Sandra Bullock has maintained an immensely popular sweetheart reputation for much of her career, but lately she seems eager to shake things up. A few months ago, she signed on to voice the villainness in the Minions spinoff.
Now she’s looking to stay on the dark side with a role as the nasty Miss Hannigan, in the upcoming remake of Annie. Will Gluck is directing the picture, which also stars Quvenzhané Wallis and Jamie Foxx. Get the latest on the movie after the jump.
Bullock is currently in early talks for the part. Interestingly, this isn’t her first time flirting with the role. She got as far as negotiations back in March, but decided to pass at that time. While Annie is designed to draw in an African-American audience, the top-notch casting should attract a very broad range of moviegoers. Indeed, The Wrap notes that Bullock was chosen for her comic chops and international appeal. All three talents are held in high critical esteem as well. Bullock and Foxx have both won Oscars in the past, and Wallis was nominated last year for Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Emma Thompson and Aline Brosh McKenna‘s script, based on Harold Gray‘s comic strip and the Broadway musical it inspired, centers on the titular orphan girl (Wallis), who’s adopted by wealthy NYC mayoral candidate Benjamin Stacks (Foxx, doing a modern spin on the Daddy Warbucks character). Miss Hannigan is the mean, drunk woman who runs the orphanage where Annie resides. The role was famously played by Carol Burnett in the 1982 film.
Bullock, whose last onscreen appearance was in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, has an interesting few months lined up. She stars in the R-rated buddy comedy The Heat later this month, and has what’s rumored to be a career-best performance coming up this fall in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. Annie will shoot this fall for a Christmas 2014 premiere.
