Some big things are happening in Leonardo DiCaprio‘s realm. First, Deadline tells us his company, Appian Way, has partnered with Paramount for Truevine, an adaptation of Beth Macy‘s non-fiction tome — subtitled Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother’s Quest; A True Story of the Jim Crow South — concerning George and Willie Muse, two black brothers who were kidnapped in 1899 and put on display in traveling freak shows across the Jim Crow-dominated south.
It’s positioned as a starring role for DiCaprio, which, given the description, is a bit odd, but there may be a role in the form of (and this would sound so much funnier if the story weren’t so upsetting) “a white man [who] offered them a piece of candy.” A cousin-of-sorts to Django Unchained‘s Calvin (ahem) Candie, perhaps?
The other property Appian Way’s been eyeing is probably much easier to digest as entertainment, if by no means easier to understand from the basic level of “why did they even approach this.” Per THR, we’ve learned they’re looking at Captain Planet, the ’90s cartoon about a superhero who teams with five ordinary people to fight pollution — a concern of DiCaprio’s, obviously, given his frequent environmentalist work, but a bit kitschier than I might’ve anticipated.
Actor Glen Powell (most recently seen in Everybody Wants Some!!) and his writing partner, Jono Matt, will handle scripting duties and have come up with an unusual pitch: “years after the adventures of the show, with the Captain now a washed-up has-been who needs the kids more than they need him.” I’ll acknowledge that the combination of talent and material is certainly intriguing; how wise the decision is remains to be seen.
Two more casting notices, both coming from Deadline. The first concerns Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will lead a sci-fi picture called Sovereign. As directed by TV helmer Marc Munden (National Treasure, Quantico) and scripted by Jack Thorne (himself rewriting a script by Gregory Weidman and Geoff Tock), it follows “a man who, in the wake of a fractured marriage, goes to find his wife and the entire crew of a space station who have gone missing.” Realizing the answer to her disappearance forces him “to confront his own role in losing her.” 21 Laps, recently behind Arrival, are producing; Sierra/Affinity will finance.
Meanwhile, Domhnall Gleeson will take an antagonistic role in Peter Rabbit, a live-action / CGI hybrid of the classic children’s tale directed by Will Gluck (Friends with Benefits, Easy A). Rose Byrne, Daisy Ridley, Elizabeth Debicki, and James Corden are also in the picture, which is expected to arrive, courtesy Sony, in April of 2018.