Jamie Foxx Starring Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained

Jamie Foxx will be heading to the wild, wild, west according to the latest from Variety, since Will Smith and a few others decided not to ride with Quentin Tarantino in his version of a western, called a ‘southern’, that revolves around a former slave determined to rescue his wife from an evil plantation owner.

The movie is Django Unchained, and Foxx playing the title character. Joining him will be Leonardo DiCaprio as evil plantation owner Calvin Candie, Samuel L. Jackson as a slave named Stephen who does some of Candie’s dirty work, and Christoph Waltz as the German bounty hunter that teaches Django all the tricks he needs to know in order to rescue his wife. Foxx might be teaming up with Ray co-star Kerry Washington since she’s reportedly the favorite for the role of Django’s wife.

Tarantino finds inspiration in a variety of ways, and the idea for Django Unchained was spawned by the 1966 Sergio Corbucci spaghetti western Django. There’s no confirmation at this time, but Will Smith supposedly turned down the role because of excessive language and violence. Idris Elba, Terrence Howard and Chris Tucker were also mentioned for the role before Foxx landed the part.