Rising star Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom) may be close to landing a major role in a high-profile project. Vulture is reporting that The Bourne Legacy writer-director Tony Gilroy wants Edgerton as the new Bourne, but that Universal wants the actor for the male lead in Snow White and the Huntsman. The major issue regarding Edgerton and Bourne is that Universal doesn’t feel he has enough name recognition to carry the franchise, and the studio prefers either James McAvoy or Shia LaBeouf for the role. However, Universal also believes that Edgerton would be a good fit for Huntsman since co-stars Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron would make up for Edgerton’s current lack of star power. If I had to guess which film will get Edgerton, I’d bet on Snow White since I don’t think Universal is going to chance the Bourne franchise on a lead who’s mostly unknown to audiences outside his native Australia.
Edgerton will next be seen in the sports drama Warrior opposite Tom Hardy and the horror prequel The Thing with Mary Elizabeth Winstead. I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen of the actor so far and I’m glad that he’s being considered for leading roles in tentpole movies. The Bourne Legacy is currently set for August 3, 2012 while Snow White and the Huntsman is slated for December 21, 2012.
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He’s totally wrong for Bourne.
Get some meaner looking bloke in there.
He’s meaner looking than Mcavoy, Damon and Shia, that’s for sure.
But the Bourne character was never about looking mean, quite the opposite. He’s the liberal left wing government assassin with the heart of gold.
As the poster below me says, Edgerton’s casting is exciting as he is far more lethal looking than Shia or Mcavoy.
Don’t forget he’s also one of the leads in The Thing prequel this October, so that will increase his profile before those other projects anyway.
Are people really gonna flock to see The Bourne Legacy to see James McAvoy or Shia LaBeouf than they would Joel Edgerton? Not that I have a problem with any of them, but the studio will have an uphill battle anyway trying to make people see a “Bourne” movie without Matt Damon.
I think you could pull it off, Hollywood studios and producers most of the time don’t know what they want… who cares if he is an unknown, look at what Daniel Craig did for the Bond franchise, Liam Neeson even though known is role in Taken blow us away because it wasn’t the genre we were used to seeing him play. The studios are more concerned about image and making tons of money, than getting their hands dirty and respecting the art of filmmaking… Joel Edgerton was good in Animal Kingdom and has potential, give him a chance people.
Joel Edgerton being cast is pretty much the only thing that would get me excited about a Bourne film sans Damon and Greengrass. Great to see him moving up – very talented actor.