Will Smith out, Jamie Foxx in?
Rumors have been swirling over the last few months that veteran actor Will Smith would play the lead role in Quentin Tarantino’s new slavery-themed, spaghetti Western homage, Django Unchained. And although many were intrigued by the thought of Smith acting in the controversial film, sources are now claiming that Jamie Foxx may be replacing Smith in the highly sought after role.
In early May, The Hollywood Reporter, reported that Will Smith, who’s been absent from the big screen since 2008’s Seven Pounds, had received the script and was Tarantino’s top pick to play the title role of Django, a freed slave who, with the help of a German bounty hunter, plans to take down an evil plantation owner and reunite with his slave wife.
Although Tarantino was originally banking on Smith, one of Hollywood’s few box-office powerhouses, to bring his lead character to life, Showbiz 411 is now reporting that Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx is possibly the new front-runner for the lead role.
Although it’s unclear where the site is sourcing their information from, reports are claiming that it’s possible that Smith may have turned down the role for fear of the script’s controversial plot and its heavy use of the N-word.
While Tarantino may not yet have a star for Django Unchained, he already has an A-list cast of supporting actors that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, who will play Calvin Candie, the evil plantation owner who has Django’s wife enslaved in his Mississipi home dubbed the “Candyland.” Samuel L. Jackson will play Candie’s house slave, and Inglorious Basterds star Christoph Waltz will play the German bounty hunter who trains Django and assists him in rescuing his wife.
For now, it’s a waiting game to see who eventually ends up being cast in the title role. Whoever it is, they’re surely going to be the talk of the town for positive and negative reasons. –nicholas robinson
