As production on Tim Burton's live-action adaptation of DUMBO edges closer, it seems that the cast is shaping up quite nicely. Earlier this month it was revealed that Eva Green (MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN) was in talks for a role in DUMBO and days later it was announced that Danny DeVito (BATMAN RETURNS) was as well. Colin Farrell (THE LOBSTER) may be the latest actor to join up as Deadline reports that he's currently in negotiations for a role.
Should the deal be finalized, Colin Farrell would play the role of Holt, "a widowed father of two kids from Kentucky." As for Eva Green, she would play Colette, "a French trapeze artist who works for evil top circus villain Vandemere," while Danny DeVito would play Medici, "the man who runs a smaller circus that gets acquired by Vandemere." The role of Vandemere is still looking to be cast, but at the rate they're going, I expect we'll hear something before too long.
Disney seems intent on giving every one of their animated classics the live-action twist, and, with the success that BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is currently enjoying at the box-office, they likely won't be slowing down. Even if Colin Farrell doesn't sign up for DUMBO, he still has plenty of interesting projects on the horizon, including a reunion with Yorgos Lanthimos, director of THE LOBSTER, for two different projects. The first, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER, will find Farrell playing a surgeon who forms a familial bond with a sinister teenage boy. The second will be an Amazon TV series centering around Oliver North, who Farrell will play, and his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair.