The Western is such a flexible genre. And when it crossbreeds with other narrative styles – such as horror, for instance – the results can be a lot of fun if handled correctly. We’re already looking forward to Bone Tomahawk, and that’s simply on the strength of the casting. The latest addition to the ensemble? Timothy Olyphant.

He’s joining Kurt Russell, Peter Sarsgaard, Richard Jenkins and Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter in a horrific tale of four men battling to rescue a group of captives from some cannibalistic troglodytes that lurk on the edge of civilization.

Olyphant is on to play John Brooder, a smooth sharp shooter who packed up and left for the frontier because the ability to put bullets in people lets him channel his darker impulses. It’s the sort of role he knows well after several years playing US Marshal Raylan Givens in ace TV drama Justified. And as for the name? Well, we already know he can brood.

Writer S Craig Zahler is behind the madness, intending to make the film his directorial debut. He previously penned hot script The Brigands Of Rattleborge and is also a published novelist. Tomahawk should be shooting this coming spring in New Mexico.