Joel Edgerton to Play Tom Buchanan in 'The Great Gatsby'

UPDATE: Australian actor Joel Edgerton has nabbed the role of Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s all-star adaptation of The Great Gatsby, being made in 3D by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow.

THR reported last weekend that Luhrmann was zeroing in on Edgerton and actor Luke Evans, both of whom took part in readings with the director. Edgerton ultimately won the role.

Buchanan is one of the key characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story of love and discontentment among the rich in lavish 1920s Long Island, N.Y.

Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to play the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby, while Tobey Maguire is playing Nick Carraway, who in the novel is the narrator. Carey Mulligan is playing Gatsby’s love, Daisy Buchanan, who is married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthy man having an affair with a mistress (played by Isla Fisher) in the city.

Ben Affleck circled the role earlier this year but ultimately couldn’t make the dates work with Argo, the political thriller that will be his next directorial effort.

That movie is eyeing a September start, while Gatsby is heading for a start in August.