Will Smith may or may not have the lead role in Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained, and Christoph Waltz is said to be pretty much confirmed for the character of Dr. Schultz. Who will be playing the villainous slave owner Calvin Candie hasn’t really been discussed yet, but a new rumor has come in on who will be taking up that part.

Jeff Goldsmith of Creative Screenwriting tweeted (via CinemaBlend) that the actor being sought for the part is none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. While nothing is confirmed, he said that  the actor “WILL play villian Calvin Candie in Tarantino‘s Django Unchained!,” while also noting that  “QT wanted him for I.B. & now has him!” And it happens to be that past association he has with the director that makes me think there could be some truth to this. I remember when he seemed pretty close to having the Hans Landa role, before Tarantino made the brilliant decision to cast Waltz, someone who’s actually from the same part of the world as the character. The result was one of the writer and director’s best characters, but I have wondered what it would’ve been like with DiCaprio in the part.

And even though it seems like a different character than the Jew Hunter, the idea of him playing an antagonist in one of QT‘s movies is pretty damn exciting. The character is the owner of hero Django’s wife Broomhilda, who he must rescue. What’s particularly interesting is that he only shows up in the second half of the movie; while there will be plenty of good material for him to work with, there won’t be much in the way of screentime. This recalls something like Bill in Kill Bill - I imagine that he would come off similarly here, something I think is great. Not only that, but it would allow him to shoot The Great Gatsby this summer, and jump into filming on this a little later down the line.

You may have heard that The Wire actor Idris Elba indicated that he’s up for the Django role, and the thought of the two actors going up against each other – under Tarantino‘s direction – makes me very, very happy. I could see him taking the role up, as there’s not only that past association, but he’s known to only work with some of the more respected filmmakers of today. Quentin definitely fits into that mold, and it almost seems like they’re destined to cross paths at some point. And if Elba is also doing this, then I couldn’t think of a more exciting project out there right now.

What do you think of DiCaprio joining Django Unchained as the villain? Are there any other actors you would rather see in the part?