Vincent Cassell, shown here with Natalie Portman on the set of ‘Black Swan’

Although Child 44 began filming in June and is presumably almost finished, a notable change was recently made to the cast. With no reason given as of yet, Vincent Cassel (A Dangerous Method, Trance) has taken over the role that was previously filled by Philip Seymour Hoffman. In addition to the lack of reason for Hoffman’s departure so late in filming, there is still no word on the nature of the role that Cassel is taking over.

As mentioned earlier, Child 44 is based on the novel by Tom Rob Smith in which Soviet cop Leo Demidov (Tom Hardy) is accused of treason while investigating a series of child murders. Demidov is supported by neither his boss (Gary Oldman) nor his wife (Noomi Rapace).

Child 44 is directed by Daniel Espinosa and features Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Paddy Considine (The World’s End), and Joel Kinnaman (Easy Money) in supporting roles. The film is produced by Ridley Scott, Michael Shaefer (The Impossible, The Hurt Locker), and Greg Shapiro (Zero Dark Thirty, The Rum Diary), and is expected to release in 2014.