Some interesting casting rumors for you to chew on today. Our friends at Pajiba are reporting that James McAvoy has been cast as James Bond creator Ian Fleming in a biopic in development at Animus Films and Palmstar Entertainment. The film will supposedly focus on the (younger) years in Fleming’s life (when he was in the British Navy) that gave him inspiration for the character of James Bond. Additionally, the not-as-trustworthy website HollyScoop is reporting that Sam Worthington is in the running for the role of Flash Gordon in Breck Eisner’s remake of the 1980 sci-fi film. I actually like the sound of both rumors.

The biopic is tentatively titled Ian Fleming and is being independently financed with an early budget of $40 million. I’m not sure if this has any relation to the DiCaprio-produced Fleming biopic we first wrote about in 2008. That project is based on an original screenplay written by Damian Stevenson that sold to Warner Bros. This one with McAvoy attached is an adaptation of the book Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond by Andrew Lycett, with a script being written by Matt Brown (Ropewalk). I really like McAvoy and think he’s a fantastic choice for this. As a huge Bond fan, I’m excited to see this project come together.

As for Worthington and Flash Gordon, they claim that “right now it’s between Sam, Ryan Reynolds and one or two others for the lead role should the project actually get off the ground.” According to IMDb, Flash Gordon is still scheduled for 2012, which doesn’t mean anything. We know that director Breck Eisner, who’s been attached to this since May of 2008, left the Creature from the Black Lagoon remake, but is supposed to be directing a remake of The Brood next. So there’s a chance he could get to Flash following The Brood, but who knows? Either way, I do really think Worthington would be a good, solid choice for Flash Gordon.

My initial impressions about having McAvoy play Ian Fleming and Worthington play Flash Gordon are all positive. I’m not entirely sure why, but it just sounds like it could work well for both. What do you think?

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