Idris Elba is in talks to star opposite Jessica Chastain, the lead actress in Aaron Sorkin‘s directorial debut, “Molly’s Game,” an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.
Set in the world of high-stakes poker, the film is based on the memoir by Molly Bloom that Sorkin adapted himself.
Bloom was a world-class skier who, after failing to make the Olympics, took a year off before law school and accepted a job as a waitress in Los Angeles. She put her entrepreneurial skills to good use and eventually found her way into running high-stakes poker games for Hollywood’s elite for eight years before the FBI brought her down.
Sorkin’s “Steve Jobs” collaborator Mark Gordon will produce with Amy Pascal, while Leopoldo Gout will serve as an executive producer.
Elba is currently filming Sony and MRC’s adaptation of Stephen King‘s “The Dark Tower,” which co-stars Matthew McConaughey. He’ll soon be seen in “Star Trek Beyond” and the action-thriller “Bastille Day.” Elba has also lent his voice to Disney’s “The Jungle Book,” ‘Zootopia” and the upcoming “Finding Dory.” The British actor is also attached to star in Fox’s romantic drama “The Mountains Between Us.”
Elba is represented by WME, the Artists Partnership, Headshell Management and Hertz, Lichtenstein & Young. His casting was first reported by Variety.