Kurt Russell In Talks To Replace Kevin Costner In Tarantino's Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino has always been a big fan of using the same actors over and over again. Samuel L. Jackson has been in Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Inglourious Basterds. Uma Thurman starred in Pulp Fiction and both Kill Bill movies. Hell, even Steve Buscemi came back after Reservoir Dogs to play Buddy Holly the Waiter in Tarantino's 1994 modern classic. The filmmaker has already started bringing back actors for Django Unchained as well. Christolph Waltz, who won an Oscar for his work in Basterds, is set to play a German bounty hunter in the movie and Jackson will be a house slave fiercely loyal to his owner, but Tarantino isn't done yet, according to THR.

The trade has learned that Death Proof star Kurt Russell is now in talks to replace Kevin Costner in Django Unchained. A villainous role, Russell will be playing Ace Woody, an employee of the evil Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) who trains slaves to fight for others' entertainment. Costner dropped out of the project two weeks ago due to scheduling conflicts. But that's not all. Laura Cayouette, who played Rocket in Kill Bill Vol. 2, has also signed on to the movie as Candie's widowed sister, who owns the plantation.

The film centers on an escaped slave named Django (Jaime Foxx) who meets the aforementioned German bounty hunter (Waltz) and crafts a plan to get revenge against his former owner and rescue his wife (a role that has not yet been cast). The movie will begin production in November and is slated for a December 25, 2012 release date.

This is undeniably awesome. While Death Proof may not have been Tarantino's strongest outing, Russell is and always will be fantastic. What's funny about this is that this isn't the first time Russell and Costner have been connected. Both actors played Wyatt Earp in the early 90s (Costner in Wyatt Earp, Russell in the superior Tombstone) and co-starred in the in the ridiculous 3000 Miles To Graceland. Life is funny sometimes.