Bryan Cranston departed the cast of Gangster Squad just around a week ago due to scheduling issues, but they’ve already managed to find his replacement. Variety says that the man hired for the job is the T-1000 himself, Robert Patrick.

The Terminator 2 actor will be stepping into the role of Max Kennard, “a laconic LAPD officer from Texas who enforces the law ambitiously.” As I said about a month ago, knowing that this takes place among the Los Angeles police in the late 40′s makes it seem entirely possible that the character uses violent tactics to achieve his goals. His career since James Cameron‘s 1991 sci-fi classic hasn’t been quite as strong as one would hope, but he’s a talented actor, and definitely a suitable replacement.

He’s also joining a cast made up of Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, Holt McCallany, and Emma Stone. Written by Will Beall and directed by Ruben Fleischer, the film is expected to see a release in late 2012.

Then there’s the comic book adaptation R.I.P.D., which already stars Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges, with Jodie Foster rumored for a part. Variety now says that none other than Kevin Bacon is in final negotiations to play the villain of the film. Appropriately, he just played the antagonist in another comic book movie, X-Men: First Class.

The story, based on Peter Lenkov‘s series, is centered on the Rest In Peace Department, which is “the afterlife’s arm of the law.” The recently-murdered cop Nick Cruz (Reynolds) is investigating his own death in an attempt to reach heaven. Partnered with a “jaded ex-gunslinger” named Bo (Bridges), the two spend their time fighting demonic creatures, all while seeking Cruz’s killer.

Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, the film is directed by Robert Schwentke, who’s previously directed Flightplan and Red. Bacon is an interesting choice, primarily because he’s been taking more villain roles in the past few years — there was the aforementioned First Class, which is in addition to this year’s Super. I don’t know what started this trend, but he can do it well, so I’m not complaining; it’s just interesting. The film is scheduled for release on June 28th, 2013.

Are you happy about these pieces of casting? Are you a fan of either actor?