Is it finally happening?  Is Terry Gilliam actually going to make his Don Quixote film?  He’s had big name stars like Robert Duvall and Johnny Depp attached without the project ever getting off the ground, but perhaps things will be different with rising star Jack O’Connell aboard.  It’s being reported that O’Connell will lead Gilliam’s long-gestating rendition of the Miguel de Cervantes novel, this time with a budget of $21 million. 

Gregoire Melin’s Kinology is taking Don Quixote to AFM for pre-sales.  This will mark Gilliam’s seventh attempt at trying to make the film happen.  Hit the jump for more on the endeavor and O’Connell’s casting.

Gilliam may have had a rough time with this one, but he isn’t deterred by it in the least.  In fact, here’s what he had to say about giving Don Quixote another go:

“Seven is my lucky number so let’s break the curse and make it!”

At this point, Gilliam just needs to make this thing happen once and for all so we don’t have to keep revisiting the scenario over and over.  It’s pretty clear he won’t let this one go, so I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed for the project to take off just so that Gilliam can finally move on.  However, O’Connell’s casting does rekindle some of my original excitement for the project.

O’Connell’s having one heck of a year.  Not only does he have the potential Academy Award contender, Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, hitting theaters later this year, but he also just scored a British Independent Film Awards nod in the Best Actor category for his work in ’71.  (You can check out Matt’s thoughts on his performance in his full review of the film right here.)  And have you seen Starred Up?  That one’s currently available on some digital platforms and is a must-see if you’re interested in finding out what O’Connell is capable of.

If production really does begin in the spring as expected, we could have Gilliam’s Don Quixote film starring O’Connell in theaters in May 2016.  Here’s a brief synopsis via Variety:

“A modern and satirical twist on the tale, ‘Don Quixote’ stars O’Connell as Toby, a jaded commercials director who travels to Spain for a shoot and comes across a gypsy who gives a copy of his student film — a lyrical re-working of the Don Quixote story set in a quaint old Spanish village. Moved by the discovery, Toby sets off on a bizarre road trip to find the little village where the student film was shot and gets caught up in a series of catastrophes.”