Alan Dale seems to have earned a great gig at the last minute, as Variety is reporting that the Lost actor joined The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo right before production ended, playing a “career detective on the verge of retirement.” Having a) not read Stieg Larsson‘s book and b) barely remembering the Swedish adaptation means that I can’t make heads or tails as to who that might be — but him being cast so late tells me that this isn’t a big part. The guy is a good actor, though, so having him involved in any capacity is fine by me.

Directed by David Fincher and written by Steven Zaillian, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo stars Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Christopher Plummer, Robin Wright, and Stellan Skarsgård, and will open on December 21st.

In another story of late additions, EW tells us of Australian model Gemma Ward being cast in Baz Luhrmann‘s The Great Gatsby. Much like the news of Jack Thompson and Kim Knuckey signing on, this is probably for a role that doesn’t really require much screentime. Ward started out as a model, but retired from it at the age of 21 to pursue an acting career. Her small amount of work in the medium includes The Strangers, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I (admittedly) have not seen either of those, which means that any acting ability she may possess is something I have no real grasp on. But this thing has had a terrific lineup assembled, so I’m sure that she won’t be a bad choice.

Based on the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Isla Fisher, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth DeBicki, Jack Thompson, and Kim Knuckey, and will open in November 2012.

Does this casting excite you? Which of these movies are you anticipating more?