Angela Lansbury Checks Out of New Wes Anderson Movie The Grand Budapest Hotel

Say it isn’t so! Angela Lansbury won’t be checking in to The Grand Budapest Hotel after all, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Though the five-time Tony winner was previously reported to appear in the upcoming Wes Anderson film, she has dropped out due to prior scheduling conflicts with the Australian production of Driving Miss Daisy, in which she will co-star with James Earl Jones.

Lansbury is passing up the opportunity to work on the film with a bevy of Hollywood and stage veterans including Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, Jude Law, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jeff Goldblum. Although no plot details of The Grand Budapest Hotel have been announced, before departing Lansbury did state that she would be playing “a woman of mystery.”

While Lansbury is, of course, not easy to replace, Wes Anderson might want to give Tony winner Elaine Stritch a call. Stritch took over for Lansbury in the recent revival of Little Night Music, and when casting “a woman of mystery” she’s always on the top of our list.