Take this with a bit of a grain of salt, but word is circulating that Tom Hardy, Daniel Craig, Ewan McGregor and Orlando Bloom are all vying for one of the lead roles in the Fox Searchlight police procedural “The Sweeney.”
In development for a while now, the film is an adaptation of a 1970s Brit TV drama about two cops, George Carter and Jack Regan, who work at the Metropolitan Police division dealing with armed robbery and violent crime. A version of the film that was set to star Ray Winstone and Michael Fassbender was scrapped earlier this year when Fox Searchlight feared the casting wasn’t good enough/well known enough to play well internationally.
As amazing as that movie might’ve been, word is now circulating that Fox Searchlight are trying to re-up with movie with a bigger name to star opposite Ray Winstone, who is apparently still attached. The Daily Mail report that Daniel Craig is vying the part, while OneIndia throws Tom Hardy, Ewan McGregor and Orlando Bloom into the mix as well as actors looking to join the film. No offense to Hardy, Bloom or McGregor but while they may be interested (and really, we can’t vouch for OneIndia’s reliability as a source), Craig is obviously the biggest international draw of the four, having played James Bond and seems to be the most likely candidate. Tom Hardy? Not well known enough, and probably won’t be until after “Mad Max” or possibly, “Inception.” And both Orlando Bloom and Ewan McGregor are dodgy box office prospects when toplining their own films.
The film will be directed by Nick Love (“The Firm,” “The Football Factory”) who wrote the script with original series writer Ian Kennedy Martin. Again, given the development history of the film that could change and these names are unverified at this point. But Daniel Craig and Ray Winstone as cops? Yeah, we’d buy a ticket. [via Dark Horizons]