Update: Deadline reports that due to his schedule with the Tehran hostage thriller “Argo,” Ben Affleck won’t be able to take the role in “The Great Gatsby.”
Isla Fisher isn’t exactly known for her dramatic chops. She made her splash in Hollywood as the unhinged Gloria in “Wedding Crashers” and since then has mostly done stuff like “The Pleasure of Your Company,” “Definitely, Maybe” and “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” That said, she did impress in the underseen thriller “The Lookout” and it looks like she’s ready to make a big step away from the gigs that typically earn her payday.
THR reports that Fisher is in negotiations to join Baz Luhrmann‘s “The Great Gatsby.” The bound-to-be-epic adaptation already has Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan set to star in the film about malaise and discontent among the well-heeled during Prohibition. She will take on the role of Myrtle Wilson who has an affair with the still-to-be cast Tom Buchanan (Ben Affleck has been in talks) before (SPOILER ALERT) dying in a car crash.
It’s an interesting bit of casting; Fisher certainly doesn’t have the deep dramatic resumé of her co-stars but she’s got the talent to pull it off, though we think it’ll depend on who winds up playing Tom. Ben Affleck? We’re not quite sure we dig that casting though it would be a great against-type role for him, and they could definitely both surprise us here.
“The Great Gatsby” is gearing up to shoot later this year possibly in 3D. No release date has been set just yet.
