Back in November there were reports that Bradley Cooper and Sam Worthington were likely to secure the lead roles in Texas Killing Fields. As of last week the rumor mill was one for one with Worthington’s involvement confirmed. It looks like we’ll be settling for 50% because Bloody Disgusting just got word that Jeffrey Dean Morgan, not Cooper, will play Worthington’s counterpart.

They’ll play a pair of detectives, a Texas native (Worthington) and New York transfer (Morgan), who investigate two decades worth of disappearances and homicides in the wastelands around the Gulf Coast refineries. Michael Mann is producing the project and his daughter, Ami Canaan, will be behind the lens. The screenplay comes from Don Ferrarone and is based on a true story.

Cooper and Worthington would have made a good team, but going with Morgan seems more appropriate. Back when Danny Boyle was still rumored to be circling the project, he told MTV, “Texas Killing Fields was a fantastic script, really special script, but it was just so dark it would never get made.” Coming off films like Valentine’s Day and The Hangover, it might be a little too soon for Cooper to shed the funny cute guy image and dive into something more ominous. Casting should be the least of Mann’s worries anyway. I know Canaan is his little girl and all, but is she really ready to direct a feature film featuring two megastars? If an Oscar winning director like Boyle was apprehensive about the project, it’s worrisome to see a first timer taking the lead.