Cate Blanchett May Join Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Nightmare Alley’ With Bradley Cooper

Not that Guillermo Del Toro has ever had problems casting top stars for his films, but he’s really aiming high for his next one. Nightmare Alley already has Bradley Cooper attached to star, and now the Oscar-nominee may be joined by a two-time Oscar winner, Cate Blanchett.

Blanchett is in talks to join Cooper in Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, which is said to be based more on the William Lindsay Gresham book than the 1947 film. The story tracks the rise and fall of a con artist at a second-rate carnival, who gets fleeced by a female mentalist more corrupt than him.

Leonardo DiCpario had been attached before being replaced by Cooper. Such are the perks of being a director of Del Toro’s reputation. For Blanchett, this would be a continuation of her branching out from prestige dramas into more mainstream films such as Ocean’s 8, Thor: Ragnarok, and the upcoming Where’d You Go, Bernadette.