Charlize Theron to star in "The Gray Man".

13 Oct – The role may have originally been written for a man, but Charlize Theron, an actress known for her diverse silver screen roles, is reportedly being eyed as the protagonist for "The Gray Man".

The South African-born actress is in talks to play the female lead, according to The Tracking Board, which could mean either Theron will be starring alongside a male lead or more probably this could very well be a gender-swap situation where Theron's character will be replacing the movie's male protagonist itself.

Adapted from Mark Greaney's same name novel, the story originally follows a man named Court Gentry, a.k.a. The Gray Man, who is an American operative that moves silently from job to job and always hits his targets.

The storyline will have Gentry racing against time to save the lives of the daughters he never knew he had. This will be a harder trick to pull if Theron were to headline as Gentry but Joe Russo and Anthony Russo, who are penning the script, would surely figure a way around that.

Charlize Theron's performance in "Mad Max: Fury Road" was highly praised.

Brad Pitt was previously attached to star as the titular man, with James Gray directing. There has been no development on that front and currently there is no director set to helm the project.

This is far from the first movie to swap their protagonist's gender from male to female, as Angelina Jolie's "Salt" was also tailored with her as the titular character after Tom Cruise dropped out. Then there's Sandra Bullock, who successfully landed her role in "Our Brand is Crisis", which was initially planned for George Clooney, after she asked the producers for the role.

Even if Theron doesn't land the Gray Man role, she will still be seen next in "The Last Face", directed by former fiancé Sean Penn, and 2016 movie "The Huntsman".

However, fans of "Mad Max: Fury Road" shouldn't put high hopes in the 40-year-old reprising her Furiousa role in the upcoming sequels as director George Miller himself said the character might not be written in, which makes sense since Mad Max seldom encounters the same, recurring characters in the movies.

(Photo source: Republica)