It appears that a reunion betweenJoaquin Phoenixand hisSignsandThe VillagedirectorM. Night Shyamalanis not in the cards after all. Word surfaced in August that Phoenixwas eyeing the starring role in Shyamalan’s next untitled film, butTHRnow reports thatJames McAvoyis in negotiations to lead the picture instead. Phoenix never got to the deal making stage and was merely having preliminary conversations with the filmmaker, but the prospect of the duo reteaming was curious, especially since Shyamalan is coming off his successful jump to low-budget filmmaking withThe Visit.
Details on the director’s next movie are, unsurprisingly, being kept under lock and key in a chest somewhere deep in the forest, but it is described as a supernatural thriller and is being produced by Blumhouse, who producedThe Visit. That horror film saw Shyamalan toying with the found footage genre to generally positive reviews, so the collaboration between filmmaker and studio appears to have been fruitful.
It’s no surprise that Phoenix ultimately passed on the project. He’s notoriously picky (when the results are so good, it’s hard to argue with his methods), although he has been considering delving into blockbusters recently having entered prolonged negotiations with Marvel forDoctor Strangeand also fielding an offerStar Wars: Episode VIII. As of now, he has no projects on the immediate horizon.
McAvoy, meanwhile, most recently wrappedX-Men: Apocalypseand will be seen this fall in the twist onMary Shelley’s classic story,Victor Frankenstein, oppositeDaniel Radcliffe. He’s a versatile actor with a wide range, so I’m curious to see what becomes of this collaboration with Shyamalan. The plan, as of August, was to begin production this November in Philadelphia, but it’s unclear if that timetable remains. Regardless, it’s possible we could see this new movie in theaters sometime in 2016.
