The first Hollywood heartthrob to take on the Jeff Buckley biopic project was Brad Pitt (as a producer), but that fizzled out despite the blessing of Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert. Now The Courier Press reports (via The Playlist, via The Daily Swarm) that a new project is in the works with the producer of 2007’s Joy Division film Control, Orion Williams. What’s more, Jared Leto, James Franco, Robert Pattinson and James Marsden have all expressed interest in playing Buckley.

“I have finally relented against my deep conviction that films about people should never be made until those people are long dead,” Guibert said. “Whoever gets the part will need a lot of self-discipline because they won’t be able to fake it.”

Jared Leto is technically a successful singer, but the John Lennon murder movie Chapter 27 was a flop, so he might be a bit risky. Robert Pattinson actually might make sense, as he is a singer/songwriter with a bit of that Buckley vibe, but he doesn’t really look like the part to me. Either way, they better all start practicing their Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan right away.

When I saw Hamlet set to the music of Radiohead at the local college it was pretty awful, but I could kind of picture this: William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been made into a musical adaptation featuring the songs of Jeff Buckley and, most importantly, “with the permission of The Estate of Jeff Buckley.” That last part is a big deal because Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert has notoriously guarded her son’s legacy very closely.

Michael Kimmel’s adaptation, The Last Goodbye, will premiere next Monday (May 11) at NYC’s Joe’s Pub in the first of three performances. Here’s the show’s description from Buckley’s official site:

Created hundreds of years apart, the timeless work of two of history’s great poets collide in this visceral and moving world premiere theatrical event. Part rock concert, part Elizabethan verse, part 21st century musical, THE LAST GOODBYE features a cast of fourteen extraordinary young, up-and-coming actor-singers. Told through Jeff Buckley’s daring and soulful music, William Shakespeare’s romantic and violent tragedy is new yet again.