Michael Fassbender in early talks to pick up Steve Jobs role

Sony has hauled its Steve Jobs biopic back to the Genius Bar after Christian Bale dropped out of playing the late Apple cofounder, and a new high-profile actor has emerged as a candidate to replace him.

Michael Fassbender is in early talks to star in the untitled Jobs film, the Los Angeles Times has confirmed. Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.

Danny Boyle (“Slumdog Millionaire,� “Trainspotting�) is directing the movie from a script by “The Social Network� writer Aaron Sorkin, based on Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography “Steve Jobs.�

Bale and Sony’s recent parting of ways came as the latest in a series of ups and downs for the film, and also underscored the often tenuous nature of Hollywood dealings — the current discussions with Fassbender being no exception.

Just two weeks ago, Sorkin said in a Bloomberg interview that Bale was on board to play Jobs and was “going to crush it.�

Along with Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio had circled the Jobs role but ultimately passed, and “Gone Girl� director David Fincher was in talks to direct the film at one point.

Whoever ends up playing Jobs will inherit what Sorkin has called “an extremely difficult role,� with “more words to say in this movie than most people have in three movies combined.�

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