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Update: Alicia Vikander has officially been cast in the next Bourne movie but now can’t also do Assassin’s Creed.
Alicia Vikander has spent the better part of the last decade making a name for herself, first in her native Sweden and then in the internationally popular costume dramas A Royal Affair and Anna Karenina. She even had a major role in the recent Hollywood YA fantasy adaptation Seventh Son. But it wasn’t until her role as the experimental robot Ava in Ex Machina that she really caught everyone’s attention.
Or maybe I’m just speaking for myself. But even if Ex Machina isn’t technically her breakout, Vikander is definitely on a notable rise in stardom since its release. The measure is in how desirable she is for big Hollywood tentpoles and franchises. She’s already co-starring in this summer’s action-oriented TV adaptation The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and now Deadline reports she’s in talks for the next Bourne movie and the highly anticipated video game adaptation Assassin’s Creed.
These join the just-announced casting of Vikander in the Dave Eggers adaptation The Circle, where she would have starred opposite Tom Hanks. She’s apparently quickly out of that, though, with Emma Watson due to replace her. That sort of thing shall happen a lot now that she’s so in demand and likely hitting shortlists for roles all over the place. Maybe not for Assassin’s Creed, though, since that will pair her up with boyfriend Michael Fassbender, with whom she also co-stars in the upcoming drama The Light Between Oceans.
It’s unclear what kind of role she’ll be playing in either of these big movies. And we don’t want to jump to the conclusions that she’s simply “love interest” or “female lead.” Jason Bourne doesn’t need another romance in the next installment, which brings back star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass. Assassin’s Creed, meanwhile, already has one lead actress in the form of Marion Cotillard, whose own role is also unknown.
In addition to The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Light Between Oceans and the transgender drama The Danish Girl, Vikander potentially has at least two more movies just out this fall – The Weinstein Company’s period-set painter drama Tulip Fever and the Bradley Cooper-led chef dramedy Adam Jones.
Bourne 5 would be the earlier release of the two, with the sequel due July 29, 2016. Assassin’s Creed is expected to be released on December 21, 2016.
This post was originally published on May 25, 2015.
