Unless Batman has some unforeseen reviving powers, there’s a strong chance we won’t be seeing Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight Rises. But that’s not stopping the actress from looking for her next big-budget blockbuster. She’s since been seen in the indies Crazy Heart and most recently, Hysteria, but now Variety reports she’s set her sights on a tentpole, as she’s in talks for the Sony action film White House Down.
If talks go through, the actress would join Channing Tatum in the Roland Emmerich film, after news last night that Jamie Foxx may serve as President of the United States. Gyllenhaal’s role would have her play a “patriotic” (duh) Secret Service agent tasked with protecting the President.
Described in the vein of Die Hard and scripted by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man), the film follows a single father and Secret Service agent (Tatum) who is tasked to protect the president when baddies invade the White House with little chance of escape.
I can’t quite picture Gyllenhaal getting down and dirty in the action, but she’s a fine addition to this ensemble with each actor certainly bringing a different vibe. Then again, I can’t imagine their talents will be fully exercised with Emmerich at the helm, but there’s room to dream. One can next see Gyllenhaal in Won’t Back Down this September.
White House Down hits theaters November 1st, 2013.