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This movie was supposed to star Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany and Eva Green, but eventually the two male leads were given to 'younger, fresher' but not necessarily better, actors. However, there might be a reason behind the preference for the younger, 'more exciting' actors the producers demanded. Eva Green was retained, and now actors Sam Riley (Control) and Ryan Philippe are  playing the lead roles.

Sam Riley, fresh from the acclaim he received from Anton Corbijn's Control is "a heartbroken thirty-something desperately trying to find a way back to the purity of first love," while Philippe is "a masked vigilante detective, searching for his nemesis on the streets of Meanwhile City, a monolithic fantasy metropolis ruthlessly governed by faith and religious fervor..." Eva Green plays an art student.

Screen reports:

Franklyn proves to be a tricky film set to visit. The project, which wraps principal photography in mid-November, is not only hard to describe, it is hard to observe without learning so much that the plot twists are spoiled.

Early reports had pegged Franklyn as a "futuristic thriller" but first-time feature writer-director Gerald McMorrow says it is more of a drama/fantasy that exists in parallel worlds. Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green, Bernard Hill and Sam Riley play lost souls in contemporary London whose lives intersect in an alternate universe where church and state collide.

McMorrow had experience with fantasy worlds with Thespian X, his 2002 TCM Classic Shorts Film Competition-winning short. That, and the strength of his original script, secured Alexandra Stone and Jeremy Thomas of Recorded Picture Company (RPC) as producers. "I think (the fantasy element in the short) inspired Jeremy's faith to do this fantasy film in London, which is a hugely ambitious thing to do, especially on our budget." The project is on track to meet its budget of about $12m (£6m).

Thomas, who has previously worked on debut films by David Mackenzie and Jonathan Glazer, says he was also attracted to the unique concepts in McMorrow's script. "The dual reality and concept of multiple faiths has become a dominant feature in our lives," Thomas suggests.

The veteran producer was also impressed by McMorrow's confidence and vision. "He managed to make the film live for me when I first met him, and that initial vision has moved into the shooting. That's rare in a first-time film-maker."
The alternate world was partially inspired by his travels to Mexico City. "There's this mishmash and clash of religions there," he says. "This is showing the way the world is going, the powers that be realising that as long as you have a faith you can be manipulated, whether that's militant Muslims, or Christians in the Midwest of the US."

About 25% of the film will be heavy post-production work (at Double Negative) but McMorrrow says his own interests are broader than fantasy. His has other original scripts in the works which include a contemporary thriller set in Manhattan and an animated project also set in a parallel world, which he describes as "Toy Story meets Saving Private Ryan".

Meanwhile, he is confident that his vision for Franklyn will translate to the big screen. "It's four stories in one," he says, adding with a laugh, "In some ways I've created my own showreel."

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