Now that he’s got his female lead in place (that would be Saoirse Ronan) and a couple of blokes to support her (Jake Abel and Max Irons), Andrew Niccol has started looking for the rest of The Host’s cast. And his gaze has fallen upon William Hurt, who is now in talks for the movie.
Adapted by Niccol from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's alien invasion tome, The Host will follow Melanie Stryder (Ronan) a young woman whose brain is hijacked by one of the extraterrestrials that specialise in replacing their host creatures’ personality. But the new arrival, Wanderer, finds that Melanie is more of a challenge than normal, and the joint being, dubbed “Wanda”, ends up falling in with a group of humans who are part of the rag-tag resistance.
If he signs, Hurt will play Jeb, Melanie’s uncle, and one of the early few who realised what was really going on with the stealthy invasion. Initially dismissed as a wacko, he quickly gained more respect when his survivalist hideaway became a key base of operations.
Jeb’s blend of seeming eccentricity and hard-wired control of situations makes this sound like a solid role for Hurt to play.
Niccol aims to kick off shooting in February and the film will be out on March 29, 2013.