casting

Quentin Tarantino Eyeing Will Smith for Django Unchained

Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/2010 Getty Images
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/2010 Getty Images

Will Smith is the front-runner to star in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming “Southern,” Django Unchained, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Django script is said to be receiving “wide acclaim” from insiders. Tarantino wants Smith to play the title character, a freed slave in search of his wife. The director is also eyeing Christoph Waltz to play Django’s sidekick, a German bounty hunter aiming to take down an evil plantation owner. Smith has reportedly received the screenplay, said to be semi-controversial as a result of its use of racism and language, but no official offer has been made, so it’s still a long shot. In any case, Tarantino is aiming for a possible fall shoot in Louisiana, and we’re pretty excited about it either way. [Heat Vision/HR]

Quentin Tarantino Eyeing Will Smith for Django Unchained