BREAKING: Jeremy Renner, Javier Bardem And Natalie Portman In Early Talks For Ridley Scott's THE COUNSELOR

With a May start date looming for the Ridley Scott directed / Cormac McCarthy scripted thriller The Counselor, already confirmed star Michael Fassbender is going to be getting some company on the billing block very soon. And ScreenAnarchy has learned who that will likely be.

Stories began circulating in February that Javier Bardem, Jeremy Renner and Brad Pitt had all expressed an interest in playing the role of Reiner - the villain of the piece - and ScreenAnarchy has learned that Bardem and Renner are both having preliminary conversations with producers about the part. It would appear that Pitt is out of the running and we are told that Bardem - who has already proven that McCarthy's style fits him like a glove with his part in No Country For Old Men - is Scott's preferred choice. Barring a major schedule issue expect Reiner to be one of these two men.

Further, Natalie Portman is in early discussions to take on the role of Laura - the female lead of the film. Portman has chosen to keep a low profile of late, preferring to spend time with her family, but obviously this part is juicy enough to entice her back to work. Portman is also said to be Scott's leading choice for the part.

None of these conversations have led to formal offers as of yet but - as was the case with Fassbender - when it gets to that stage it's going to happen very, very fast.