Bradley Cooper in Talks to Step Into Proposed Heath Ledger Role as Lucifer

One of the faces of hit comedy franchise "The Hangover" could soon be stepping into a late Oscar-winner's shoes.

 

Bradley Cooper, who returns May 26 in "The Hangover: Part II", reportedly is pursuing the role of Lucifer in Legendary Pictures' upcoming adaptation of John Milton's 17th-century Garden of Eden poem "Paradise Lost", Variety reported. Cooper is a hot ticket these days, scoring big at the box office with "Limitless" and reportedly being under consideration for a role as "The Great Gatsby."

 

Once upon a time in 2007, both Daniel Craig and eventual posthumous "The Dark Knight" Academy Award-winner Heath Ledger were both in discussions for the "Paradise Lost" role, with "The Day The Earth Stood Still" remake director Scott Derrickson attached to direct.

 

From the early looks of it, according to Variety's story, this adaptation will be the latest in a string of action-packed, Legendary-backed projects. Currently, the label has on its plate shooting the sequel "Wrath Of The Titans" and "Jack The Giant Killer", producing DC Comics properties "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Man Of Steel" and eventually developing the latest "Godzilla" reboot.

 

It now appears this "Paradise Lost" adaptation - originally developed for years by Alex Proyas - will depict the epic, violent struggle between archangels Michael and Lucifer with humanity's salvation or damnation at stake, including Adam and Eve's fall from grace and expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

 

Consider the irony that Ledger's aren't the only dead-man's shoes into which Cooper might slip. He's also been in negotiations to lead the cast of a proposed remake of 1994's "The Crow", the movie that was finished via stand-ins and digital editing for star Brandon Lee following his untimely death in an on-set accident early in shooting.

 

The scribe who originally adapted "The Crow", by the way? That would be Proyas.