Joseph Fiennes has replaced Guy Pearce as the co-lead in Strangerland, the Kim Farrant-directed drama about a couple whose teenage kids disappear.
The news was broken by Deadline.com, which did not explain why Pearce dropped out. However Variety reports that Pearce is in talks to play Whitey Bulger’s brother in Warner Bros.' Black Mass, which will star Johnny Depp as Bulger, the Boston crime boss and FBI informant. Joel Edgerton is also on board that film, which will be directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart).
Nicole Kidman and Hugo Weaving are attached to star in Strangerland, which is scripted by Fiona Seres and Michael Kiniron and produced by Naomi Wenck and Macdara Kelleher.
Transmission is the Australian distributor and Wild Bunch is selling international rights. Screen Australia is among the investors. Shooting is due to start soon in and around Broken Hill. The DoP is P.J. Dillon, whose credits include Vikings, Ripper Street and Game of Thrones.
The plot follows the Parker family who are newcomers to a remote Australian desert town. Their lives are flung into crisis when Catherine and Matthew discover their two teenage kids, Tommy and Lily, have mysteriously disappeared just before a massive dust storm hits the town. Locals join the search led by a local cop, David Rae (Weaving). Rumours spread and the locals eventually turn against the Parkers.
Fiennes will next be seen in the Brett Ratner-directed Hercules, which stars Dwayne Johnson, John Hurt and Ian McShane, and opens here in July.