Casting Update on Joe Wright's 'Anna Karenina' starring Keira Knightley

The Playlist reports more casting news for Joe Wright's upcoming period film, Anna Karenina, which will begin filming later in the fall of this year.

Here are the *confirmed ones and new additions to the Anna Karenina cast list so far...

*Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina
*Jude Law as Karenin
*Aaron Johnson as Vyronski
Kelly Macdonald (unknown role)
Benedict Cumberbatch (unknown role)

It looks like both Atonement stars Saoirse Ronan and James McAvoy are still not confirmed as JW's still waiting to hear back from them...

“Keira’s confirmed, Jude Law’s confirmed, Aaron Johnson’s confirmed, Kelly Macdonald‘s confirmed, Benedict Cumberbatch is confirmed. I’m still waiting on Saorise and James,” Wright said to us though he noted, “I’m not sure about James, he recently just had a baby so [he’s busy].” (via The Playlist)

Speaking of Joe Wright and Keira Knightley...IndieWire interviewed JW while promoting his new film, Hanna...he was about Anna Karenina and mentioned why he wanted to do it and work with KK again...

So why the return to period romance for your next film, “Anna Karenina”?
One doesn’t really think of genre, period or non-period; one really responds to stories and characters. That was what first drew me to “Hanna.” With “Anna Karenina,” the idea of a challenge to take on such an extraordinary work of fiction is really exciting. Tolstoy’s analysis of motivation and character is so extraordinary, it’s so kind of acute.

I also said I’d do it if Tom Stoppard wrote the script and he said yes. For me, every film is an education. To sit at the feet of the master and learn from him is an amazing opportunity for me. I also wanted to really work with Keira [Knightley] again—and in fact, a whole company of British actors. I was really enjoying the idea of doing a film that’s more about the actors than “Hanna” was about the action. Read full interview here.