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Joaquin Phoenix is shown in this file photo from the film "Gladiator". Image Credit: REUTERS

Last week, Joaquin Phoenix was being lined up to play Jesus Christ in the Mary Magdalene biopic opposite Rooney Mara.

Now, he’s also reported to be taking the lead in Jacques Audiard’s upcoming The Sisters Brothers.

The film, which will be the Palme d’Or-winning director’s English-language debut, is an adaptation of Patrick deWitt’s 2012 novel set in 1851 Oregon. The plot revolves around two brothers, Eli and Charlie Sisters, who are hired to kill a prospector who has stolen from their boss. The novel was optioned by John C Reilly, who is set to star as the other brother.

Phoenix was most recently seen in Woody Allen’s Irrational Man and also has a new collaboration with I’m Still Here director Casey Affleck on the cards. The duo will reteam for an adaptation of Robert Olmstead’s novel Far Bright Star, about a group of soldiers hunting Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa in 1916 Mexico.