Quite a few actors have popped up as candidates to star in Quentin Tarantino’s next feature, the Sergio Leone-inspired Western Django Unchained. While Christoph Waltz is already attached to play a German who helps protagonist Django train to rescue his wife, Idris Elba, Samuel L. Jackson, and – perhaps most infamously – Will Smith have all been rumored for roles in the film.
None of those actors are officially “Unchained” just yet, but Deadline Hollywood reports that Leonardo DiCaprio is negotiating to play the villainous Candyland proprietor Calvin Candie, from whom Django must save his wife. Candie keeps his various activities, which include the sexual exploitation of female slaves and “mandingo” fights between male salves, based in Mississippi.
Considering DiCaprio’s fascination with the role of Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds, the role that he once flirted with that eventually earned Waltz an Oscar, it makes sense that he’d be interested in a similar role. It sounds like an awesome revenge-based project and is shaping up to be a perfect follow-up for Tarantino.