Sharlto Copley has been offered the role of Spike Lee’s remake of the Korean thriller Oldboy, according to a report from Variety. If he accepts, the District 9 star will appear as a man who imprisons Josh Brolin for fifteen years and then releases him, leaving Brolin’s character to solve the mystery as to why.
Previously, both Colin Firth and Clive Owen were offered the part but passed for various reasons. Elizabeth Olsen has been offered the lead female role of a social worker who tries to help Brolin’s character unravel the mystery of his imprisonment but there has been report if she has accepted the part.
The original film from director Park Chan-Wook has developed a following in the US, many of whom were upset over an English language remake and the possibility that Hollywood sensibilities would water down the film’s shocking ending. Producer Roy Lee addressed those fears about writer Mark Protosevich’s screenplay last November when he stated-
It’s very similar, but we’ve added new elements. Or, Mark Protosevich has come up with new elements to it that will throw off the audience who have seen the original movie because there are new characters and new situations that present themselves in a way that changes the story but eventually go in the same direction… The ending will be something that the audiences will all be…especially the fans of the original will be very happy with. In fact, some may consider it to be a bit darker.
