Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with an interest bit of rumor on the casting of the two leads in James Mangold's remake of the classic western 3:10 TO YUMA. Shortly after I posted THIS STORY I got a heads up on who is up for the two leads. One, the sharp-witted Outlaw, the other a good-hearted Rancher who is tasked to watch the captive Outlaw until the 3:10 train to Yuma can pick him up.

Spy Santsu tells me that Tom Cruise and Eric Bana are currently in negotiations to star in the film. Variety this morning confirms that Cruise is eyeing the film, which leads me to believe our man Santsu got good information and that Bana is also in talks.

What I love about the idea of casting these two in those roles is you could really cast either in either part. Think of Cruise in his COLLATERAL or MAGNOLIA mode for the Outlaw. Think of Bana in his MUNICH mode for the Rancher. Or think of Cruise in LAST SAMURAI or ALL THE RIGHT MOVES or even TOP GUN for the good Rancher and think of Bana going all CHOPPER.

This project intrigues me. The most interesting part of seeing this remade is seeing two great actors simmer and broil together, match wits. If this is the calibre of actors they're talking to and the calibre that is interested in the film, then I be we'll be seeing a great film out of Mangold and Co. What do you folks think?