With the widespread praise for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan ever-building, both Aronofsky and the film’s star, Natalie Portman, have become hot commodities – leading to big developments for the hotly anticipated Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Wolverine 2.
First off, Aronofsky has turned down the Warner Bros crime drama Gangster Squad and is finalizing deal details to helm 20th Century Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2. The deal looks to involve studio shoots in New York, so that Hugh Jackman and Aronofsky may be close to their families, and a March start date that will allow Aronofsky to promote Black Swan full-on through award season. Deadline reports the bulk of the film will be shot in Japan.
As for Portman, with all the award buzz coming her way, she’s ducking out of the role as zombie slaying Elizabeth Bennet in the screen adaptation of the popular Seth Grahame-Smith novel, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but will stay on as a producer. Recently, David O. Russell (The Fighter) walked away from directing the project to work on Old St. Louis and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, but after attaching Scarlett Johansson as Portman’s replacement, and Bradley Cooper as Mr. Darcy. While these both seem odd choices for the brassy brunette lead and the dashing and clean-cut love interest, the surprises don’t stop there. Playlist (via Pajiba) reports Mia Wasikowska is also a possibility for Elizabeth Bennet, and that Tilda Swinton and Catherine O’Hara may play Lady Catherin and Mrs. Bennett respectively.
Of course casting for the project could well come down to the still-to-be-selected director. At present the field is wide open with names ranging from front-runner Mike Newell (Prince of Persia) to Neil Marshall (The Descent) to David Slade (Hard Candy). With the project drawing a lot of early excitement, it’s a coveted director’s chair to be sure. With so many possibilities it’s difficult to imagine how the clever zombified adaptation with a well-reputed script will look. But we’ll keep you posted.
Who do you want to see play Elizabeth and Darcy? Who do you want to helm Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?