Originally published September 23, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
Director Terry Gilliam’s long-gestating adaptation of Don Quixote has been delayed once again this week, with Contact Music reporting that the health of star John Hurt (Snowpiercer) has set the film back.
Hurt, who is the latest actor to take over the lead role of Quixote after the likes of Robert Duvall (The Judge) and original star Jean Rochefort, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer over the summer. The acclaimed actor is currently undergoing treatment, but insurers on the film want to wait and see how his treatment progresses before completing their “sign-off”.
Gilliam remains hopeful that Hurt will be fit enough to return to the project, which sees him co-star with Jack O’Connell (Starred Up). O’Connell will play the role of Toby, originally “portrayed” by Johnny Depp (Black Mass) in the abandoned 2002 version of the film.
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote was first scheduled for 2002, when Gilliam and his cast (including Depp and Rochefort) started filming only to be undone by horrid weather conditions as well as the health of Rochefort, leading to the film’s collapse. The story of that version is the topic of documentary Lost In La Mancha.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=qvTY7eXXIMg
