Has Albert Hughes's continuing casting headaches on Motor City finally come to an end? Dude can't catch a break! He went through the same crap while trying to set up Akira for Warner Brothers. He get cursed or somethin'? Initially set to star Chris Evans before getting passed to Dominic Cooper, he left for another film only to have Jake Gyllenhaal take over for a day. That led to the most recent talk of Jeremy Renner circling the lead role. Well, the latest to flirt with the vengeance thriller is Gerard Butler, with Variety reporting he's entered talks.
The most interesting part of all this to me has been watching the pursued actors start to skew older. Renner and Butler are both in their early 40s, a far cry from Gyllenhaal, Cooper, and Evans. With Amber Heard set to play the girlfriend of the main character, a petty crook who gets out of prison seeking revenge on the guy who framed him for the crime, the age gap is starting to widen. I wouldn't be surprised if Heard gets replaced at some point for somebody a bit older. Gary Oldman will play the target of Butler's rage if the deal comes through.
With the script only calling for one line of dialogue by the main character, Butler seems like an odd fit. I'm guessing they'll be counting on him to bring some of the same macho charisma he brought as Leonidas in 300. Not sure it'll work, but we'll see.
