Now we're talking! Javier Bardem will bring Anton Chigurh, his character from No Country for Old Men, roaring back to life in the sequel to Oliver Stone's Wall Street. The hired assassin with the funny haircut will stalk financial company executives, using a fire extinguisher to put the fear of God into those heartless suits who stole America's money and refuse to give an accounting for their actions.
Unfortunately -- at least to my way of thinking -- that's not quite how the Wall Street sequel will play out, but it's not that far from the truth, either. Instead of playing a bad guy who sets things straight, Bardem will, in fact, play "a stock-shorting worldwide hedge fund manager," according to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily. He is the villain of the piece, held responsible for the suicide of the hero's mentor.
UPDATE: Nikki Finke clarifies today (via Fox) that Bardem is not onboard ... yet ... though that's who they want for the role.
As we previously suspected (thanks to Monika Bartyzel), Shia LaBeouf will play the hero and Oliver Stone will direct. According to Finke's report, LaBeouf will play an up-and-coming Wall Street trader, engaged to the estranged daughter of Gordon Gekko (once again to be played by Michael Douglas). From the sound of things, it bears a faint resemblance to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, with the villainous Gekko turned into a protector of sorts. Released after a long prison sentence in June 2008, he tries to warn Wall Street that "the end is coming." I'm waiting to see what happens when he learns that Javier Bardem is coming -- for him!
1. I'm not totally sold on this idea yet, but Bardem would certainly add some cred and it's always good to see Michael Douglas.
Posted at 7:23PM on Jun 4th 2009 by Dan