Leonardo DiCaprio to Produce and Possibly Star in Viking Film 'King Harald'

It's taken a few years, but Leonardo DiCaprio may finally get that Viking film he's been looking for. Back in 2009, DiCaprio had hooked up with a pre-nutso Mel Gibson for Berserker, a Viking film that had William Monahan (The Departed) penning the screenplay. For various reasons it never came together, and given Gibson's poisonous aura in Hollywood, it probably never will. But that hasn't stopped DiCaprio, and now he's got another Viking film that should do the trick.

Warner Bros. has just picked up a pitch for King Harald, based on the 11th century Viking ruler Harald Hardrada, as a potential starring gig for DiCaprio. Hardrada spent 15 years in exile as a mercenary in the Byzantine Empire before returning home to Norway and claiming the throne. Considered to be the last great Viking king, his death is said to have brought to an end the Viking era. The script comes from Mark L. Smith, who also penned The Revenant, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's film which has had DiCaprio and Sean Penn attached for some time.

DiCaprio will be producing through his Appian Way studio, and the film is already drawing the expected comparisons to Braveheart. It's the second historical biopic DiCaprio has become involved with recently, as he's currently developing a film on Russian mystic, Rasputin.