Bradley Cooper In Talks For Guillermo Del Toro’s NIGHTMARE ALLEY

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Back in April, it was reported that Academy Award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio was in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro’s next film Nightmare Alley, an adaptation of the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham. However a new report from Variety indicates that negotiations with the Inception star fell through and now A Star Is Born director-actor Bradley Cooper is in early talks to star in Nightmare Alley instead. The site adds that the actor recently received an offer from Fox Searchlight and noted that while it remains unclear if a deal will close between the two parties yet, both sides are “engaged” with talks. Meanwhile del Toro is continuing to cast for the remaining roles, as the film is still set to begin production this fall.

The seven decade old novel from Gresham explores the rise and fall of an ambitious con-man who finds himself in over his head once he begins a scam with a corrupt therapist, who ultimately out-manipulates him. The novel was previously adapted to the big screen in a cult classic film noir of the same name back in 1947, directed by Edmund Goulding and featured Tyrone Power in the lead role.

I myself have yet to read Gresham’s original novel, nor have I seen the Goulding film, but the premise sounds quite intriguing. While I am a little disappointed that negotiations with DiCaprio apparently fell through, I have to say that Bradley Cooper is a strong choice for the leading role. He was fantastic in A Star Is Born last year and while the stories differ quite a bit from one another, it would seem that both characters in this film and his previous venture share a certain sense of tragedy and self-destructiveness with one another.

What do you think? Be sure to comment below!

SOURCE: Variety