After a courtship period that involved the likes of Eric Bana and Adrien Brody among others, THR reports that Fox has settled on who they want to wear the Presidential rags of “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” In an unusual twist, they have selected the least-known of all candidates, the young Benjamin Walker. Walker, was cast earlier this year as Beast in “X-Men: First Class,” but was evidently ousted from the role for age reasons (reportedly too close in age to James McAvoy). Regardless, he’s now set to wear the beard of Honest Abe this March, when filming starts under director Timur Bekmambetov, for a June 22nd, 2012 release.
Walker’s biggest experience previous to this was in a bit part in “Flags Of Our Fathers,” and we don’t recall him, but we do hope he dodged the indignity of appearing in a scene with Ryan Phillipe or Paul Walker. He departed from the choice “X-Men” role as “Andrew Jackson” moved to Broadway, but it appears the show is closing January 2nd because it is Broadway, and it’s not being based on a stupid movie or another riff off “Cats.”
The handsome young thesp turned heads on Broadway in the past year for his role in “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” which, like this effort, is a pretty unusual take on an American president. Walker, who is a bit young for both Lincoln and Jackson to put it mildly, played Jackson in that musical as the very first American rock star, with songs like, “Populism, Yea, Yea!” and “I’m So That Guy” helping illustrate the early days of the Democratic Party. There’s lots of crotch-thrusting, if you were wondering.
Seth Grahame-Smith is adapting his own novel for Bekmambetov and producer Tim Burton, centered around the story of how Lincoln apparently kept a secret diary of his vampire-killing exploits, handing it off to lifelong vampire mentor Henry Sturgess. Tom Hardy was briefly linked to the role of Sturgess, the man who teaches him the trade of vampire killing, but as of now, there’s no one attached, though it does seem like they might want to get a name if they rely on Walker in the lead. This writer don’t really get this project, and Bekmambetov claiming it will be like his dopey “Nightwatch” movies doesn’t really thrill us, but we’re open-minded. As open-minded you can be about another vampire blockbuster.
