Update: According to Deadline, Egoyan will once again team with Cosmopolis‘ Kevin Durand, who recently completed a role in The Devil’s Knot for the director. He’ll play the man who kidnaps the daughter in Queen of the Night and you can see the original story below.
Canadian actress Alexia Fast made a strong impression in a few brief scenes with Tom Cruise in the recent Jack Reacher, and it appears as if that up-to-date exposure has caught the attention of another Canadian: the distinguished Atom Egoyan, who has cast her opposite Ryan Reynolds in the director’s forthcoming Queen of the Night. Having first been reported in August of last year, when the collaboration between Egoyan and Reynolds was confirmed, Queen of the Night has since enjoyed a healthy number of acting additions, from Mireille Enos (of Egoyan’s eerie-looking Devil’s Knot) and Scott Speedman (The Strangers, Barney’s Version) to the slightly more ubiquitous Rosario Dawson, who will soon be seen in Danny Boyle‘s Trance.
On paper, Fast seems to gel nicely with this ensemble: her Jack Reacher appearance, in addition to her long line of TV experience, give her a welcome mix of vague recognizability and fresh-faced intrigue. Considering the nature of her role, though, it’s possible that her face may not be so fresh-looking in the finished film: “The psychological thriller stars Reynolds as a father who discovers clues 8 years after his daughter’s (Fast) abduction that suggest the now-17-year-old girl is still alive.” The original screenplay for Queen of the Night was co-penned by Egoyan and David Fraser.
Filming on Queen of the Night is slated to begin next month in Ontario, as was previously speculated. Though the broad outline of the plot has all the ringings of a standard genre effort, it’s hard not to be enthusiastic about an Egoyan-helmed project that seems to be coming together quite efficiently. Even something as divisively received as Chloe, Egoyan’s last feature, had its moments of stylish appeal, and I’m sure that, at the very least, both Queen of the Night and Devil’s Knot will make good in that department.
What do you think of the casting of Fast? Did you like her work in Jack Reacher?