New mom/Oscar winner Natalie Portman is back at work and today we have our first look at the actress on the beach in Malibu, filming a playful and romantic scene with Christian Bale for Terrence Malick’s “Knight of Cups.” British newspaper The Daily Mail snapped photos of the two playing in the waves, holding hands and being downright adorable in the highly secretive film that’s only the first of two that Malick will shoot back to back this summer and fall.

Naturally, very little is known about each film, and while Malick maintains they will be standalone features, “Knight of Cups” and follow-up, (the previously titled) “Lawless”, feature much of the same cast and similar themes. Bale, Portman, Cate Blanchett, Wes Bentley and Isabel Lucas star in “Knight of Cups” described as one man’s search for love and truth, while Bale, Portman and Blanchett will also go on to star in “Lawless” with Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara and Haley Bennett, which revolves around two intersecting love triangles set against the backdrop of the Texas music scene. And hey, are we seeing one of those intersecting love triangles being formed already?

We are probably still a long ways away from getting any solid answers, so for now, check out the new photos of Bale and Portman below and hit up The Daily Mail for a bunch more. We can only assume “Knight of Cups” may be slated for sometime in 2013. Malick’s still got “To the Wonder” (with Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Olga Kurylenko, etc) to release first.