First look at the Coen Brothers’ True Grit

The first official image from Joel and Ethan Coen‘s upcoming remake of True Grit has debuted online, featuring Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross (courtesy of Slashfilm).

Previously:

After auditioning more than 15,000 teenage actresses for the role of the bloodthirsty orphan Mattie, the Oscar-winning brothers selected 13-year-old Hailee Steinfeld. Although Steinfeld has a couple of minor credits to her name, she’s a relatively inexperienced young actress. While we can’t attest to her acting prowess, at least we know she can “portray Caucasian“.

Her character, Mattie Ross, witnesses the cold-blooded murder of her father at the hands of Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Mattie enlists U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to take out the killer before a Texas ranger (Matt Damon) can.

True Grit is based on the Charles Portis novel of the same name. It was previously brought to the screen in 1969, starring John Wayne as Cogburn (the role for which he won an Oscar). The role of Mattie Ross was portrayed by Kim Darby; however, the character was not as prominent in the film as she was in the book. The Coens have previously stated that they will return the focus of the narrative back on to Mattie.

True Grit hits Australian cinemas January 20, 2011.

Discuss: Do we even need to ask if you’re excited for this film?