The Revenant stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Real-Life Folk Hero and Frontiersman Hugh Glass

20th Century Fox's The Revenant, a period revenge thriller based on Michael Punke's 2002 novel of the same name, is scheduled for a limited December 25 release in the United States followed by a wider release on January 8, 2016. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark L. Smith, The Revenant stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Hugh Glass, the revenant.

The cast of The Revenant also includes Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson, Kristoffer Joner, and Brad Carter. Principal photography is in progress and will likely wrap by March.

Punke's book is set in 1823 in the areas of North America that now make up North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. Its central character, the then 36-year-old Hugh Glass, was a real-life fur trapper and frontiersman noted for his many exploits during the period. Punke's story is focused on that part of his life pertaining to his legendary 350-mile cross-country trek after being mauled by a grizzly bear.

Glass while scouting ahead of his trading partners surprised a mother grizzly with her two cubs. Before he could fire his rifle, the bear charged, picked him up, and threw him to the ground. He got up, grappled for his knife, and fought back, stabbing the animal repeatedly as the grizzly raked him time and again with her claws. Glass managed to kill the bear with help from his trapping partners, the then 23-year-old Fitzgerald and the then 19-year-old Bridger, but was left badly mauled and unconscious. The expedition leader, Andrew Henry, convinced Glass would not survive his injuries, asked the two to stay with Glass until he died, and then bury him while the rest of the party moved on. Claiming they were attacked by Native Americans, the two however left the dying Glass, taking with them his rifle, knife and other equipment.

But Glass regained consciousness. Enraged at being left alone and defenseless, he survives against all odds and embarks on his legendary trip back towards civilization, along the way he was occasionally helped by some friendly Native Americans. Driven only by an obsessive desire for retribution against those who abandoned him, Glass miraculously survived his odyssey. The real Glass even managed to return to work in his beloved frontier as a trapper, hunter and fur trader. He also managed to track down Fitzgerald and Bridger but he spared them both, only taking back the rifle they stole from him.