20th Century Fox/DreamWorks PicturesLeonardo DiCaprio is in talks to star as a con-man in an upcoming thriller directed by Guillermo Del Toro.
The Titanic star hasn’t been seen on the big screen since his Oscar-winning role in The Revenant in 2015 – perhaps out of fear that he couldn’t top the performance that finally won him that coveted award.
But after four years, he’s back with a vengeance. The actor will appear in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood this year, and now he’s also in talks to star in del Toro’s new feature, Nightmare Alley, Variety report.
PADel Toro, who was behind the Oscar-winning film The Shape Of Water, will direct the movie, and also co-wrote the script with Kim Morgan.
Nightmare Alley was originally a novel, published by William Lindsay Gresham in 1946. Fox released a film of the same name in 1947 based on the book, so del Toro’s upcoming production will be a remake – though it promises to stay true to Gresham’s book.
The story follows con-man Stanton Carlisle, who would likely be played by DiCaprio if the actor confirms his involvement in the movie.
Carlisle learns his questionable practices from Zeena, a lead mentalist at a carnival, and uses his skills to swindle wealthy clients by pretending to be able to communicate with the dead.
He sets off with another character, Molly Cahill, to form their own duo of scheming tarot card readers, spiritualists and mediums, but karma eventually catches up with him and his manipulating ways.
No release date has been set for the new version of the film, but Variety report production is set to get underway this autumn, when the director has filled out the remaining roles.
According to Den of Geek, del Toro spoke in 2017 about continuing his work with Fox Searchlight, who are acquiring worldwide distribution rights to Nightmare Alley.
He said:
I am delighted to continue the producing partnership that has been forged with Fox Searchlight during the making of The Shape of Water.
Nancy, Steve, David, and Matthew, and the entire team are great champions of true cinema. With both Nightmare Alley and Antlers, I know we will create entertaining, elevated films.
20th Century FoxThe film is one of many projects del Toro has in the works; he’s also working on an animated Pinocchio film for Netflix, and an action film titled Zanbato, which he’s working on in collaboration with JJ Abrams.
Hopefully DiCaprio will confirm his role in Nightmare Alley soon!
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to [email protected].
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.