Well, this was probably inevitable. With Christian Bale taking on two Terrence Malick movies in 2012, "Lawless" and "Knight of Cups" which are shooting back-to-back, it made the prospect of him appearing in Darren Aronofsky's dream project "Noah" all the more unlikely. Well, now it's official as Variety confirms his exit, but reveals another intriguing name as possibility to take over.
According to the trade, the rising Michael Fassbender has discussed the movie with Darren Aronofsky and while no formal offer has been made, he's currently available for the movie which shoots next spring. But before everyone gets all hot and bothered there is something to consider: $130 million. That's the pricetag of the movie Paramount and New Regency are tag teaming on, and as much as we love Fassbender, we sincerely doubt that he's going to get this movie greenlit. While the combination of Aronofsky and Bale/Bruce Wayne was a no-brainer for that budget, Fassbender is barely a household name at this point and still mostly celebrated among film nerds than the general public that the studio will definitely want to buy tickets to this movie.
Of course, this isn't the first time Aronofsky has lost a major star. Brad Pitt famously bailed on "The Fountain" weeks before it was start shooting, but he scaled back the budget, snagged Hugh Jackman and got the movie made. So yes, it's conceivable that Fassbender could take the role, but we'd guess the studio might push for a bigger name or reduced budget if that's the case. But Aronofksy plus Fassbender? Hell yeah.
For now, Fassbender's only 2012 project filling up his calendar is Steve McQueen's "Twelve Years A Slave" co-starring Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor. But as the awards season continues to heat up, if Fassbender gets some major nods and nominations, you can see the studio getting more and more keen for him to take on "Noah."