Like a great many ambitious indies, James Gray’s The Lost City of Z is experiencing some difficulties in pulling together funding and locking down a production schedule. Recently, though, the adventure film appears to have taken some steps forward, with word from various publications that Stardust actress Sienna Miller is joining the cast and that shooting may kick off in the summer of 2015.
The Lost City of Z, based on the New York Times bestseller by David Grann, has been in the works for over a year at this point, and despite that, the only significant news about it has involved the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Pattinson in main roles. The former will play Percival Fawcett, a British explorer who, in 1925, embarked on a hunt for the fabled city of Z in the heart of the Amazonian jungle, never to return, while the latter will play Henry Costin, a bored British corporal who accompanies Fawcett.
It’s assumed that Miller, who has confirmed her involvement to Vogue and the L.A. Times, will take on the relatively minor role of Fawcett’s wife, seeing as there are no other main female characters in the story. Regardless, it’s another exciting project in a long string of them for the actress, who recently appeared in Oscar contenders Foxcatcher and American Sniper.
Looking to the future, 2015 will find her playing roles in the Johnny Depp-starring Whitey Bulger pic Black Mass, the John Wells project formerly known as Chef, gambling comedy-drama Mississippi Grind and ambitious thriller High-Rise. By all appearances, Miller may be a household name by year’s end.
As for when we’ll be seeing The Lost City of Z, producer Dede Gardner (part of Brad Pitt’s Plan B shingle) recently expressed optimism that shooting would commence sometime next summer. The production start date keeps getting pushed back as a budget is negotiated and more stars are locked into place, but let’s keep our fingers crossed that all involved can stick to the current plan and put The Lost City of Z out in time for it to contend for awards in the fall of 2016.