Will Smith was once rumoured to be circling the role of protagonist in Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake, but that part seems to now be with Josh Brolin. Colin Firth had been much-mooted to take on the role of the villain of the piece (though it would be disheartening in the extreme to see the shades of grey of the imperious Korean original reduced by Hollywood to such conventional character delineations), however he is now quite literally out of the picture.
Although the quality of the end product is more important than any one casting decision, this is something of a shame. Setting Firth’s more refined characteristics against Brolin’s more rugged qualities would have been fascinating, but we are only left now with what might have been.
There is no news yet of who might replace Firth, though Spike will have to get his skates on if that rumoured early-2012 shooting window is to be maintained. It is far too early to describe this hiccup as in any way indicative of production troubles, since every production has its hurdles to overcome on its way to the screen. A new antagonist will need to be found and no doubt a suitable one can and will be. As soon as we hear who it is, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, feel free to let us know below who your hot favourite would be.
Source: Twitch.
