EXCLUSIVE: Jason Hall has been set by New Line to rewrite and direct The Virginian, the origin story of George Washington. Hall, Oscar nominated for his American Sniper script, makes his directorial debut on Thank You For Your Service, a drama on returning vets and PTSD that stars Haley Bennett, Miles Teller and Amy Schumer, with Universal opening the film October 27. Hall adapted the David Finkel book. On The Virginian, Hall will rewrite a script by Michael Gunn, and the ambition is to tell a story that is Last of the Mohicans meets There Will Be Blood. Here, Washington is a rough man driven by extreme ambition in a violent frontier, and the film will show how one man’s battle to conquer himself enabled him to liberate a nation.

The film is produced by De Line Pictures’ Donald De Line, who confirmed Hall and said, “I have been a fan of Jason’s writing for a long time and was impressed with his talent as a director when I saw Thank You For Your Service. He has a singular vision for the The Virginian that takes the story to unexpected and provocative places.”

Hall is repped by UTA and Management 360.