While it’s still debatable whether we need another Romeo & Juliet, the idea of making one where the cast are pretty much the age they’re meant to be in the play – teenagers rather than the slightly older folks we normally get – is an interesting one. Now 14-year-old Let Me In star Kodi Smit-McPhee is in early discussions to play Benvolio, according to Variety.
Benvolio is Romeo’s cousin who futilely tries to keep the peace between Tybalt (Ed Westwick) and Mercutio. Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld is locked in to play Juliet, while Holly Hunter will play Juliet’s nurse. However, neither Romeo nor Mercutio have been cast yet.
Carlo Carlei will direct from a screenplay by Julian Fellowes, which is, of course, adapted from the William Shakespeare play. Production will begin sometime this summer in Italy.