Cooper will write and direct, with Bale, 42, attached to star, reported Variety.
Cooper, 45, will also produce with "Black Mass" producer John Lesher along with Ken Kao, who is also financing the picture through Waypoint Entertainment.
Set in 1892, "Hostiles" tells the story of a legendary Army captain, who agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief and his family back to tribal lands.
Making the harrowing and perilous journey from an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico to the grasslands of Montana, the former rivals encounter a young widow whose family was murdered on the plains.
Production is set to begin in July.
