Luke Evans is set to star in The Raven — the upcoming Edgar Allen Poe film directed by James McTeigue (V For Vendetta).
Written by Hannah Shakespeare and Ben Livingston, the fictionalized story follows Poe (John Cusack) in the last week of his life. His fiancé is kidnapped by a serial killer and Poe teams up with a detective — played by Evans — to find the person responsible. Rumors say Alice Eve will play the female lead.
I think this is a solid move for Evans, who quietly built up an impressive resume in 2010. This past year, the young actor starred in the Clash of the Titans-remake and had a small part in Robin Hood. He also just wrapped a role as Zeus in the upcoming Immortals. And currently, he’s shooting the 3D-remake of The Three Musketeers.
But — and there’s always a but — he does have one thing going against him. The initial look of The Raven is bleak. From the plot, Edgar Allen Poe doesn’t sound like the crazed poetic lunatic we would expect. Rather, it appears he’ll be this weird, spin-off version of Sherlock Holmes. Plus, John Cusack is playing the role, and he hasn’t done anything of value since High Fidelity days. So, yeah. At this point, all we can do is hope that the direction of McTeigue, who also worked as an assistant director on The Matrix, will save this film. But let’s be real. It probably won’t.
Source: Deadline
