He's been rumored for the role for a while now, and now it seems close to actually happening: Deadline reports that Jamie Foxx "is the choice" to star in Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino's next film about an escaped slave who teams up with a German bounty hunter to take revenge on his former owner. Leonardo DiCaprio is already confirmed to play the villainous plantation owner, and though Will Smith was apparently an early top choice for Tarantino, apparently Foxx could be stepping in instead.

This Deadilne story isn't substantially different from what we've been hearing for about a week, but Mike Fleming does seem convinced that talks will start soon, and if Tarantino wants to get the ball moving on this he needs to settle on a lead actor quickly. Christoph Waltz-- who else?-- will also star as the bounty hunter, and if you thought him fighting against Seth Rogen in The Green Hornet was the oddest match you'd ever see, just wait until he and Foxx have long, rambling conversations as they rampage across the Deep South. I still think Smith would have been great in the role, but Foxx also has a lot of talent we haven't seen him use much lately. As with all of his historically unconventional casting choices, it seems best to trust in Quentin here.