Deadline is reporting today that Oliver Stone has his eye on Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play Edward Snowden in an upcoming film that the director is planning to make. Though nothing official has happened just yet, Stone is hoping to start shooting this December and the hunt for a leading man is now on, with Gordon-Levitt said to be the frontrunner.
The as yet untitled film will be based on the novel Time of the Octopus, which was written by Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, as well as Luke Harding’s book, The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man. The exact focus/angle of Stone’s film is still unclear, but presumably, he will attempt to tell the story of Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor who leaked thousands of classified documents back in 2013.
Given the director’s history of always speaking his mind and flirting with controversy whenever he can, Stone certainly seems like the perfect candidate to tackle such a project. As for Gordon-Levitt, well, it’s quickly becoming clear that there’s not much that he can’t do and rarely does he disappoint. Playing a someone like Edward Snowden would be challenging, no doubt, but it would be a fantastic role to see the actor take on and I’m really hoping that this all goes through.
We’ll of course keep you posted once we hear more, but for now, tell us, do you want to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt play Edward Snowden? Sound off below!