He might be hitting the promotional trail to talk up his latest film, Hanna, but Joe Wright isn’t slowing down his march towards his next production, starting negotiations for Jude Law and Kick-Ass’ Aaron Johnson to join the cast of Anna Karenina.
Keira Knightley, a Wright veteran from Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, is already aboard to play the titular heroine, who finds herself caught between her loveless marriage and her attraction to a soldier. So, Law as the cold, unfeeling hubby and Johnson as the rugged, attractive new man? Or the other way around? No one from the film, especially not the team at Working Title, is saying just yet.
What we do know is that Tom Stoppard has adapted Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel for Wright to tackle later this year. He’s certainly not shy of a challenge: there have been countless adaptations of the story through the years, both on TV and film, with 1935’s version starring Greta Garbo and the 1948 Vivien Leigh take as standouts. But this is Joe Wright we’re talking about – if anyone can bring something fresh and new to the tale, he can.