It’s a good time to be James Marsden right now.
Since suffering his ignominious fate in X-Men: The Last Stand, the former Cyclops has done pretty well for himself, with strong supporting turns in Superman Returns (which, of course, indirectly contributed to his virtual cameo in X3, as the shooting schedules clashed), Hairspray and Enchanted, both of which showcased heretofore unseen singing and comedic skills.
Yesterday, we reported that he had been cast in another comedy, the raucous teen affair, Sex Drive. And the new gigs don’t stop there – today, it was announced that Marsden will join Cameron Diaz and Frank Langella in Richard Kelly’s long-awaited horror movie, The Box.
Marsden will play Arthur Lewis, the unhappily married husband of Diaz’s character Norma in the film, based on Richard Matheson’s classic short story Button, Button, in which a mysterious old man (Langella) brings them a strange box. If they press a button on it, he says, they will receive lots of money – but someone they know will die.
With an ailing son to save, no prizes for guessing what they do, prompting a guilt-stricken Norma to dedicate herself to solving a murder for which she believes she was responsible.
Kelly has been talking about this project for years, before he embarked on the ill-fated Southland Tales (which stars Seann William Scott, who was initially mooted for the role of Arthur), so let’s hope that this is a return to Donnie Darko territory for him.
The Box will be Marsden’s first horror film since Disturbing Behaviour in 1998 – unless something goes catastrophically wrong here, this should be a step up. Ten steps up, in fact.