Actor and director re-team for drama.
Back in May it was announced that Luke Evans and Kristin Scott-Thomas had joined the cast of Nicolas Winding Refn’s neo-western ‘Only God Forgives.’ Now, a month on, Evans is no longer attached to the thriller due to his new commitment to Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit.’
Variety is now reporting that Refn’s ‘Drive’ lead, Ryan Gosling, is in talks to take the role left vacated by Evans. The story is set in the worlds of gambling, boxing and prostitution in Bangkok, and focuses on a Thai police lieutenant and a gangster. The official synopsis:
“Julian lives in exile in Bangkok where he runs a Thai boxing club as a front for the family’s drugs smuggling operation. When Julian’s brother Billy is killed their mother, Jenna, arrives in the city. She wants revenge and forces Julian to find the killer. Julian’s contacts in the criminal underworld lead him directly to The Angel of Vengeance, a retired police officer who knows everything and who is both Judge and Punisher. Jenna demands that Julian kill The Angel of Vengeance, an act that will cost him dearly.”
Gosling is a busy man; his future slate includes Derek Cianfrance’s ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’ co-starring Bradley Cooper, the political drama ‘The Ides of March’ for George Clooney, Ruben Fleischer’s ‘Gangster Squad’ also starring Sean Penn and Josh Brolin, and the actor will then once again reteam with Refn for their remake of ‘Logan’s Run.’ The actor will be next seen in the romantic comedy ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ when it hits Irish cinemas September 3rd and that will be followed by ‘Drive’ which lands on our screens September 23rd.