Joel Edgerton 'signs up for The Great Gatsby'

Joel Edgerton has signed up for a key role in Baz Luhrmann's forthcoming adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, both Edgerton and Clash of the Titans actor Luke Evans read for the role, but the Animal Kingdom star ultimately won the part.

The 36-year-old will reportedly play the major part of athlete Tom Buchanan, ending speculation that Ben Affleck was close to securing the role.

Carey Mulligan has already been cast as Buchanan's wife Daisy, while Isla Fisher was reported to be in talks for the role of his lover Myrtle Wilson last month.

Leonardo Di Caprio, who last collaborated with Luhrmann on 1995's Romeo + Juliet, is tipped to star as protagonist Jay Gatsby. The role of Gatsby's friend Nick Carraway, who narrates the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, is thought to have gone to Tobey Maguire.

Principal photography is due to start in Sydney this August.