With Danny Boyle splitting his time between preparing to oversee next year’s London Olympic ceremonies and getting set to direct his next film – amnesia-flavoured heist thriller Trance – he’s been making a few cast choices. And it looks like there are likely to be some changes before the final line-up emerges, with word that Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson are high on the director’s wish list.
Trance follows an assistant at an art auction house who agrees to become part of a robbery. But then there’s a problem – with the loot stashed, the man is suddenly hurt and loses his memory. But the dangerous gangster types he’s teamed up with decide that that’s not going to stop them tracking down their ill-gotten gains and take him to a hypnotist.
James McAvoy is in talks for one of the leads (most likely the criminal boss) and while Michael Fassbender had been circling the other main part, Twitch reports that he’s almost certainly out thanks to scheduling issues.
But that isn’t stopping Boyle, who is now chasing the likes of Colin Firth to replace him. And talking of the lists, Johansson is at the top of the pile for the female lead, a woman named Elizabeth.
Right now, aside from McAvoy, everything can be treated as a rumour in terms of the cast list: even Johansson isn’t alone on the list, with Zoe Saldana and Mélanie Thierry said to be under consideration. But, schedule quirks aside, we’re pretty sure Boyle will get exactly who he wants.
And the film’s own schedule remains quirky – the director will shoot footage on Trance in September, then down tools and come back to complete post-production once his Olympic duties are over with, ready for an early 2013 release…