Christian Bale is considering taking on the role of the main villain in the Hollywood remake of Oldboy, according to a Variety report.
Oldboy, which has become somewhat of a cult sensation and critical darling since its release in 2003, is the second film in Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy (the first being Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and the third being Lady Vengeance).
What was originally set to be a Stephen Spielberg project (with Will Smith taking on the lead role) is now confirmed as being directed by Spike Lee. Spielberg’s film supposedly would have been a remake of the original, and very different, manga comic whereas Lee’s picture will simply attempt to remake the film.
Bale is meanwhile finishing up Dark Knight Rises amidst other rumours he is considering roles in Clint Eastwood’s remake of A Star Is Born, Michael Mann’s Gold and Darren Aronofsky’s biblical epic, Noah.
With Oldboy a lot of us will probably bemoan the state of the movie world where yet another great foreign film is being remade in the US but with initial knowledge of Lee’s involvement this remake became interesting. Now that Bale is potentially involved, I believe they have our attention.
