Tobey Maguire 'Life Of Pi' Role Recast With 'Prometheus' Co-Star

Tobey Maguire 'Life Of Pi' Role Recast With 'Prometheus' Co-Star


Tobey Maguire was all set to star in two Oscar contenders this fall, "Life of Pi" and "The Great Gatsby," but now he won't take part in awards season at all. As first reported by THR.com, Maguire's part in Ang Lee's adaptation of "Life of Pi" has been recast. The actor won't appear in the finished film when it's released on Nov. 21.

"To be consistent with the other casting choices made for the film, I decided to go with an entirely international cast," Lee said in a statement about the decision. "I very much admire Tobey and look forward to working with him again in the future." According to IMDb, Maguire was initially set to star as "Life of Pi" author Yann Martel in scenes that would serve as a framing device for the film. Rafe Spall, who played an ill-fated crew member in "Prometheus," will now play "The Writer."

The "Life of Pi" news comes roughly one month after "The Great Gatsby," Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's famed novel, was moved off its Dec. 25 calendar slot and into summer 2013. In that film, Maguire is set to star as Nick Carraway opposite Leonardo DiCaprio's Jay Gatsby.

Of course, Maguire is far from the only actor to get bumped out of a film this year. Uma Thurman was cut out of "Savages," while Rachel Weisz, Amanda Peet, Barry Pepper, Michael Sheen and Jessica Chastain were all excised from Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder."

"[I]t seems that my part has been cut," Weisz said to an Italian publication, "so I had the experience of working with [Terrence Malick] but I will not have the pleasure of seeing my work."

For more on Maguire's "Life of Pi" role, including what the actor thought of the decision, head over to THR.