There may be gold in them thar hills for Michael Mann.

The filmmaker is teaming up with Paul Haggis for Gold, a contemporary thriller in the vein of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, set around a ruthless search for the precious metal.

The script was written on spec as a feature writing sample by Patrick Massett and John Zinman, who acted as writer/co-exec producers on TV shows Friday Night Lights and The Chicago Code.

Haggis was initially drawn to the script, about the prospectors and speculators on the hunt for gold, as a directing vehicle, but other projects took his attention.

He showed the writing sample to Mann, who saw the glitter in the pages.

Mann acquired Gold for his Forward Pass banner, looking at it as a directing vehicle.

Mann will also produce with Haggis and Michael Nozik.

The plan is to develop and package the project before setting it up at a studio. No actors are attached.

Mann does have a couple of other projects in development that are vying for his attention. One is Agincourt, about the story of Nicholas Hook, a British archer who fought the French alongside Henry V in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, and Batam.

Gold is still in the early development process, so it may be a while before it shores up.

Massett and Zinman are repped by CAA and Industry Entertainment and attorney Adam Kaller. Mann is repped by CAA and attorney Harold Brown.