Continuing the very-much-appreciated streak of doing seemingly whatever he wishes (translation: not playing a Marvel or Star Wars villain), Joaquin Phoenix has found a very promising set of collaborators for his next projects. The most concrete of these is a teaming with Jacques Audiard and John C. Reilly, who’ve already been set for the western The Sisters Brothers. [Deadline]
A previous report had informed us it’s an adaptation of Patrick deWitt‘s novel, which itself tracks two hired killers, Charlie and Eli Sisters, from Oregon to the Sierra Mountains while in search of a prospector, Herman Kermit Warm. This story is set around the California Gold Rush, and the encounters include, per Amazon, “a witch, a bear, a dead Indian, a parlor of drunken floozies, and a gang of murderous fur trappers.” Phoenix and Reilly in that together? Whatever you make of Audiard, there’s reason to be intrigued.
And then there’s the matter of playing Jesus Christ. While it’s reportedly “some way off being done,” there are talks underway that, if successful, will see Phoenix step into those very holy shoes for Mary Magdalene, a Rooney Mara-led take on the eponymous figure’s life. Garth Davis is directing from a screenplay by playwright Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett (Little Ashes), one deemed “an authentic and humanistic portrait of one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood spiritual figures in history.” [Deadline]
As hard as it is to picture, one can imagine that Phoenix’s take on Christ will fall into a category different from most other onscreen interpretations — if it comes through. With shooting kicking off this summer and The Weinstein Company expected to release it in 2017, we should find out soon.