Yesterday, we reported Clive Owen may be replacing Colin Firth the lead villain in Spike Lee‘s Oldboy remake, which would be his second antagonist role in a Lee film after 2006’s Inside Man. More rumours about the upcoming revenge thriller are now circling with Twitch reporting that rising star Mia Wasikowska has been offered the female lead role of Marie, after it was initially offered to Rooney Mara. Again, this is not a definitive confirmation, but should she choose to accept, she would be appearing in a remake of Park Chan-Wook‘s 2003 film in addition to starring in his upcoming English language debut, the highly anticipated Stoker.
At just 22 years of age, Wasikowska has already starred in films by directors such as Tim Burton and Gus Van Sant, as well as appearing in the Oscar nominated The Kids Are All Right. She broke onto the scene with her sublime performance in the TV series In Treatment as the disturbed Sophie, and has attracted the attention of Hollywood ever since. She’s a talented actress who certainly deserves to work with more challenging filmmakers, an attribute that would aptly describe Spike Lee.
Josh Brolin has already signed on as the protagonist, and should Owen and Wasikowska both agree to star, this will be a well acted film if nothing else. The considerable talents of Lee hopefully won’t go to waste, I don’t think people should give hope for this one, even if it will be difficult to live up to the original.
The director has Red Hook Summer (in which he reprises his celebrated role of Mookie) coming next year and premiering at Sundance, so expect Oldboy to release in 2013 or very late 2012 at the earliest.
Synopsis:
“An everyday man has only five days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 15 years without any explanation.”
Are you looking forward to Spike Lee’s version of Oldboy? Do you think Wasikowska is a good choice?