This Time, It's Official: Joel Edgerton Joins Kathryn Bigelow's Bin Laden Movie

Last spring, we began hearing reports that Animal Kingdom star Joel Edgerton had landed a role in Kathryn Bigelow's still-untitled Osama bin Laden movie. However, a deal never really closed and as of last month it looked like scheduling issues had pulled him from the project altogether. Now it seems Edgerton is back in, and this time for good. A new story has surfaced indicating that Edgerton has officially boarded the film, joining previously cast star Jason Clarke. More details after the jump.

Variety writes that Edgerton was just the "unofficial top choice" to star in the film when stories of his involvement began floating around last spring, and that by the time the project was ready to begin it looked like Edgerton would be too busy with 300: Battle of Artemisia to do the bin Laden movie. Luckily for Bigelow, Edgerton wound up passing on the swords-and-sandals sequel, which created the opening in his schedule that allowed him to commit to Bigelow's truth-based thriller.

Edgerton's not the only notable name that's been linked to the bin Laden project over the past several months. Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Jennifer Ehle, Nina Arianda, Rooney Mara and most recently Chris Pratt have all been rumored or approached at one point or another, but Clarke and now Edgerton are the only actors officially signed on at the moment. There's still plenty of room for the others to come aboard, though, with several open parts including that of a female reporter embedded with the team.

Edgerton last starred in October's The Thing, and will next appear in The Odd Life of Timothy Green. He's currently shooting Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby with Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, and Isla Fisher. Bigelow and Boal's picture is scheduled to enter production next month, with a December 19 release.