Ben Affleck out of 'The Great Gatsby'... so who will be in?
EW has confirmed that Ben Affleck will not be joining the all-star cast of The Great Gatsby after all. Affleck had recently been in talks with Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann about playing the part of Tom Buchanan in the much-anticipated, 3-D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s literary classic. But sources tell EW that Affleck had to pass due to a scheduling conflict with Argo, the Iran hostage thriller he plans to direct next.
Affleck would have joined an A-list cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio as the dashing title character Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as the story’s narrator Nick Carraway, and Carey Mulligan as the object of Gatsby’s affection Daisy Buchanan. Recent reports have also claimed that Isla Fisher may join the film as Myrtle, the floozy with whom Tom Buchanan cheats on his wife Daisy.
With Affleck out, that means that the dizzy, busy Gatsby casting carousel will heat up once again, as Luhrmann searches for another actor to play Tom Buchanan and also fill the still-vacant role of Jordan Baker. Then again, Luhrmann may not have to look very hard for Affleck’s replacement — last week Bradley Cooper told The New York Times that he would be interested in playing Tom Buchanan, calling him “the best character in the book”.
A bit of history: When Hollywood last adapted Fitzgerald’s prized literary property in 1974, Gatsby was played by Robert Redford. The other main roles were played by Mia Farrow (Daisy), Sam Waterston (Nick), Karen Black (Myrtle), Bruce Dern (Tom), and Lois Chiles (Jordan).
So now let’s turn it over to you. What do you think of the Gatsby cast so far, and who would you like to see play Tom and Jordan?
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