Mia Wasikowska Offered Female Lead In Spike Lee's OLDBOY

Casting for Spike Lee's remake of Park Chan-wook's Oldboy continues to move right along with another incredible acting talent in talks to join a growing cast.

News

By MarkJulian - Dec 17, 2011 03:12 AM EST

Filed Under: Anime & Manga

Source: Twitch via Collider

Following the news that Clive Owen is in talks to play the lead villain in Oldboy, a role that Colin Firth passed on, we now have word that another acting talent is in talks to join the cast. Twitch reports that the key female lead has been offered to Mia Wasikowska, who has drawn rave reviews for her work in the The Kids Are All Right and Jane Eyre. Like Owen, her role was originally offered to another, in this case Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). Collider points out that if Wasikowska takes the role, it will be with a touch of irony as Wasikowska has just wrapped the horror film Stoker, the English-language directorial debut of Park Chan-wook, who directed the original 2003 South Korean version of Oldboy.

If things for both actors manage to progress beyond the widely-interpreted "talking" stage, Lee will have an impressive collection of talent including Josh Brolin, Owen, and Wasikowska.

Oldboy is a 2003 South Korean film directed by Park Chan-wook. It is based on the Japanese manga of the same name written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya. Oldboy is the second installment of The Vengeance Trilogy, preceded by Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and followed by Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.

An American remake previously had director Justin Lin attached. In November 2008, DreamWorks and Universal were securing the rights to the remake, which Will Smith has expressed interest in starring, with Steven Spielberg as director. Mark Protosevich was in talks to write the script, although the acquisition to the remake rights were not finalized. Smith has clarified Spielberg will not be remaking the film though: he is adapting the manga itself, which lacks the octopus eating and incest invented for the film. In June 2009, the comic's publisher launched a lawsuit against the Korean film's producers for giving the film rights to Spielberg without their permission. Later in November 2009, it was reported that DreamWorks, Steven Spielberg and Will Smith had stepped back from the project. The producing team announced on 10 November 2009 that the project was dead. On July 11, 2011, Mandate Pictures sent a press release stating that Spike Lee will direct a remake of Oldboy, with a screenplay written by Protosevich. It has been reported that Josh Brolin will star in the remake as the lead character, while Christian Bale was reportedly in talks to portray the antagonist character, though it was later reported that Colin Firth had been offered the role. Firth later passed on the role.

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7 Comments

Fantine - 12/17/2011, 4:11 AM

Funny she was offered an audition for Dragon Tattoo, which went to Rooney Mara.

BlairCo - 12/17/2011, 4:50 AM

I think Emma Watson would be good for the role.

Bandrews1 - 12/17/2011, 5:29 AM

I think she would be a good choice, @BlairCo Emma Watson isn't a bad choice either.

sarahsatire - 12/17/2011, 5:51 AM

Mia is a wonderful actress -- I would love to see her in Oldboy. Her range is very impressive.

Oarsis - 12/17/2011, 7:44 AM

She would be great!
I think she looks much better with short hair...

Emma Watson is perfect as well!
She is gorgeous, and super talented!

valeriesghost - 12/17/2011, 8:19 AM

This movie could end up being incredible. Especially if they add a new additional twist for those of us that have seen the original.

orpheus - 12/18/2011, 7:31 AM

scorpion - you understand it's south korean not japanese, right?

Mia Wasikowska Offered Female Lead In Spike Lee's OLDBOY

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