The Search Continues for the Perfect ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’

Penn Collins — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:21:57 +0000

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter producers have been working since November to cast the titular character. While the field may be clearer, it’s still by no means clear, with Josh Lucas, Adrien Brody, Timothy Olyphant, Benjamin Walker, James D’Arcy, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen all reading for the part over the next two weeks, according to Deadline. Despite not having cast the protagonist, producers (who include director Timur Bekmambetov, Tim Burton, and Jim Lemley are working with the end in mind, as they have already announced a release date of June 22, 2012, confirming beliefs that Fox would make this a tentpole release.

For those not hip to the concept here, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was originally a novel with a revisionist take on Lincoln‘s presidency, and by “revisionist” I mean the author asked, “Hey! Wouldn’t it be cool if Lincoln killed vampires?” Author and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith has a pedigree in this type of mash-up, also having penned the sleeper best-seller Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The man has a style, that’s for sure.

It goes without saying that AL:VH will be brought shot and shown in magnificent 3-D, which we can hope will be a more immersive experience than Burton’s last outing, Alice in Wonderland.

The casting decision is, of course, a big one, but let’s not give too much weight to the actor playing Lincoln. When you’ve got Abe Lincoln throwing axes at Dracula, you’ve clearly waved goodbye to realism a long time ago.

Screen Junkies » James D’Arcy

The Search Continues for the Perfect ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’