Loki star Owen Wilson is still not letting O. J. Simpson off the hook for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted in the infamous trial that still has many people divided on the final non-guilty verdict. Wilson refused to star in the upcoming film, titled The Juice, which portrays the NFL star as innocent of the murder. The Wedding Crashers star was offered a boatload of money for the role.
While the majority of fans appreciated Wilson walking away from the project, a few believed that the actor should have respected the justice system’s motto of ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ The controversial film is being helmed by British director Joshua Newton.
Owen Wilson Will Not Be Starring In Controversial O. J. Simpson Movie
Joshua Newton has been planning an O. J. Simpson movie since 2015, but the controversial nature of the film has made it challenging to make. Newton cast the lead roles in the film and completed filming at least 30 minutes of footage for the film, which is in the can according to the director. Controversial British actress Charlotte Kirk is playing Nicole Brown in the film, while Station 19 star Boris Kodjoe is playing the role of the former Buffalo Bills star.
However, Newton opened up to The Hollywood Reporter’s Rambling Reporter that he hit a roadblock when casting one role in the film. Newton first considered Owen Wilson to play the role of real-life attorney Douglas McCann. Wilson refused to play the role of the attorney, who bought into conspiracy theories about Simpson during his trial, despite getting offered a whopping $12 million. According to Newton’s account to THR, here’s how it went:
“Owen Wilson was perfect for the role. I actually had a meeting with him in Santa Monica. Everybody loved the script. His agent wanted him to do it. We offered him $12 million. But at the end of the lunch, Owen stood up and said, ‘If you think I’m going to take the lead role in a movie about how O.J. didn’t do it, you’ve got to be kidding me.’”
Newton has found his replacement actor for the role. However, he will not be revealing it anytime soon. The $12 million is supposedly one of the biggest sums offered to The French Dispatch actor in recent years. For Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki, Wilson was making $300,000 per episode (via Showbiz Galore). He may have earned a total of $3.6 million for the two seasons of the Marvel show, a lower amount than the one offered to him for Newton’s film.
Fans Appreciate Owen Wilson Turning Down The Role
Fans on X had wild reactions to the report from THR. Many wondered how the satirical thriller film could afford to offer Owen Wilson $12 million. They wanted to know the budget of the film. Fans appreciated Wilson’s response, with one calling it the “smart” decision. Another fan shared that Wilson proved his point by turning down the role in the movie.
Wilson’s cutthroat reply amazed most fans, with some even mentioning that Wilson has won his inner evil battle by prioritizing his beliefs over the huge money offered to him. One fan mentioned that he was proud of Wilson after the reply. Some fan reactions read:
$12 MILLION? I mean….its based that Owen walked away, but still $12 FREAKING MILLION?
What kind of budget does this movie have?
— Matt Jarbo (@mjarbo) April 24, 2024
Owen Wilson with the smart response.
— Dark Web Informer (@DarkWebInformer) April 24, 2024
He has a point
— ✨The 1 & Only✨ (@VikingIrishGod) April 24, 2024
LMAO what the actual eefffff.. good reply by Owen 👊🏼😂
— Perfectly Imperfect 🤷🏻 (@abhicc225) April 24, 2024
Owen has won his inner evil battle 🙏♥️🫰
— Gene (@worstgeneD) April 24, 2024
If this true, I’m proud of Owen Wilson.
— MeresK – America: 7/4/1776-6/8/2023 RIP (@MeresK98) April 24, 2024
Joshua Newton hopes to complete the O. J. Simpson movie, without Owen Wilson, by October 3, 2025. It is the 30th anniversary of Simpson’s not-guilty verdict. Wilson’s Loki is now available for streaming on Disney+.
