 In 1997, Edward Norton (I) (qv) was originally cast in the role of  Nicholas Easter with Joel Schumacher (qv) directing.  Sean Connery (qv) and Gwyneth Paltrow (qv) were cast in the  roles of Fitch and Marlee, respectively. But when Schumacher dropped  out of the project and it was delayed, the actors moved on to other  projects. The project was revived in 2001 when Will Smith (I) (qv)  was in talks to play Nicholas Easter with Jennifer Connelly (qv)  as Marlee and Mike Newell (I) (qv) directing. But Smith dropped  out and the project was again stalled.