Who Will Be Baz Luhrmann's Daisy In 'The Great Gatsby'? Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Abbie Cornish And More Shortlisted

As he's been workshopping his script for The Great Gatsby, director Baz Luhrmann is still trying to find a woman to play Daisy in his new film version of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. The role was played by Rebecca Hall in that recent workshop, during which Leonardo DiCaprio played Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire read narrator and onlooker Nick Carraway.

But Rebecca Hall's participation didn't mean that she was cast (none of the actors are formally cast, in fact) and now there's a report saying that the director is looking at a diverse lineup of actresses for the part, including Keira Knightley, Abbie Cornish and more in addition to Amanda Seyfried, who was the first actress said to be a real candidate.

Deadline gives the following list: Keira Knightley, Amanda Seyfried, Blake Lively, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams and Scarlett Johansson, in addition to Rebecca Hall and Natalie Portman.

None of those names are even vaguely surprising, as that's more or less the lineup you'd expect to see right now for a key part that requires an actress of a certain range and ability. Some of those women are busy, with (for example) Scarlett Johansson already tapped for The Avengers and possibly Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as well as We Bought a Zoo.

I still think Amanda Seyfried is quite a good choice — she could get both the socialite flightiness and manipulative nature of Daisy on screen. Rebecca Hall, as I've said before, would be better at the 'married into old money' aspect of Daisy, and would be quite strong as well. Natalie Portman isn't quite as naturally fit for the role, nor does Scarlett Johansson. But with Black Swan in the air right now, Natalie Portman is looking like a go-to for every big project with a significant female role. (Gravity, the Alien prequel, etc.)

Deadline also says that Mr. Luhrmann wants Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire for the parts that they've read (going a ways towards confirming the very first reports about the film) but we'll have to wait and see if they actually sign.