Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity seems like one of the most interesting films in active development right now. But new details about the film may indicate a high budget then expected, and Warner Bros. is not willing to make the film unless superstar Angelina Jolie is involved.  Judging how the female lead is the only actor on screen for a huge percentage of the film, Warner Bros. needs a big enough star to support the high budget.  But  Jolie has passed on the film for a second time, leading to much doubt on the film’s future.

It’s not like Warner hasn’t tried looking for a new actress to replace Jolie.  In fact, Deadline reports that Sandra Bullock, Natalie Portman, Naomi Watts, Marion Cotillard, Carey Mulligan, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall, Olivia Wilde, and Blake Lively have all been approached to take Jolie’s place.  But WB is adamant on Jolie for the part.  But be it scheduling conflicts or just a lack of interest, Jolie doesn’t want to take it.

Now first of all, don’t think Warner Bros. has just outright cancelled the project.  With that big list of actresses, you better believe Warner is serious about the film and its future.  And why not?  Alfonso Cuaron’s last film, Children of Men, was praised as one of the best in the last decade.  Cuaron has also made the studio a huge amount of cash on arguably the best Harry Potter film, Prisoner of Azkaban. Yet without a bankable star, the film is in limbo.

For those who don’t know, Gravity is the story of a female astronaut who tries to make her way back to Earth after a satellite crash causes utter disaster.  Jolie will be the only actor on screen for most of the time, although Robert Downey Jr. has been cast in a minor role, probably in a flashback.  But the most interesting part of the film is also Cuaron’s trademark: the long, continuous shot.  Used to great effect in Children of Men, this film in particular was first reported to contain a 20 minute continuous shot, but new reports coming in are saying the WHOLE film might be a continuous shot.  If that’s the case, this would be the first film to ever do it.  Talk about “groundbreaking.”  In addition, a good portion of the film will be entirely CGI.  All that will cost a pretty penny, of course.

Gravity is aiming for a 2012 release, but good luck with that, WB.