Oliver Stone Looking at Universal & Taylor Kitsch for 'Savages'

Last month we reported that director Oliver Stone was circling the wagons around Jennifer Lawrence to play the female lead in his next project Savages.  Unfortunately, due to The Hunger Games Lawrence is out. 

Stone is now fast tracking the movie towards a distribution deal with Universal, and is in talks with Taylor Kitsch to star alongside Aaron Johnson in a story about Laguna Beach pot dealers strong-armed into working for a Mexican drug cartel, according to Deadline.

Johnson is more of a household name at this point in his career after starring in Kick-Ass, but Kitsch is a rising star.  He was great in the TV series Friday Night Lights, and was of one of the very few bright spots as Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  He's currently finishing up production on the fantasy adventure John Carter of Mars and Peter Berg's Battleship.

Stone is looking at Kitsch to play Chon, a former operative who is a remorseless killer.  Also rumored to be in consideration for roles in the adaptation of the Don Winslow novel are Salma Hayek and Olivia Wilde, starring as the cartel matriarch and the kidnapped girlfriend of the drug dealers respectively.      

The distribution deal between Stone and Universal is expected to be finalized by some time next week, though two other studios are said to still be in the running.  I like the names being circulated for the Savages and it sounds like a promising movie.