Prisoners star Jake Gyllenhaal is now in talks for the lead role in Southpaw, a boxing drama that will be directed by Antoine Fuqua. Rapper Eminem was originally attached to the project back in December 2010, however, the film was postponed and Eminem dropped out to focus more on his music.
Gyllenhaal would play a welterweight boxer who fights well in the ring, but must work to earn his young daughter’s respect after a family tragedy. Fuqua stated that “the heart of the movie is about a man learning to be a father.”
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter penned the script for Southpaw and filming is expected to begin next year.
Gyllenhaal can next be seen in the thriller Enemy, which will be released next year. He is currently filming the crime film Nightcrawler, where he plays a struggling reporter in Los Angeles, CA.
