Dominic Cooper Replaces Clive Owen In 'Cities'; Will He Drop 'Motor City'?

Dominic Cooper has been on a tear lately, raising his profile in 2011 thanks to his dual role turn in "The Devil's Double" and his stint in the comic book tentpole "Captain America: The First Avenger." But it seems there may be some changes on the horizon for the actor. He's got a handful of projects on the way -- "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," "Summer In February," "Half Of A Yellow Sun," "Motor City" -- with his calendar becoming full, and it seems his latest manuever may mean dropping the latter studio pic as a result.

Cooper has signed on to star in "Cities," replacing Clive Owen who had to bow out due to his own scheduling conflicts. Set to star Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom and Anil Kapoor, the story penned by director Roger Donaldson and British TV veteran Glenn Wilhide, has been described as a cautionary tale, blending three interlinking story lines—a New York hedge fund manager (Cooper) chasing sex, money and power, a Mumbai cop investigating corrupt colleagues (one of whom is Kapoor) and their links to property speculators, and a young London couple finding it difficult to plant a foot on the property ladder. Dunst will play the character of Kate, in Owen's storyline while Bloom's role hasn't been revealed, though we presume he's one half of the London couple.

It sounds like a great ensemble pic, with the kind of contemporary themes that should resonate well with critics and audiences, but Variety suggests his participation here "calls into question" his availability for "Motor City." The Albert Hughes thriller has been moving along, with Chris Evans first circling the lead, before Cooper grabbed it last fall. But the project we imagine is a hard one to sell to actor, as the Black List script by Chad St. John is notable for having only one line of dialogue for the protagonist. "Motor City" recently lined up Gary Oldman to play the villain, and has Amber Heard as the moll, so if Cooper does indeed leave, here's hoping they can find someone swiftly to replace him.

"Cities" gets rolling in front of cameras this spring.