16th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards - Press Room

After taking over the directing reigns from Edward Zwick, Zhang Yimou has been developing his English-language debut The Great Wall for some time and now we have new, promising word of casting. With Henry Cavill, Benjamin Walker and Zhang Ziyi once circling the project (we wouldn’t be surprised if the lattermost sticks around, considering her relationship with the director), Deadline now reports that Matt Damon has expressed interest in leading the project thanks to a new draft of the script coming from Bourne‘s Tony Gilroy.

Update: Bryan Cranston is now also in talks to star in the project, Deadline reports.

The story centers on British warriors traveling through 15th Century China and happen upon the hurried construction of the massive wall. As night falls, the warriors realize that the haste in building the wall isn’t just to keep out the Mongols. There is something inhuman and more dangerous. With Damon committing to both another Bourne and Ridley Scott‘s The Martian, we’re not sure when he could fit this in, but we’re fans of the collaboration.

Update: Deadline reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is confirmed to lead the project.

joseph-gordon-levitt-2013-cinemacon-big-screen-achievement-awards-01In other news, after Oliver Stone set his sights on bringing Edward Snowden‘s much-publicized, highly controversial tale to the screen, we have our first word of potential casting. Deadline reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is being looked at to lead the adaptation of Luke Harding’s The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man.

The drama promises an account of “the day he left his glamorous girlfriend in Honolulu carrying a hard drive full of secrets, to the weeks of his secret-spilling in Hong Kong, to his battle for asylum and his exile in Moscow.” Production is looking to kick off this December and with nothing currently on the actor’s plate during that time, he could easily make room for it.

Which of the above projects are you most looking forward to?

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