The last few months have already provided a bit of bumpy road of speculation for Sony’s upcoming biopic of Apple visionary Steve Jobs.  The project, which is still in development, is based on Walter Isaacson’s biography Steve Jobs.  Sony procured the rights to the non-fiction book shortly after the mogul’s passing in 2011.  With a script written by Oscar-winning scribe Aaron Sorkin, it was first pitched as a potential reunion for the writer and his Social Network director David Fincher.  Throngs of speculation and idle gossip (up to and including the director’s insistence of upcoming film star Oscar-winning actor Christian Bale) eventually confirmed that wouldn’t be the case.

Now a few new names are coming up, and some fairly intriguing ones at that.  As first reported by THR, director Danny Boyle is undergoing talks to helm the project, with Leonardo DiCaprio to possibly star. That would make another reunion of sorts, as Boyle directed the actor in the rather infamous 2000 flop The Beach, something that, if both deals do come to fruition, will likely be left off the marketing materials.  It’s important that stress that both are merely at the earliest stages of coming aboard the Steve Jobs film – no one has officially signed on the project.  DiCaprio, for his part, has just signed up for The Revenant, a survival film by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, 21 Grams, the upcoming Birdman) which will keep him busy for some time (not to mention the extensive list of films his production company, Appian Way, has in the mix).

Boyle, if he indeed signs on for the project, would make an interesting choice to direct.  It would mark a change of pace for the viscerally-inclined Oscar-winning filmmaker at the very least.  The British import made his name in the early 90s with hard-hitting indies like Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, but has caught the Academy’s eye in recent years with titles like Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours.  A drawing board, corporately-based biopic attached to the observant rhythms of Aaron Sorkin’s constant dialogue may prove an alluring new direction. We’ll let you know as soon as anything goes final.