After his early 2010 debacle, Mel Gibson is slowly getting back into the spotlight. His latest film, The Beaver, did poorly in limited release here in the US, but received a standing ovation at Cannes. Jodie Foster blames its failure on American sensibilities. What I saw had the sensibilities of a Lifetime movie, but that is besides the point. Gibson seems to be back on his feet, at least in the sense of picking new films. He already has the action drama How I Spent My Summer Vacation in the can, but he has now found his first post-incident film to star in.

Variety reports he has joined the cast of Brad Mirman‘s heist comedy Sleight of Hand, which already has Kiefer Sutherland, Gerard Depardieu, Giancarlo Giannini, Jon Lovitz, Johnny Hallyday, and Thomas Jane signed to star. It follows a “bunch of bungling burglars in Paris who inadvertently steal a rare gold coin belonging to a gangster.” No word yet on Gibson’s role, but it would be neat to see him take the gangster role. I like the idea of him taking on something fun and light like this, instead of the overly dramatic Beaver. This will be Mirman’s third feature after Shadows in the Sun and Crime Spree.

Sleight of Hand begins shooting this July.

What do you think about this role for Gibson?

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