Oscar Isaac Will Headline Paul Schrader’s THE CARD COUNTER

Here's some exciting news: according to Variety, Oscar Isaac (recently heard in the animated Addams Family movie and soon to be seen in JJ Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) will next headline Paul Schrader's revenger-thriller, The Card Counter, where he'll play a master card player who finds himself sucked back into a life he thought he'd left behind.

Here's how they're describing the film:

"The film...follows William Tell (Isaac), a gambler and former serviceman who sets out to reform a young man seeking revenge on a mutual enemy from their past. Tell just wants to play cards. His spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he is approached by Cirk, a vulnerable and angry young man seeking help to execute his plan for revenge on a military colonel. Tell sees a chance at redemption through his relationship with Cirk. Gaining backing from mysterious gambling financier La Linda, Tell takes Cirk with him on the road, going from casino to casino until the unlikely trio set their sights on winning the World Series of poker in Las Vegas. But keeping Cirk on the straight-and-narrow proves impossible, dragging Tell back into the darkness of his past."

Oh, yes. That will do nicely. This is the kind of gritty tough-guy material Paul Schrader could execute in his sleep, and Isaac's an inspired choice for the lead role, much in the same way that Ethan Hawke was an inspired choice to headline First Reformed (side note: this writer was, upon first viewing, somewhat cool on First Reformed, but few films in the past decade have worked their way under my skin the way that one has; it's a knockout). Without any further information, we are hyped for this one.

Nothing further to report at this time, but rest assured we'll be keeping our ear to the ground for further updates on this one. Stay tuned, folks.