Staying on the documentary side the last few years with films such as Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Into the Abyss, we’ve been waiting to see if Werner Herzog would finally get another crack at a narrative project and it looks like things are finally coming together. After going through repeated delays in both casting and financing, his Gertrude Bell biopic Queen of the Desert is moving forward.
After Nicole Kidman stepped in for Naomi Watts, Deadline is now reporting another replacement, as Homeland star Damian Lewis is filling in for James Franco (who initially replaced Jude Law). The Band of Brothers star will take the role of Lt. Col. Charles Doughty-Wylie, who has an affair with Kidman’s Bell during an unhappy marriage. Although there’s no mention of him in recent reports, Robert Pattinson was last attached as T.E. Lawrence, a man who worked with our diplomatic explorer, who negotiated with Arab nations and helped establish the countries of Iraq and Jordan.
Production is expected to kick off this December for a hopeful 2014 release, so check back as additional casting comes in for this highly-anticipated period epic.