Jamie Foxx in Middle of Latest “Django Unchained” Rumors

It's not often that one of the hottest roles in Hollywood calls for a black actor, but when Quentin Tarantino writes a script about a slave-turned-gunslinger out to save his wife and exact revenge on his former owner, well, there's going to be clamoring.

The first word on casting for QT's upcoming film was that it was written with an eye toward Will Smith, who, for reasons that remain unclear, appears to be out of the running. Good, we say. So who's next to lead the pack? Right now it's Jamie Foxx, according to Showbiz 411. Idris Elba ("The Wire," "Thor" and Chris Tucker had also been mentioned as being in the running.

And if Showbiz 411 is to be believed, Leonardo DiCaprio is "definitely signed," for the role of Calvin Candie, owner of Candyland, a club in Mississippi where guests are "entertained" with black female sex slaves and black men pitted against one another in death matches.

What we'd like to know is why haven't Anthony Mackie's people gotten his name in the mix? The guy's been doing great work in a string of supporting roles, and is due for a shot. "Django" doesn't need a "name" actor in the title role, Tarantino, DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz (as the German bounty hunter who serves as Django's mentor) will be enough to put fannies in the seats.

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