Theron and Lee Jones part of ‘Garden’ Mix

Right up there with “how did it feel to win the Oscar?” is the ever annoying question “so whatcha gonna do next?”. For the longest time, the standard Paul Haggis answer would have been Against All Enemies, but it now appears that 9/11 question will be replaced by a war drama set in Baghdad.

Vareity reports that Haggis will next work on the Warner Independent Pictures project with producers Patrick Wachsberger’s Summit Entertainment and Steve Samuels Media Capital backing the project entitled The Garden of Elah. The writer/helmer is currently in talks with Charlize Theron and Tommy Lee Jones are in talks that would see Jones play the role of a career soldier whose son mysteriously goes AWOL, shortly after returning to the U.S. from the front lines in Iraq. Theron will play a local police detective who helps him get to the bottom of the soldier’s disappearance.

The tale is based on the “Death and Dishonor,” Playboy magazine article written by Mark Boal that WB bought last year for Haggis and his producing partner Larry Becsey. Haggis is currently scouting locations around Albuquerque and in Texas.