The Revenant is a 2015 American western action drama film directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, based on Michael Punke’s 2002 novel The Revenant and the 1915 poem The Song of Hugh Glass. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy and is considered a remake of the 1971 film Man in the Wilderness. The film follows the story of Hugh Glass, a trapper who witnesses American soldiers burn down a Native American village in the Great Plains. In 1823, during the Arikara War, Glass guides Captain Andrew Henry’s trappers through the present-day Dakotas.

During the fight, many trappers are killed, but the rest escape on a boat. Glass guides the survivors to Fort Kiowa on foot, storing their pelts near the shore. Glass is mauled and left near death by a female grizzly bear. John Fitzgerald, one of the trappers, argues that the group must mercy-kill Glass and keep moving. Henry agrees, but is unable to pull the trigger. Fitzgerald agrees to stay with Glass and bury him after his death.
Fitzgerald, a warrior, attempts to kill Glass’s son Hawk but is stopped by his own actions. The next morning, Fitzgerald convinces Bridger that the Arikara are approaching and they must abandon Glass. Bridger, unaware of Hawk’s murder, follows Fitzgerald after leaving Glass half-buried alive in a makeshift grave. They reach the fort, where Fitzgerald falsely reports Hawk vanished and Glass died. Henry informs Fitzgerald that the fort is almost out of money and they are waiting for reinforcements led by Henry Leavenworth.
Glass embarks on an arduous journey through the wilderness, performing a crude cauterization of his wounds and eludes the pursuing Arikara. He encounters Pawnee refugee Hikuc, who tells him that “revenge is in the Creator’s hands.” They share bison meat and travel together, eventually constructing a sweat lodge for Glass to shelter in. After a hallucinogenic experience, Glass emerges to discover that his wounds are healing, but French Canadian hunters have lynched Hikuc. Glass frees her, castrates Toussaint, and flees while killing several hunters and recovering Hikuc’s horse.