007 #6 candidate James Purefoy set to star in `V For Vendetta`

007 #6 candidate James Purefoy ("Resident Evil", "Vanity Fair") has signed on to star opposite Natalie Portman in "V for Vendetta," an adaptation of a 1980s Alan Moore comic book that Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers are producing for Warner Bros. Pictures says The Hollywood Reporter.

James Purefoy screentested for the role of James Bond in 1995 shortly before Pierce Brosnan won the role. He is amongst the top candidates to become the sixth 007.



Set in an alternate future in which Great Britain is a fascist state, a freedom fighter known as V (Purefoy) uses terrorist tactics to fight the oppressive society. He rescues a young woman (Portman) from the secret police, and she becomes his unlikely ally. Andy and Larry Wachowski wrote the screenplay, which is based on the 10-issue comic book by Moore and illustrator David Lloyd.

James McTeigue, who was the first assistant director on the Wachowskis' "Matrix" trilogy, is directing. Filming is scheduled to take place in Berlin beginning in early March for a fall release. Purefoy will next be seen playing Marc Antony in HBO's upcoming series "Rome."

Thanks to `mathewww` for the alert.

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