Even before Danny Boyle won last year’s Oscar for Best Director for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, he was a director in demand. SLUMDOG will be, of course, looked at as the easiest example of Boyle’s abilities to name, but let’s not forget some of the other gems he’s brought us: TRAINSPOTTING, 28 DAYS LATER, and SUNSHINE. With that kind of resume, you don’t need Oscars. I mean, they certainly don’t hurt. They’re definitely fun to display on the mantel.

Boyle’s list of possible upcoming projects is a big one. There’s MAXIMUM CITY, set in Bombay. There’s the sequels: TRAINSPOTTING’s follow-up is called PORNO, and 28 MONTHS LATER is sort of a no-brainer. There’s two literary adaptations: JOHANNESBURG (based loosely on Norman Ohler’s book, “Ponte Tower”) and SOLOMON GRUNDY (based on Dan Gooch’s book). And there’s the long-standing rumored projects, like THE TEXAS KILLING FIELDS and a MY FAIR LADY remake. So what’s Boyle really up to?

His next project is not officially confirmed, by The Playlist has done some excellent process of elimination based on a recent interview Boyle did with Digital Spy. In the interview, Boyle spoke about his next project, but was slightly cagey on giving us all the details. As he put it, “I can’t quite tell you about it because it’s not quite all signed, sealed and sorted out legal-wise. It’s based on a true story so there were complications to do with rights, that kind of stuff. We’re close to solving it and hope to be shooting in March next year.” What could it possibly be? The Aron Ralston story.

Don’t remember Ralston? Back in 2003, mountain climber Ralston made headlines when, after mountaineering alone in Utah, he was trapped under a boulder and amputated his lower right arm to free himself. Ralston was trapped for five days before he snapped his own bones, and used a cheap utility tool to cut through his soft tissue and tendons. I got a little dazed just recounting that story. And after his makeshift surgery? Ralston rappelled down a 65 foot tall sheer wall and hiked out to safety. If you have any doubt about Ralston’s bad-ass-itude after getting a refresher course on his amazing story, he then went on to write a memoir about the incident, entitled “Between a Rock and a Hard Place.” This guy is awesome. The rights for the book were sold in 2007.

The Playlist also notes that Boyle has his eye on Ryan Gosling to play Ralston. A quick peek at Gosling’s IMDb page shows that he currently has nothing “in development.” Besides working on his GATW-approved band, Dead Man’s Bones, it looks like Gosling is clear to get cracking on a brand-new project.

Also of note, we now know for sure that Boyle has officially passed on the MY FAIR LADY remake, that MAXIMUM CITY will definitely not be next, and that 28 MONTHS LATER is still in the process of forming.