Christopher Peterson/FilmMagic
At a moment when astronomical bonuses being doled out to Wall Street bankers are making headlines -- and earning the scorn of President Barack Obama, who reportedly called the payouts “obscene” -- the return of Gordon "Greed is Good" Gekko to the silver screen in 2010 seems especially timely.
In February’s Vanity Fair, photographer Annie Leibovitz offers us a sneak peak at the cast of Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. A now silver-haired Michael Douglas reprises the role that earned him a Best Actor Oscar in 1988 (in the sequel, Gordon Gekko has just finished a 20-year prison sentence). Shia LaBeouf plays Jacob Moore, an ambitious hedge funder who is dating Gekko’s estranged daughter, played by Carey Mulligan (Peter Sarsgaard's costar in 2009's An Education). And Josh Brolin takes on the villain role as a hedge-fund manager of questionable repute.
Wait a minute -- Gordon Gekko's not the villain? Believe it or not, rumor has it that this time around, he’s the good guy.
It’s hard to believe that more than two decades have passed since Wall Street premiered. It’ll be fascinating -- perhaps painful -- to see how director Oliver Stone interprets the nation’s current economic crisis. But it will also be exciting to see Brolin and LaBeouf spar on screen, and intriguing to discover whether Gekko can redeem himself.
Are you excited to see a Wall Street sequel? Chime in below!
