UPDATE: 22 Jump Street star Jonah Hill is also in negotiations to join the cast. His role is currently unknown.
ORIGINAL: She’ll be kicking ass and taking names in this summer’s action tentpole Lucy, but A-lister Scarlett Johansson may get the chance to prioritize dramatic pathos over karate chops for her next non-Marvel acting gig. Word has it that the actress is in early talks with the Coen Brothers to join the already-announced George Clooney and Josh Brolin in their comedy Hail, Caesar!
The Avengers star’s role is being kept under wraps, but Hail, Caesar!, set in 1950s Hollywood, focuses on a fixer to the stars by the name of Eddie Mannix (Clooney). Though he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty if need be, Eddie’s main job involves keeping gossip columnists from running with headlines about the most salacious scandals involving the era’s biggest stars. Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton are still in negotiations to join the cast. If they board the project, Tatum will play one such star, Fiennes will portray a famed director and Swinton will play a gossip columnist.
Universal is distributing the film, and the studio’s strong relationship with Johansson via Lucy should increase chances that the actress will end up joining the project. Given that her role is currently unknown, we’re free to speculate. I’d wager that the blonde bombshell actress will take on the role of a Marilyn Monroe-esque star, perhaps one romantically entangled with Tatum’s actor and/or Clooney’s fixer.
Currently, we don’t know much else about Hail, Caesar!, but with the Coen Brothers both directing and penning the script, it’s certainly one to watch.