If Nikki Finke‘s sources are correct (and generally they are, no matter how annoying she is), Javier Bardem is set to join Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf in the upcoming sequel to 1987 film “Wall Street” helmed by Oliver Stone.
Bardem will reportedly play the antagonistic role of a worldwide hedge fund manager who becomes the target of LaBeouf’s young Wall Street trader character who believes the manager is responsible for his mentor’s unexpected suicide.
Douglas will, of course, reprise the role of Gordon Gekko who is now on the fringes of the financial community – a source tells Finke his role will be “like Jim Cramer or Mike Milken after their disgrace.” In trying to take down Bardem’s character, LaBeouf’s character seeks the help of Gekko who is the estranged father of his fiancé. Gekko willingly assists LaBeouf’s character believing it will help him win back his daughter. From there, “it’s antagonism for everyone” according to an insider.
Finke’s sources also add that the story will apparently be set between June 2008 through to the federal bailout and that the script by “21” and “Things We Lost In The Fire” scribe, Alan Loeb, was so great that Stone felt he didn’t even need to complete his planned retouching. Assistance in the story’s development is even being offered to by “a long list of Wall Street types [who] are offering their help to make sure the script is accurate” as was the case with the original.
Principal photography is reportedly set to begin on August 10th with a February 2010 release in mind. Sounds quick, but Stone proved with “W.” that he can turn around a film hella quick.