When it was announced that Leonardo DiCaprio was going to team up with Guillermo Del Toro for the film, “Nightmare Alley,” film fans were excited. Their expectations went even higher when it was reported that the actor passed on projects by filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson and Alejandro González Iñárritu so that he could work on the film. Now, just a couple of months later, you have to wonder if Anderson or Iñárritu will end up working with DiCaprio, as it’s being reported that del Toro is in talks with Bradley Cooper to take over the role.
According to Variety, Cooper is in talks to star in “Nightmare Alley,” co-written and directed by del Toro. If the actor signs, he’ll replace DiCaprio in the film, who apparently wasn’t able to reach a deal with the studio so that he could star. “Nightmare Alley” is based on the novel of the same name by William Lindsay Gresham novel of the same name and tells the story of the low-lifes and grifters that work at a second-rate carnival.
Cooper is, obviously, coming off the monster success of his directorial debut “A Star is Born,” where he also co-starred opposite Lady Gaga. The Oscar-winning film was a box office smash and made the actor-filmmaker one of the most sought-after folks in Hollywood. Now, it appears that he’s going to join del Toro, who won Oscars a year prior for his last film, “The Shape of Water.”
No word on when we might see “Nightmare Alley” in theaters, but production is said to begin this fall, as del Toro continues the casting process. As for DiCaprio, odds are we’ll hear about a new project from him soon enough, as just about every filmmaker would love to work with the actor.