James Gray’s next project will be Lost City of Z with Benedict Cumberbatch

James Gray's THE IMMIGRANT will be hitting theaters next week, and the director is hopeful his next film will be the long in development adaptation of the David Grann nonfiction book The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon.

In an interview with The Playlist, the WE OWN THE NIGHT director says THE LOST CITY OF Z "looks like it will happen" and "I've raised the money for that, and I may go do that in January.” However, production might begin before January: Gray also recently said filming could start as early as September. Benedict Cumberbatch is still attached to play British explorer Percy Fawcett, and Robert Pattinson will also star in THE LOST CITY OF Z.

David Grann's novel "tells the story of the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett who, in 1925, disappeared with his son in the Amazon while looking for an ancient lost city. For decades, explorers and scientists have tried to find evidence of his party and the Lost City of Z. Perhaps as many as 100 people perished or disappeared searching for Fawcett over the years. Grann made his own journey into the Amazon, revealing new evidence about how Fawcett died and showing that Z may have really existed right under his feet."

As to what kind of movie we should expect, James Gray has described the planned film as “epic and hallucinogenic.” Gray also talked to the site a little about his approach for the adaptation.

“People have asked me about ‘Apocalypse Now’ and those kinds of movies. Of course those are all great and they’re a huge inspiration and so is [David] Lean. But I’m really trying, the older I get to forget the kind of approach which I've had. On the last two movies I've watched far fewer movies beforehand and I'm trying to come at the pieces as organically as I can and not think of other movies. Now of course unconsciously that shit's always going to come out, I'm always going to rip off something.”

THE LOST CITY OF Z will likely be James Gray's next project, however he's also developing a few other projects as well (including a Steve McQueen biopic), so we'll have to wait and see if THE LOST CITY OF Z will be what he works on next.

James Gray's THE IMMIGRANT starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner open on May 16th, 2014.