Jared Leto famously went four years without a movie role before starring in Dallas Buyers Club, but any thought of doing that again was quashed when he won an Oscar for his role as Rayon. Apparently someone at Legendary saw Dallas Buyers Club and decided he would be a great alternative for Will Smith in a new science fiction film.
Back in May, Smith left Legendary’s Brilliance due to scheduling conflicts (and probably because his last sci-fi film - After Earth - bombed). Now, Deadline is reporting that Legendary has moved quickly to replace Smith with Leto.
Brilliance will be directed by Julius Onah and is based on Marcus Sakey’s novel. David Koepp wrote the screenplay. It is set in a world where humans live alongside “brilliants,” people born with a special set of skills. One “brilliant” is asked to stop another from sparking a civil war.
Leto has not signed on for any firm project to follow-up Dallas Buyers Club with. His group, 30 Seconds To Mars, is currently touring Europe.
After Smith dropped out of Brilliance, he was linked to a film about football concussions that Ridley Scott is producing.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com