He’s in! He’s out! He’s in again! He’s… out again? Yes, it seems Christian Bale isn’t as committed to Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs film as earlier reports indicated. The Hollywood Reporter is now bringing word that Bale has backed out of the project{
In fact, if competing sources are to be believed, Bale hadn’t gotten as far as actual negotiations, despite writer Aaron Sorkin’s cheerleading for the choice and statements that made it sound like they’d convinced him to take the lead.
So now it’s back to the hunt for Boyle and Sony, with the director and the studio searching for a likely candidate to play the big Apple boss. Sorkin’s script, which is based on Walter Isaacson’s bestselling authorised biography of the man, focuses on three big moments in Jobs’ corporate life: the launch of the Mac; NeXT (which was introduced after he was removed from the company); and the iPod, launched after his triumphant return.
Seth Rogen has been in discussions to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, but there’s no sign of how Bale’s exit might shift the dynamics in future. Jessica Chastain last week denied all knowledge of rumours that she was also set for a role. Boyle wants to lock the roles down as soon as possible so as to kick off shooting early next year.