When David O. Russell departed Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, he took Mark Wahlberg with him (although there is still a chance Wahlberg will still be in that movie) and the duo looked set to get back together for The Silver Linings Playbook instead. Now it appears Wahlberg is out due to a scheduling conflict (Silver Linings was pushed back as Jennifer Lawrence needed more time on Hunger Games, which bumped into Wahlberg’s commitment to Broken City) and Bradley Cooper is back in the mix to replace him as the male lead, according to Deadline.
Cooper was actually in talks to star several months ago but dropped out because at the time he couldn’t fit it in. However now that schedules have altered, Cooper is interested again.
The Silver Linings Playbook revolves around a former high school teacher who was institutionalized for depression and then released into the care of his mother. He tries to win back his ex-wife but becomes involved with an eccentric neighbor (Jennifer Lawrence) with problems of her own.
It appear Cooper’s Limitless co-star Robert De Niro may also sign up, but Deadline has no word on what role he might play.
This isn’t the first scheduling problem for the film to cause a cast change, as Lawrence only came on-board because Anne Hathaway dropped out due to Dark Knight Rise (and with Playbook’s shooting delay it’s turned out Anne could probably have done the role, but it appears it’s too late now).