Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth looking to join James McAvoy in Trance

Brad Sturdivant July 4th, 2011

Danny Boyle is hard at work trying to get his next film, TRANCE, off the ground. But he can’t seem to hammer down a full cast, with the leads changing hands and then different roles still left vacant. Hot after the news that James McAvoy had signed on for the lead and Michael Fassbender had dropped out as the villain, we now have word that Boyle is eying Colin Firth to replace the vacancy left by Fassbender. TRANCE is a remake of a British TV movie of the same name and revolves around an art house assistant (McAvoy) that makes a deal with a gangster to steal the art. But when things go wrong, the assistant gets knocked on the head and develops amnesia, forgetting where the art is hidden. The gangster gets suspicious and calls in a hypnotist to straighten things out.

Also on Boyle’s wish list is Scarlett Johansson, although in what capacity is uncertain. There’s not really a female lead in the script, although the role of the hypnotist could be altered to fit. Zoe Saldana is also being eyed for the role as Johansson’s busy schedule may not allow her to fit it in. Shooting isn’t scheduled to start until September, so there’s still time for Boyle to straighten this out.

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth