Leonardo DiCaprio is lining himself up for what could prove a very intriguing project, as he’s attached to star in Rasputin, based on a pitch from writer Jason Dean Hall that Warner Bros. has just picked up, according to Deadline.
The film will be about the mystical Russian monk who was embraced by the Imperial Family as a medical adviser for their haemophiliac son, Tsarevich Alexei. Rasputin managed to gain considerable influence within the family, so much so that the family’s rivals tried to kill Rasputin several times before his legendary death in 1916.
There have been movies made about Rasputin before, but writer Jason Dean Hall reportedly unearthed new details about the man, which give him more ‘psychological depth’. He’s certainly an interesting figure, with come seeing him as a power-mad charlatan, while other have painted him as a good man who fell foul on the intrigues of the Russian court.
Jennifer Davisson Killoran is producing for Leonardo DiCaprio’s company Appian Way, alongside Langley Park’s Kevin McCormick and Peter Morgan. There’s no news on when the film might shoot.