Jared Leto is hoping to return to his House of Gucci role for a prequel to the 2021 biographical drama, and he wants to bring Al Pacino along for the ride. In the movie, Leto, almost unrecognizable under a transformative amount of makeup and prosthetics, plays Paolo Gucci, the son of Pacino's Aldo Gucci, the chairman of the Gucci fashion empire for more than 30 years. While the movie ended pretty conclusively, Leto may not be done with the Gucci brand just yet.
House of Gucci tells the tumultuous story of the eponymous family and the drama, intrigue, backstabbing, and murder that went on behind the scenes of the namesake fashion line. The movie is helmed by Academy Award-nominated director Ridley Scott and comes with an impressive cast. Along with Leto and Pacino, the film features performances from Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and more. Leto apparently enjoyed working with the cast — Pacino in particular — so much that he's already hoping for a reunion.
On a recent episode of The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM, Leto was discussing the film. Calling Pacino "one of the world's greatest actors," Leto shared a story about their first meeting on set, during which Pacino didn't even recognize the younger actor underneath all his makeup. Leto was so enamored with his time working with Pacino that he said he'd love to make a prequel to the film to be able to work with the veteran actor again. Check out Leto's comments on working with Pacino and the full interview here:
On the first day of set, [Pacino] didn't know it was me, and I came up to him and said, you know, "hello." And he just kind of brushed me off. He thought I was just an Italian weirdo that was trying to talk to him or get his autograph or something. I come up to him two or three times and someone finally whispered, "That's Paolo, that's Jared under there." And he was like, "My son, my son," and he fell to the floor. He was just astounded. Having that happen with one of the world's greatest actors was a beautiful gift and gave me the faith that if Al can believe in this guy, then we all can. It was a boost of confidence early on, and I adored working with him.
But Leto probably shouldn't hold his breath. House of Gucci was actually the second project from Scott this year, and the second one featuring Adam Driver. The pair had previously collaborated on The Last Duel, a film that made headlines when Scott blamed its underperformance on millennials when the medieval epic bombed. Gucci fared moderately better at the box office, though it didn't break any records and Leto's performance was met with mixed reviews. So the chances of another installment are probably pretty slim.
As much as Leto may want it, a House of Gucci prequel likely isn't in the cards. The fact that he was able to suffer through the makeup process alone shows that Leto was clearly passionate about and dedicated to his role and the project as a whole. His being able to work with a screen icon he obviously admires must have made the experience that much better. So it's really no surprise Leto would want that experience to continue.
Source: The Jess Cagle Show