UPDATE: The role originally set for Kurt Russell has been “absorbed” by character actor Walton Coggins (“Justified” and “The Shield”). Coggins already had a role in DJANGO, but somehow, they’re gonna make that work. No word on why Russell left the production, but according to AICN, “it was not a dramatic departure”. No word on who (if anyone) will replace Sacha Baron Cohen’s role yet.
Sucky news on the DJANGO UNCHAINED front today. It appears that both Kurt Russell (DEATH PROOF) and Sacha Baron Cohen (THE DICTATOR) will no longer be participating in Quentin Tarantino’s much-anticipated next film.
The news on Cohen’s departure came from Cohen himself while interviewed on The Howard Stern Show. Cohen was set to appear in the “cameo” role of ‘Scotty Harmony’ – a gambler who buys Django’s wife Broomhilda as a female companion – but was forced to drop out because of THE DICTATOR‘s press tour.
Meanwhile, the word on Kurt Russell’s exit comes from Variety’s Jeff Sneider. No reasons were given as to why he dropped out nor has there been any mention of names for a replacement. If you’ll recall, Russell himself was a replacement for the originally cast Kevin Costner in the villainous role of ‘Ace Woody’, a man who would train slaves to fight in brutal matches for entertainment. Costner left due to scheduling conflicts… is that what happened to Russell as well?
Somebody, call Winston Wolf asap!