The stories surrounding the production of Jane Got a Gun will not be soon forgotten, but thankfully it looks like things are finally falling into place for the anticipated film.
Details remain unknown as to why director Lynne Ramsey exited the project as production was starting, and since then, there has been a spiral of knock-on effects that have threatened to bring the film to its knees. But producers Scott Steindorff and Natalie Portman have remained resilient, and have been working incredibly hard to pull off the herculean feat of seeing the film through to production.
Following Ramsey’s exit, the filmmakers brought in Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) to replace her in the director’s chair.
But then the production lost its main villain in the form of Jude Law, who had initially signed on because of his interest with working with Ramsey. In his place came Bradley Cooper, who was an amazing cast at such short notice. But he was recently forced to exit the picture when his schedule became too conflicted with the shooting dates for Jane Got a Gun – as you can imagine, Cooper has fast become one of the busiest actors in the industry.
But now Deadline are reporting that Ewan McGregor is negotiating for the lead antagonist role, and we hope that this will be the last hurdle that Jane Got a Gun will have to leap on its way to production.
Natalie Portman plays the wife of an outlaw (Noah Emmerich) who leaves that gang after he gets shot up, and returns home. Knowing his former outlaw mates (led by McGregor) will come to finish him off and destroy her farm, Jane is forced to rekindle a relationship with a past love (Joel Edgerton), a capable gunman who can help her.
McGregor is joining a fine cast, with Natalie Portman taking the titular role alongside Joel Edgerton and Noah Emmerich.
O’Connor will be directing from a script penned by Brian Duffield, who makes his debut as a writer.
McGregor is coming off the back of a remarkable performance in last year’s Oscar-nominated The Impossible, followed by starring in the blockbuster Jack the Giant Slayer. He’ll soon be seen in John Wells’ August: Osage County alongside Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julia Roberts, and more, which promises to be a strong contender at the Oscars this year. And he’s most recently wrapped Son of a Gun out in Australia, which sees him star alongside Alicia Vikander, Nash Edgerton, and Brendon Thwaites.
As of yet, there’s no word on when we can expect to see Jane Got a Gun arrive on the big screen. Production is set to get underway on the film in the coming weeks. And with a cast as impeccable as this, it remains one of our most anticipated films in production.
