Kieran Darcy-Smith made his feature directorial debut this year with Wish You Were Here, the Joel Edgerton-starring drama which will soon be screening at the BFI London Film Festival next month.

Ty thought the film was excellent at its Sundance debut back in January – you can read his review here – and now it looks like Darcy-Smith’s next feature project has been found.

Variety report that the writer-director is attached to direct By Way of Helena, a script from Matt Cook which was voted to the 2009 Black List.

“Story follows a Texas Ranger and his Mexican bride who are sent to investigate a mysterious frontier town where multiple Mexican bodies keep washing up on the riverbank. What they discover is an idyllic community where everything is not as it seems.”

The film is being described as a violent indie that will be produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman (The Fighter, Monk) and Todd Lieberman (The Fighter, Warm Bodies).

The Australian actor-turned-writer/director is also set to helm a segment of Sydney Unplugged, a series of short films (à la Paris, je t’aime and New York, I Love You) that has a handful of high-profile directors attached alongside him, including Russell Crowe, Toni Collette, and Anthony LaPaglia.

Along with penning By Way of Helena, Cook has also penned Triple Nine, which John Hillcoat is developing for Annapurna Pictures after partnering on Lawless, with Shia LaBeouf thought to be attached to the film to reunite him once more with the director. So Cook is certainly a name we could be hearing more of in the years to come.

No word yet on casting or when it might go before cameras, but here’s to hoping it will be moving forward quickly.

Darcy-Smith’s debut, Wish You Were Here, starring Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer, and Felicity Price, will be coming to the UK this month as part of the BFI London Film Festival, screening on 18th and 19th October – and you can buy your tickets here.