Danny Boyle has reportedly set his sights on Oscar winner Colin Firth and the newly ex-Mrs. Ryan Reynolds (how would YOU describe her?) Scarlett Johannson for his next project, Trance.

Last week it was reported that James McAvoy is in talks for yet another role. While many were hoping that Boyle was setting up a Magneto/Prof. Xavier rematch, Michael Fassbender dropped out long before McAvoy came aboard. Firth is now in talks for the role that Fassbender was initially offered, a character called ‘Aiden’.

No dotted lines have been signed, nor ‘Ts’ crossed, but in addition to Firth, Boyle is said to want Miz Scarlett for the other remaining major role, that of ‘Elizabeth.’

We know that the film is a remake of a made-for-British-TV film and centers around an auction house employee who helps a gang of thieves to steal a valuable piece of art. Complications arise when an accomplice is hit in the head and suffers amnesia, consequently forgetting where the painting is hidden. ( Without being too ‘spoilery’ and not having seen it, I can only surmise that the ‘trance’ of the title refers to how they get the information on the painting’s whereabouts. Ooo maybe ScarJo will play a comely hypnotist?)

Since the character names all appear to have been changed from Joe Ahearne’s version, it’s difficult to tell who is set to play whom. Filming is slated to begin later this summer. Trance has, so far, been scheduled for a 2012 release in the UK.