The Revenant is a 2015 American action drama film directed by Alejandro G. The screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Inarritu is based in part on Michael Punkes 2002 novel The Revenant, which describes frontiersman Hugh Glass experiences in 1823, and which is based on the 1915 poem The Song of Hugh Glass. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. The film is also considered a remake of the film Man in the Wilderness (1971). In August 2001, Akiva Goldsman purchased Punkes manuscript. signed on to direct The Revenant in August 2011; in April 2014, after several delays due to other projects, confirmed that he was beginning work on it and that DiCaprio had the lead role. Principal photography began in October 2014. Location and crew concerns delayed production from May to August 2015.