Matthew McConaughey will play the character Caballo Blanco in the upcoming film Born to Run, one of the film鈥檚 producers on Wednesday. The movie is an adaptation of 国产吃瓜黑料 contributor Christopher McDougall鈥檚 .
The film has yet to begin shooting. Deb Newmyer, president of Outlaw Productions and a producer on the movie, told Runner鈥檚 World that McConaughey will play the character of Caballo Blanco (Spanish for 鈥渨hite horse鈥), aka Micah True. He was an American ultrarunner who became a central character in McDougall鈥檚 book for training with the Tarahumara people in Mexico. The Tarahumara are known for embarking on extraordinary endurance runs in little more than sandals. True died on a run in New Mexico in 2012.
鈥淎s I understand, Matthew read the book and fell in love with the character,鈥 Newmyer told RW. True also fits in with the types of eccentric characters McConaughey has brought to the screen in films like Mud, True Detective, and Dallas Buyers Club.
The film is still in the early phases of production; McConaughey is the only actor signed on so far, according to Runner鈥檚 World. Peter Sarsgaard was originally slated to write and direct Born to Run, but McDougall in 2013 that Sarsgaard鈥檚 take on the story was a 鈥渕uch different concept of what it should be, and it just wasn鈥檛 flying.鈥 McDougall is a writer on the film, but how much creative control he鈥檒l have is unclear. 鈥淚 anticipate he will be on set,鈥 Newmyer told Runner鈥檚 World. 鈥淲e adore him and want to capture his voice as part of the process.鈥
Newmyer told Runner鈥檚 World that the plan is to use real extras to fill out the fields of runners in the film rather than use computer-rendered creations. The movie will feature sequences of the Leadville Trail 100 and a 50-mile pursuit across Tarahumara country鈥攖he book鈥檚 climax.