Back in the olden days, you had to wait decades between Terrence Malick films. He’s upped his pace a little in the last 10 years or so, and now that he finally seems to have finished work on long-haul drama The Tree Of Life, he’s continuing to cast his next film, with Rachel Weisz locked in to star and Ben Affleck all but confirmed.

The new project doesn’t have a name or a proper description yet, but it was announced as a “romantic drama” earlier this year, with Christian Bale, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams and Olga Kurylenko all attached to star.

According to The Wrap’s report, however, it would seem that if he locks in his deal, Affleck will be replacing Bale in the lead role.

Rumours about the actor’s involvement began to surface yesterday when The Playlist dug up reports from Oklahoma about him spotted in a local shop (for local people) with wife Jennifer Garner and said that he’d mentioned he was picking up supplies as he needed to get his fishing skills up to spec for a new film he’d shoot in the state. Not exactly the big trade announcement you normally get, but with Malick’s film now planning to kick off filming there this October, there definitely seem to be clues popping up.

Perhaps the drama will include Malick’s trademark love of nature, with 20-minute long uninterrupted takes showing the glory of man vs. fish.

The Tree Of Life, meanwhile, looks like it’ll finally creep towards our screens by the end of the year. Maybe.