There will be one less passenger aboard Brad Pitt's upcoming action-thriller Bullet Train, as Collider has learned that Lady Gaga will not be along for the ride after all.

Last year, Collider reported that Lady Gaga was nearing a deal to join fellow Oscar winner Pitt in Sony's Bullet Train, which follows a group of assassins who board the same high-speed train, each tasked with a different mission. That story ran in November 2020 and was not confirmed by the studio, though it was true at the time. Unfortunately, the pandemic wreaked havoc on production schedules across Hollywood, and by mid-February, another Oscar winner -- Sandra Bullock -- had signed on to join the cast in an undisclosed role.

As it turns out, Bullock was recruited to replace Lady Gaga, who was mired in prep for Ridley Scott's House of Gucci, which began shooting in March in Italy. Thus, Bullock took over the role of Maria Beetle, who serves as Pitt's handler in the film, which is based on Kōtarō Isaka's novel Maria Bītoru (Maria Beetle). Though Maria is merely a supporting character and not actually on the train in the book, Sony always envisioned a major star in that role, so when a scheduling issue derailed Lady Gaga's involvement, the studio made a push for Bullock, who had never shared the big screen with Pitt even though they're the same age and rose through the Hollywood ranks at the same time.

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I suspected that Bullock would be stepping in for Lady Gaga when her casting was first announced, but due to the ensemble nature of Bullet Train and the many twists and turns in the book, I didn't know if director David Leitch and screenwriter Zak Olkewicz had decided to add any new characters for the film, or gender-swap a male character from the book. As it turns out, the adaptation is fairly straightforward, though The Prince -- a young male character in the book -- will be played by The Kissing Booth actress Joey King.

Pitt, King and Bullock are joined by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Logan Lerman, Andrew Koji, Michael Shannon, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Hiroyuki Sanada, Masi Oka and Bad Bunny. We've confirmed Taylor-Johnson and Koji's roles, and have a pretty firm idea of who Lerman, Beetz and Sanada are playing, so click here for character details and some light speculation regarding the rest of the cast, as well as an exclusive excerpt from the book.

Though it's a bummer that Lady Gaga won't appear in Bullet Train, she leads another star-studded ensemble in House of Gucci, which pairs her with Adam Driver, and co-stars Oscar winners Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino. House of Gucci is expected to be a major awards contender when it opens its doors on Nov. 21. As for Bullet Train, that film is due to pull into the station on April 8, 2022, and early word from a recent test screening has been very positive. Don't be surprised if the first trailer for Bullet Train debuts in front of Sony's upcoming tentpoles Venom: Let There Be Carnage or Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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