Deadline is reporting that MCU star and perfect-toothed goodness factory Chris Evans is in talks to unleash his still-probably-pretty-cheerful dark side on a planned film adaptation of the BBC TV miniseries Jekyll. Evans would play Tom Jackman, a modern-day descendent of Dr. Henry Jekyll, forced to share a body and a life with a super-powered evil side that’s the result of his distant ancestor’s famous experiments. (Jackman was played by James Nesbitt in the six-episode British show, created by Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.) Evans is currently attached to Lionsgate’s film version of the series, and will presumably also play Jackman’s sexier, more dangerous Hyde persona if the movie moves forward.
Lionsgate’s Jekyll shouldn’t be confused with another adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel that’s currently in the works. Universal is reportedly prepping a Jekyll film of its own as part of its Monsters Cinematic Universe (ugh, that name), with Russell Crowe as the good/bad/good again doctor. And while we’d be totally on board for a compromise movie in which a good Chris Evans periodically transformed into an evil Russell Crowe, both studios need to be careful. We haven’t had the potential for a 19th century Brit-lit hero fender-bender this big since the great Sherlock Holmes smash-up of 2011-2012, the one that unleashed unstoppable acting monstrosity Benedict Downey Lee Miller, Jr. onto the world.
