Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in Talks to Play Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in New Biopic
Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are ready to become the Ricardos. The two Oscar winners may have found their next roles in Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, respectively.
E! News confirmed Kidman, 53, and Bardem, 51, are in talks to portray the famous I Love Lucy co-stars and off-screen lovers in the movie Being the Ricardos.
The meta Being the Ricardos movie will follow Ball and Arnaz during a challenging week of filming the 1950s TV show I Love Lucy. The plot starts during a Monday table read and ends with a TV shoot on Friday in front of a live audience, according to Deadline.
The couple’s children, Lucie Arnaz, 69, and Desi Arnaz Jr., 67, will executive produce their parents’ official biopic.
Ball and Arnaz got married in 1940 before co-starring in the popular I Love Lucy, which ran from 1951 to 1957. They divorced in 1960.
However, the project seems to have faced several shakeups.
Back in 2015, news broke that Sorkin was interested in writing the screenplay. However, Twitter users immediately spoke out against the choice and criticized The Social Network scribe for not writing female characters with enough depth.
At the time, Cate Blanchett was in talks to portray Ball and was later confirmed for the iconic role in 2017.
It’s unclear why Blanchett exited the project, though it seems that Amazon is preparing to officially replace her with Kidman, who recently made waves in Big Little Lies and The Undoing.
As for Bardem, the Skyfall actor is currently working on The Little Mermaid live-action film, in which he’ll star as the King Triton to Halle Bailey‘s Ariel.
