Karl Urban In Talks For His Most Exciting Role Yet

By Andrew Sanford | Film | March 4, 2024 |

By Andrew Sanford | Film | March 4, 2024 |

Christopher Nolan recently said that Robert Downey Jr. playing Iron Man is one of the “most consequential casting decisions that’s ever been made in the history of the movie business.” He’s not wrong! The first Iron Man changed the course of movies for over a decade. Yes, other studios were more interested in spinning off Marvel-like connected universes, but that all begins with people signing up for Downey Jr. as Iron Man. Inspired casting choices can give certain projects a leg up before they even step in front of cameras, and we may see another one set sail.

According to Deadline, Priyanka Chopra Jonas will star in a new film called The Bluff. The film will be directed by Frank E. Flowers, with a script co-written by Flowers and Joe Ballarini. The film will follow a former pirate, played by Chopra Jonas, who must protect her family from her past. That in and of itself is exciting. It sounds like it could be John Wick or Nobody but female and with pirates. Count me in. I’d be fine if, ala the world of Watchmen, superhero films are replaced by a deluge of pirate movies. Especially if this next bit of casting news comes true.

Deadline also notes that Karl Urban is in talks to star in the film. If I had to guess, he’s likely playing a villainous pirate from Chopra Jonas’s past. Regardless, Urban as a pirate makes too much sense not to happen. He’s grizzled, devilishly handsome, and can tap into a wild madness that we see on full display in The Boys. He practically screams swashbuckler at this point in his career.

Thinking of Urban earlier in his career, it would be hard to imagine him as a pirate. He’s an actor and likely could have been able to handle it, but I’d still see the sullen (but tough) Éomer. Now, in a post The Boys World (or even Dredd), I can think of few who are better suited to grab a sword and take to the high seas.

Plenty could happen before Urban climbs aboard a pirate ship (if it even happens). The movie could end up not being that good. It could fail to capture the imaginations of a decade’s worth of moviegoers. Still, a casting choice like this could keep it from walking the plank.