Olivia Wilde, Salma Hayek & Taylor Kitsch Linked To Oliver Stone’s ‘Savages

Those consistent scoopmeisters over at Deadline report that Jennifer Lawrence, the Oscar-nominated ‘Winter’s Bone’ actress has dropped out of Oliver Stone’s ‘Savages,’ the upcoming adaptation of Don Winslow’s bestselling novel ‘Savages: A Novel,’ due to her joining ‘The Hunger Games.’

‘Savages’ revolves around a love triangle between two best friend pot growers and O (the part Lawrence was linked with), the wild child girlfriend they share. Previous reports were that Stone had been meeting with a number of top-notch actors to play Ben and Chon (the two best friends), a list that included Leonardo DiCaprio, Aaron Johnson, Tom Hardy, James Franco and Tron Legacy’s Garrett Hedlund. Now it looks like Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) and Aaron Johnson (Kick Ass) are the favourites to play Ben and Chon, while Olivia Wilde (Tron:Legacy) is being tossed into the mix as a possible replacement for Lawrence.

Another actress linked to the film is Salma Hayek, who’s being tapped to play the cartel matriarch, an iron-fisted beauty who becomes intrigued and practically maternal over the kidnapped gal. Benicio Del Toro has been long linked to the role of an Mexican drug cartel enforcer sent to muscle Ben and Chon out of business. When they resist, O gets kidnapped and the ransom is every ill-gotten cent they’ve made.

I’ve got high hopes for this flick, I’ve got a soft spot for crime thrillers. Expect some confirmed casting news soonish as production is set to start in the summer.