Alicia Vikander to Star In 'Tulip Fever'; Matthias Schoenaerts Eyed for Role

In development for nearly a decade, the adaptation of Deborah Moggach's novel Tulip Fever has seen everyone from John Madden (Shakespeare In Love) to Tom Hooper (Les Miserables) circling it as a potential directing project, with Keira Knightley and Jude Law once set to star. But for various reasons, most fairly boring, nothing ever came about despite a script by Tom Stoppard  already in place. Now it appears the film is back on track, with some up 'n coming talent on board.

Anna Karenina star Alicia Vikander will star in the 17th century romance, which centers on the illicit affair between a painter and the wife of a wealthy merchant during a time when tulipmania had struck Amsterdam. So one can imagine all of the sexual metaphors that will be at play in a story about blooming and ripening flowers. Sought for the role of the lover is Rust and Bone star Matthias Schoenaerts, with Justin Chadwick (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) now behind the director's chair.

Considering the many times it looked like Tulip Fever had finally come together with nothing really happening, it's tough to have any confidence just yet. Production will have to wait until Schoenaerts finishes up with Animal Rescue, and possibly his second teaming with Noomi Rapace in Alive Alone. Vikander has The Man from UNCLE next on her list. [DailyMail]