Most American audiences have only been aware of Christoph Waltz for about four years, but the Austrian star has made one hell of an impression in that time. In addition to taking on a few supporting roles in projects like Green Hornet and Savages, both of his collaborations with writer/director Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, have resulted in Waltz taking home Oscar gold. It's understandable that any filmmaker would feel lucky to have him as part of their production, and I'm sure that's exactly how Stephen Gaghan is feeling right now.
Gaghan, who owns an Academy Award of his own thanks to his script for Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, has gotten Waltz to sign on for the filmmaker's latest directorial effort, Candy Store. The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the casting story, notes that the newly-attached will be joining Robert De Niro and Jason Clarke in the thriller, the pair having joined earlier this month. Omar Sy, the French star who earned international acclaim for his performance in The Intouchables and is currently filming Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past, is also attached.
In the movie Clarke will star as a retired covert ops agent who lives in Brooklyn and finds himself surrounded by the criminal element he worked for years trying to eliminate. Things get serious when he discovers a plot to activate a nuclear device in Manhattan. Waltz will play "a Cold War consigliere posing as a typical American suburbanite," while De Niro is attached as a local cop working to help the hero. Sy's character is described as "n international sex trade entrepreneur." Gaghan co-wrote the script with Shannon Burke and is producing in addition to directing. Lionsgate is already attached for U.S. distribution, but there's no mention of when production is aiming to start.
Waltz will soon be heard voicing the villain in the animated adventure film Epic, which is due in theaters May 24th. He also recently completed work on Terry Gilliam's The Zero Theorem, and is attached to star in Tim Burton's Big Eyes.
