Jamie Foxx In Talks For Edgar Wright's Action Musical Car Chase Film BABY DRIVER
After Edgar Wright left Marvel's Ant-Man, he announced he'd next be directing a film called Baby Driver, an action musical car chase movie that centers on a baby-faced getaway driver (appropriately nicknamed "Baby") "who relies on the beat of his personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. But after being coerced into working for a crime boss, he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love and freedom." Ansel Elgort is playing the main character, with Cinderella star Lily James on board as the female lead.
We later found out that the music is actually a much more essential part of the story when THR published this description of the film:
Ansel Elgort is set to star as a young mute man who has an ear condition that forces him to constantly listen to music in order to drown out the constant ringing in his ears. His character is a driver for a group of bank robbers who goes on the run after a heist goes bad.
Wright's movies are typically filled with great music (remember the "Don't Stop Me Now" scene in Shaun of the Dead?), but this one sounds like it will basically be the inner thoughts of the main character since he won't be able to speak himself.
Michael Douglas was once attached to play the crime boss, but now Deadline reports that Jamie Foxx is in talks to play that part. It would have been cool to see Douglas work with Wright after the Ant-Man situation fell apart, but it'll be interesting to see if Foxx can fit into Wright's stylized cinematic world.
A brief note: ComingSoon pointed out something about this film that I'd never heard. Apparently it's at least partially inspired by a music video Wright directed in 2003 for "Blue Song" by a band called Mint Royale. Check that out below. Baby Driver starts filming later this year and is scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 17th, 2017.