s Western ‘Wraiths of the Broken Land’

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May 10, 2016 | 12:21PM PT

Ridley Scott will direct Fox’s movie adaptation of S. Craig Zahler ’s Western novel “Wraiths of the Broken Land,” reteaming with “The Martian ” writer Drew Goddard.

The film will be produced by Scott Free’s Michael Schaefer, Genre Films’ Simon Kinberg, Aditya Sood and Drew Goddard.

“Wraiths of the Broken Land,” published in 2013, is set in Mexico around 1900 with two sisters forced into prostitution at a gentlemen’s club. The sisters’ two brothers and their father attempt to rescue them through their outlaw gang which also includes a former slave, an Indian and a brutal gunman (or “wraith”) who is the tactical leader.

“The Martian” grossed over $630 million worldwide for Fox. It received seven Academy Award nominations, included a best adapted screenplay nod for Goddard.

Zahler directed horror Western “Bone Tomahawk” from his own script. He wrote “Wraiths” after another Western novel, “A Congregation of Jackals.”

Scott has started shooting “Alien: Convenant” in New Zealand for Fox as a sequel to “Prometheus” with Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride and Demián Bichir starring. The film is scheduled to be released on Aug. 4, 2017 .

Steve Asbell is overseeing for Fox. WME reps Scott and UTA reps Goddard. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

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