Tobey Maguire Set To Portray Bobby Fischer In ‘Pawn Sacrifice’

Tobey Maguire, the man that was once Peter Parker in Sam Raimi’s version of the web-slinging superhero’s cinematic adventures, is set to portray chess legend Bobby Fischer in a new movie, according to Geek Tyrant. Blood Diamond director Edward Zwick has been tapped to direct the film, a project that was once in the very capable hands of Fight Club filmmaker David Fincher.

Pawn Sacrifice, which has been on the back burner for quite some time, will follow Fischer’s life up to his world championship match against Boris Spassky in 1972. First Showing states that everything following this historic event, including Fischer’s years in exile, will be avoided.

Sadly, there aren’t too many chess movies currently on the market. Although there have been a few satisfying documentaries sprinkled throughout the past several years, the game of chess hasn’t really enjoyed a strong cinematic narrative since Steve Zaillian’s Searching for Bobby Fischer, a film that helped foster my love for the game as well as and one of its greatest players.

After biding farewell to the Spider-Man franchise, Maguire has maintained a low profile. Since 2007, the actor has appeared in only a handful of major motion pictures including Jim Sheridan’s remake of director Susanne Bier’s 2004 drama Brothers. This September, Tobey will appear in The Details alongside Elizabeth Banks and Laura Linney.

Maguire fans are no doubt excited for Romeo + Juliet director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of author F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby, which also stars a host of young Hollywood talent. Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Carey Mulligan, and Gemma Ward are also featured in the upcoming flick. The picture was originally slated to arrive in North American theaters on December 25, though Warner Bros. has since moved its release date to sometime next year.

Are you a Tobey Maguire fan? Do you think he’ll do a good job of portraying Bobby Fischer in Pawn Sacrifice?