Last week we told you that former Creative Screenwriting magazine Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith tweeted, “Casting Rumor: Leonardo DiCaprio WILL play villain Calvin Candie in [Quentin] Tarantino‘s “Django Unchained”! QT wanted him for I.B. & now has him!” It was a big rumor and one that not many believed. Turns out though, it is indeed true.
Deadline tells us that Leonardo DiCaprio is in early negotiations with Quentin Tarantino for a role in Django Unchained. The role DiCaprio is looking at his that of Calvin Candie, the owner of Candyland, a mixed race club in Greenville, Mississippi.
Candie is also a dealer in mandingo fighting slaves. He is “a slave’s worst nightmare” and is described as “charming but ruthless.” Sounds like a fantastic villain role for DiCaprio and one that I would LOVE to see him play.
Deadline says chances are pretty good that the actor will sign on. In fact, they say that there is a better chance of DiCaprio joining then there is of Will Smith joining. While it may just be a gut feeling, they say that Smith is likely out of the picture and other names are now being considered. Who are these other names you ask? Idris Elba, Jamie Foxx and Chris Tucker are all being talked about for the role. My vote is for Elba or Foxx but I’d also still like to see Smith take it.
As for Leonardo DiCaprio, this is obviously huge news. A Tarantino/DiCaprio collaboration is a movie fan’s wet dream. Plus with the other names that are attached to this project (Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Idris Elba etc), this movie fan in particular may just have a new favorite film come 2012.