Gitesh Pandya has revealed (and I’ve since confirmed with the Weinstein Co.) that the studio has set a Christmas Day 2012 release date for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, which centers on a freed slave who seeks to reunite with his slave wife, a journey which will see him team up with Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), a German bounty hunter, to take down Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), an evil plantation owner.
I feel as if I’ve been reporting on the film almost daily as the prospect of Tarantino directing a Sergio Leone-esque spaghetti western excites me beyond belief.
The latest news came just this morning as the title role remains without an actor. It was originally reported that Will Smith was Tarantino’s first choice for the role, but that seems increasingly unlikely as additional names have been rumored for the part. This morning Jamie Foxx became the fourth serious contender alongside Idris Elba and Chris Tucker, though everything at this point remains rumor, speculation and Hollywood chatter.
As per the user voting on my piece this morning it looks like most fans are vying for Elba to take on the lead role with Smith a close second. Whoever is cast will join Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson who appear to be the only three members of the cast to be confirmed to this point.
Django Unchained is currently the only film set for Christmas Day 2012. On December 21 Disney will release The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer and Fox will release Ang Li’s Life of Pi based on Yan Martel’s Booker Prize-winning novel. Additionally, that same month Warner Bros. will release Peter Jackson’s return to Middle Earth as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey arrives on December 14.
