Update: It turns out the real reason Copley has been replaced is both much more amazing and hilarious than the boring “scheduling conflicts” story. According to FilmDrunk, “Sharlto Copley wanted wear a prosthetic nose and fake ears like Spock and look like an alien in the movie, while director DJ Caruso was adamant that the aliens were supposed to look just like regular humans, hence why they’re able to fit in. This was apparently such a sticking point that neither would budge, and Copley left the project.” That is the best departure story we’ve heard in a long time. Awesome. Suddenly, the press junket for “A-Team” just got way more interesting…..
Change of plans for the sci-fi project, “I Am Number Four.” The film, set to be directed by D.J. Caruso — a director who seems to rate in geek circles despite tepid films like “Disturbia” and “Eagle Eye” and a meaningless association with Steven Spielberg — was to star “District 9” lead Sharlto Copley, but the South African actor has had to bow out of the film because of his press obligations to his forthcoming summer tentpole “A-Team” (which probably means wearing that dumb baseball cap and fielding dumb questions from journalists – we bet he’s happy).
His replacement will be underrated actor Timothy Olyphant, known for roles on TV’s “Deadwood,” “Damages,” and feature films like, “Live Free or Die Hard,” and “Hitman.” For us however, his breakout role was as the conniving porn producer in the very underappreciated rom-com, “The Girl Next Door” starring Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert.
This writer doesn’t know a huge amount about this project, but Variety say writing duo Alfred Gough (“Spider-Man 2”) and Miles Millar (“Lethal Weapon 4 “) plus Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) penned the screenplay, and its story
…revolves around a group of nine earthbound aliens who escaped their planet just before it was annihilated by a rival species. Hiding out on Earth, disguised as a human teenager, the title character discovers that he is being hunted by the enemy that destroyed his planet.
Michael Bay is producing which is always a sign of intelligence and quality filmmaking. Olyphant’s role is one of a guardian and mentor to the story’s main character played by Alex Pettyfer (“Beastly”). Sounds like one of those forgettable summer sci-fi tentpoles that we usually don’t care about, but hey, more power to them.
–Written by Edward Davis