Laggies Swaps Anne Hathaway For Keira Knightley

It’s being reported that director Lynn Shelton is courting Keira Knightley to replace Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway in her upcoming comedy Laggies, in what would be third actress cast for the same role.

Laggies tells the story of a 28 year old woman stuck in perpetual adulthood, who lies to her boyfriend when he proposes marriage to her. Instead of going on a retreat as she tells him, she spends the week hanging out with a group of teenage friends.

Originally, Shelton had intended to cast actress Rebecca Hall (The Town, Iron Man 3) in the lead role, but Hall exited the project to star in Wally Pfister’s directorial debut Transcendence opposite Johnny Depp.  It was at that point that Shelton cast Anne Hathaway, fresh off the heels of her Oscar win for Les Miserables. Unfortunately for Shelton, it looks like Hathaway has bowed out to star in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming sci-fi effort Interstellar opposite Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain.  I can’t really say I blame Hathaway for doing so, since Christopher Nolan is easily one of the best directors working today.

Thankfully, Keira Knightley is a worthy replacement. When she’s not filling up her dance card with period dramas, Knightley is very adept at modern comedies (a la Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World). In this writer’s humble opinion, she’s a huge upgrade over Anne Hathaway.

Laggies already boasts a pretty solid supporting cast featuring Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, Carrie), Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2, Moon), and Mark Webber (Scott Pilgrim Versus The World, Save The Date).  Their involvement is likely due to their interest in working with Shelton, who wrote and directed the indie gem Your Sister’s Sister back in 2011.  She also has the comedy Touchy Feely coming later this year starring Ellen Page, Scoot McNairy and Rosemarie DeWitt.

No release date has been set for Laggies, we’ll keep you posted when we hear more though.

What do you think though? Keira Knightley – worthy successor to Anne Hathaway or no?  Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.