According to an exclusive report over at Variety, Cate Blanchett has entered negotiations to join the cast of Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley, which is currently gearing up to start production at the beginning of next year. This'd put Blanchett opposite the already-cast Bradley Cooper, last seen racking up a whole bunch of Oscar nominations with last year's A Star is Born.
But, wait - there's more!
Our friends over at Collider have their own exclusive report, one suggesting that Blanchett and Cooper might also be joined by Toni Collette (who, yes, deserved an Oscar nod for Hereditary), Rooney Mara (Blanchett's co-star in 2015's Carol), Richard Jenkins (who turned in a masterful performance in GdT's The Shape of Water), Ron Perlman (the one, true Hellboy), Willem Dafoe (soon to be seen wrecking shop in Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse), Mark Povinelli (who you'll recall from Water for Elephants), and - in what's being described as a small role - your friend and mine, Michael Shannon. That's one helluva cast.
For those unfamiliar with the William Lindsay Gresham novel Nightmare Alley's based upon, the story follows Stan Carlisle (Cooper), a nogoodnik-type who joins a traveling carnival only to become obsessed with the mindreading act performed by the operation's resident fortune teller, Mademoiselle Zeena. When Zeena's husband, Pete, unexpectedly dies, she's forced to take Stan on as a partner ... which leads to its own set of problems.
Sounds like it'll make for a great Guillermo del Toro movie, in other words, and it's exciting to hear they're shooting for the moon in the casting department. Nothing further to report at this time, but we'll certainly keep you informed on further Nightmare Alley updates as they roll in. Stay tuned for those, and do hit the comments if you've got anything to add here.