At the beginning of the year we heard a peep from Natalie Portman that the Wachowskis, most famous for The Matrix trilogy, are planning to co-direct David Mitchell‘s Cloud Atlas, with Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, The International). Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, James McAvoy, and Ian McKellan have all been attached, but we haven’t heard any finality when it comes to casting. Today, we have another hint. Book publisher Hachette Australia (via Filmonic) tweeted the following:
Actor Hugo Weaving has said he is working on the film adaption of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas with the makers of The Matrix!
Hugo Weaving has appeared in The Matrix as well as V for Vendetta, produced by the filmmakers. He will next be seen in a number of blockbusters including Captain America: The First Avenger as Red Skull and Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit. He will also provide his voice as Megatron again for Michael Bay‘s Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Previously we reported Cloud Atlas would be an epic feat, as the story takes place over thousands of years, includes six leads, and spans across several genres. Read the synopsis below:
A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation — the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.
The Wachowskis are also in the middle of an on-and-off shoot for their gay Iraq love story Cobalt Neutral 9, and we reported that are planning a modern day Robin Hood film, looking at Will Smith to star. It’s been rumored Cloud Atlas, the $80-100 million project, will be heading into production this summer, but nothing has been confirmed. Stay tuned for updates.
What do you think about Weaving possibly joining the cast? Do you believe this book is unfilmable or could Wachowskis/Tykwer take it on?