Once upon a time, Prisoners, the hot Black List script by Aaron Guzikowski, was being "fast tracked" into production. Two years later, that process doesn't seem so speedy. Potential directors Bryan Singer and Antoine Fuqua and possible stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman have all come and gone in the the meantime, but the film is still on rails of some kind. And this morning came the news that Prisoners**' lead role has now been offered to Michael Fassbender.
The movie sounds like it's essentially a two-hander, with the plot involving a father taking the law into his own hands and kidnapping the man he believes to be responsible for the disappearance of his daughter and her best friend. The soundbite description of choice is the identity crisis of "Mystic River meets Taken".
Incendies director Denis Villeneuve is apparently the current incumbent in the director's chair, but there's no word yet of a potential co-lead to play the abductee to Fassbender's abductor (assuming that's even the right way round). Production company Alcon Entertainment's Andrew Kosove said last year that Prisoners is "the most interesting, moraly complex thriller we've seen in the last twelve years," so expect more announcements before too long.