Javier Bardem Joins ‘Wall Street’ Sequel

Published by Jeff Leins on: June 2nd, 2009

Oscar winner Javier Bardem is joining the cast of Oliver Stone’s Wall Street 2, according to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily.  Filming begins in August for a tentative release in February 2010, she claims.  Allan Loeb (21) is turning in a second draft of the script this week in time for the start of production at the end of the summer.

Fox insists to Entertainment Weekly Bardem hasn’t officially signed for the role or even met with Stone.

The sequel to the 1987 classic includes the return of Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko (which won him a “Best Actor” Oscar already) and Shia LaBeouf as a young trader engaged to Gekko’s daughter (who hasn’t been cast at this time).  Bardem would play an evil hedge fund manager suspected of killing LaBeouf’s mentor.

The story picks up 21 years later and Gekko has finished his prison sentence.  He finds himself on the “fringe of the financial community” warning Wall Street of the coming stock market crisis, but no one’s listening.  Meanwhile, Gekko makes a pact with LaBeouf’s character to get closer to his estranged daughter in return for investigating Bardem’s shady practices.  The plot will take place between June 2008 and the federal bailout.

I’m still not sold on the sequel.  The original was a brilliant take on corporate corruption and it seems like a perfect fit for the economic condition the market is in now.  But Loeb seems to be writing in a murder subplot and strained family relationships that will dilute a potentially great fictional take on the recent Wall Street dive and billion dollar bailout.  Then again Bardem would certainly mean quality talent and Douglas won an Oscar playing his character, so who knows.

Hopefully the release date isn’t true and this will be pushed back to allow for more post-production work and possible awards consideration.  Dumping a sequel like this in the desolate month of February would be a mistake.