Variety is reporting that Cooper recently received an offer, and while it’s currently unclear if a deal will close, both sides have engaged in talks. Cooper would take the place of Leonardo DiCaprio, who ended up passing on the project after a deal could not be reached. Del Toro will direct the picture and co-write the script with Kim Morgan.
Nightmare Alley is being produced and financed by del Toro and J. Miles Dale with TSG Entertainment, with Fox Searchlight acquiring worldwide distribution rights to the film.
While Fox made a Nightmare Alley movie in 1947, this film will be based on the William Lindsay Gresham novel of the same name.
The film shoots this fall as del Toro fills out the remaining roles.
After The Shape of Water went on to win several Oscars, including best picture and director for del Toro, the auteur decided to hold off on picking his next directing gig, only focusing his efforts as a producer on the Searchlight movie Antlers.
Cooper is coming off a massive 2018 that included his directorial debut, A Star Is Born, which not only went on to gross more than $400 million worldwide but earned several Oscar nominations including best picture and best actor for Cooper.
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