Joseph Gordon-Levitt Contracts James McAvoy’s Cancerous Role
According to a Summit Entertainment press release, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has replaced James McAvoy as the lead in the untitled dramedy formally known as I’m With Cancer. Gordon-Levitt will now play Adam, a young man diagnosed with cancer who must navigate the scary and confusing process of treatment. McAvoy’s reason for leaving? “He has left the production due to unrelated circumstances beyond his control”.
The film, directed by Jonathan Levine (The Wackness, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane), also stars Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston and Philip Baker Hall. Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Ben Karlin will produce the film. Writer Will Reiser and Mandate Pictures’ president Nathan Kahane are executive producing.
Rogen had this to say on the matter: “It’s incredibly unfortunate that circumstances outside of everyone’s control have taken James away from the project, but, with James’s blessing, we were able to have Joseph step in to take on the role of Adam. We all look forward to working with James in the future.”
And director Levine had this to say: “I feel extremely lucky that our film has found an exceptional actor to step into the role of Adam. I have admired Joseph’s work since Brick, and I am so excited to work with him.”
If you have to replace James McAvoy you could do a lot worse than Joseph Gordon Levitt. JGL is an awesome actor (Brick and 500 Days of Summer would be my favorite of his) and with a few exceptions (mainly G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra) he picks really good roles.
Some speculation: could McAvoy be leaving for a bigger project and/or payday such as Wanted 2? Or there could be some juicy drama behind this news? Perhaps McAvoy wasn’t jiving well with Levine, Rogen and/or the studio? End of speculation. All and all, this is a really solid cast and an interesting premise so I’m certainly excited to see how the film comes out.
On the Side: I’m With Cancer, scripted by Will Reiser, was on the 2008 Black List.
