Last September, Prisoners, the hot Black List script by Aaron Guzikowski, was being "fast tracked" to go before cameras at the beginning of this year. Here we are almost in March though, and those tracks appear not to be so speedy after all. Antoine Fuqua (Shooter, Training Day) was attached to direct (as was Bryan Singer at an earlier point), but has since dropped out.
The project may not be entirely off the rails though, with Deadline Hollywood reporting that Leonardo DiCaprio is interested in taking one of the two lead roles previously mooted for Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and / or Hugh Jackman. The suggestion is that Leo's involvement will depend on the right director: in the last eight years he's made four films with Martin Scorsese, and one each for Chris Nolan, Sam Mendes, Ridley Scott and Ed Zwick. He only plays with the big boys now. And Ed Zwick.
Prisoners' plot involves a father taking the law into his own hands and kidnapping the man he believes to be responsible for the disappearance of his daughter and her best friend, with the soundbite description of choice still being the identity crisis of "Mystic River meets Taken".
The script was picked up by Alcon Entertainment, and Alcon's Andrew Kosove told DH "in the twelve years we’ve run this company, this is the most interesting, morally complex thriller we’ve ever gotten." Strong claims from the people that made Insomnia, although they were also behind Dude, Where's My Car? and the Wicker Man remake.
Even if Leo commits, DH say it's unlikely that Prisoners will be his immediate next film. Fast track? Harrumph.