Plans to bring Aaron Guzikowski’s script Prisoners to life, first hit the web back in September. Antoine Fuqua, the man behind Training Day, was reportedly interested in getting behind the camera and Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale ready to jump in front of it. Shortly after, word got out that the towns of Derby and Shelton in Connecticut were preparing for production to begin in February and for the grand arrival of the film’s star, not Wahlberg or Bale, but Hugh Jackman. Well, filming never began, Fuqua dropped out and there’s another Hollywood A-lister eyeing the project.
As reported by Deadline Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio is interested in starring in the film. If all goes to plan, he’d play a “small-town carpenter who takes matters into his own hands when his daughter and her friend are kidnapped.” The article mentions his commitment will likely depend on who Alcon Entertainment hires to direct. For nearly a decade DiCaprio has stuck close to Martin Scorsese but also made films with Chris Nolan, Ridley Scott, Sam Mendes and Ed Zwick.
DiCaprio is a fantastic actor, but haven’t we had enough of him playing the troubled hero with an intense dark side? It’d be great to see him take on a lighter role or even just a character more charming like in Catch Me If You Can. Plus, the whole defy-the-police-rescue-your-daughter thing has already been done and it was done well. There’s already a sequel to Taken in the works; do we really need another film about a civilian taking matters into his own hands? Andrew Kosove of Alcon told Deadline, “In the 12 years we’ve run this company, this is the most interesting, morally complex thriller we’ve ever gotten,” so perhaps there’s something unique about it.
