Paul Walker's sudden death in November 2013 left a big void in Hollywood, and not just emotionally. At the time of his passing, the Fast & Furious actor was set to star in two new movies: the action flick Agent 47 and the Nicholas Sparks romance The Best of Me. Now, a little over a month after his life was taken in a tragic car accident, his role in the latter has been offered to James Marsden, Deadline reports.
According to the site, the X-Men actor is in early talks with film studio Relativity and director Michael Hoffman to take over the male lead in the drama. Source Code actress Michelle Monaghan has already been cast as the female lead.
The Best of Me is based on a book of the same name by bestselling author Sparks (who also penned The Notebook, The Lucky One, and A Walk to Remember, among others). It's about two former high school sweethearts who reunite after 20 years at a funeral in their hometown in North Carolina.
Agent 47, on the other hand — the other movie in which Walker was supposed to appear — is an action flick featuring the bald assassin of the same name from the Hitman video game franchise. It's a sequel to 2007's Hitman, starring Timothy Olyphant.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Homeland actor Rupert Friend has been tapped to replace Walker in that film. Friend plays Peter Quinn on the hit Showtime series; he's also known for Pride & Prejudice and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
