Eddie Redmayne to star in Spielberg’s WAR HORSE adaptation?
Our friends over at The Playlist got a very interesting piece of exclusive news this morning, regarding the casting of Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of WAR HORSE. They received news from “sources close to the picture” that Eddie Redmayne is a lock to be cast as the lead in the big screen working of Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 children’s novel. We’ve known that Spielberg would helm WAR HORSE for just about a month, but other information and casting speculation has been slim pickings since then, so this is a big chunk of news.
The book revolves around a young man (Redmayne), Albert, whose horse Joey is “sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One.” Albert, though too young to join up with the Army himself, follows Joey all the way to France to save him. Don’t be shocked – the book is apparently a huge tearjerker (honestly, I can barely even manage to think about the very plot without getting misty). The film will be based on both the book and a stage version of the novel, which has been running in London since 2007 to critical acclaim.
Despite not having a jam-packed resume or a leading role to his name, Redmayne has been bandied about as someone to watch for awhile now (Movieline covered him in their “The Verge” column in February). The theater-trained actor has done much of his work in period pieces, including THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE, SAVAGE GRACE, and the upcoming BLACK DEATH. Redmayne has not previously stood out to me in any notable way, but I am eager to see what he can do with a true leading role.
The film is set for an August 10, 2011 release.
To get a feel for the production, I’ve embedded the trailer for the stage version of War Horse below. I’m a bit overcome already.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-bni4QqSv4[/youtube]
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