John Cusack to play Poe in ‘The Raven’

Looks like we spoke a bit too soon with our last post regarding The Raven. Jeremy Renner’s involvement was apparently overestimated, and now with the actor moving on to Mission: Impossible 4 and perhaps Paul Thomas Anderson’s tentatively titled The Master, a slot has opened in James McTeigue’s intriguing Edgar Allan Poe project.

John Cusack has stepped in to play Poe, who – in this fictionalized version of his last five days on Earth – must team up with a detective to catch a serial killer who has captured Poe’s fiancé and kills people in ways inspired by the author’s own work.

Heat Vision brings the casting news, also reporting the film will shoot in Budapest and Serbia, locations which are supposed to double for Baltimore, Maryland in the year 1859. Filming begins on October 25th.

Joaquin Phoenix (star of the upcoming documentary I’m Still Here) and Ewan McGregor were once in talks for the lead role in The Raven over the years, and apparently Renner was attached as the detective before leaving in favor of M:I 4.

I think the detective role sounds perfect for Edward Norton. Who do you think should replace Renner to assist Cusack’s Poe in tracking down a notorious killer? And what do you think of Cusack himself playing the iconic author? This is one of the most original ideas I’ve heard in Hollywood development circles in quite some time, so expect updates on this project as they arrive.