Cate Blanchett is in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming “Nightmare Alley,” starring alongside Bradley Cooper, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
Del Toro is directing the film and wrote the script along with Kim Morgan, and Fox Searchlight is handling worldwide distribution rights. Del Toro is also producing along with J. Miles Dale of TSG Entertainment, and he’s additionally financing the project.
“Nightmare Alley” is the story of a corrupt con man who teams up with a female psychiatrist to swindle people out of money, up until the point that they double cross one another.
The story is based on a novel by William Lindsay Gresham and was first adapted into a Fox film in 1947 directed by Edmund Golding and starring Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell and Coleen Gray. However, del Toro’s film will adhere more closely to the original novel.
The film is eyeing a start date in early 2020.
Blanchett is a two-time Oscar winner who will next be seen in Richard Linklater’s “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” opening later this month. She’s also currently filming the series “Mrs. America” and will also be starring as Lucille Ball in the biopic “Lucy and Desi.” She’s represented by CAA and RGM Artists.
Del Toro’s last film was “The Shape of Water,” which won four Oscars, including Best Picture. He’s also the writer and producer of “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” which opens this month.
Blanchett’s casting was first reported by Variety.