When Sony Pictures first tapped Aaron Sorkin to write a Steve Jobs biopic, many assumed the project would come together rather quickly.  While the film has indeed attracted some very high level talent, getting it off the ground has proved more difficult.  David Fincher flirted with the director’s chair before ultimately walking away, leading Danny Boyle to sign on to take the helm.  Then Leonardo DiCaprio circled the starring role before dropping out, followed by Christian Bale who did the same thing.  Michael Fassbender attached himself to star earlier this month, but somewhat surprisingly Sony put the picture in turnaround last week (possibly on account of losing Bale as the star).

Universal subsequently swooped in and acquired the project (with an eye on Awards Season 2015, no doubt), and now another major piece of the puzzle has been solved: Natalie Portman is in talks to join the cast.  More after the jump. [Update: Variety reports that Portman has now passed on the role.]

Per Deadline, Natalie Portman is in negotiations to join Boyle’s untitled Steve Jobs biopic.  The report makes no mention of her role, but Sorkin recently revealed that Jobs’ daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs is “the heroine of the movie”, so it's possible that Portman could be playing that character.  However, Fassbender is only four years older than Portman, so either some major makeup effects will be utilized or she’s playing someone entirely different.  Jessica Chastain was recently mentioned in connection with a role in the film but it’s unclear which one, and Seth Rogen is also in talks to play Steve Wozniak.

Portman actually has a connection to Sorkin, as the screenwriter met with her during his research for The Social Network.  Portman attended Harvard at the same time as Mark Zuckerberg, so Sorkin wanted to pick her brain about the inner workings of the school.

With the rest of the cast coming together (though the Jobs role takes up 100 pages of the 180-page script), hopefully this means the film can finally move forward after somewhat bumpy road to production.