Update: Variety has confirmed Jack O’Connell‘s casting.
While we won’t believe it until we’re actually in theaters viewing the final product, word arrived this summer that Terry Gilliam would finally be returning to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote with a new cast. Led by John Hurt, the now meta-narrative centers on someone making a Don Quixote film and we have one additional cast member to add the ensemble. According to Baz Bamigboye, rising star Jack O’Connell, recently seen in Starred Up and lead of Unbroken, is in talks for the project, but it seems it has hit a bit of a snag, now not shooting until fall of next year.
After recently working together on High-Rise, Ben Wheatley has set Luke Evans to star in his debut U.S.-set production, Free Fire. According to Variety, Armie Hammer, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, and Kill List star Michael Smiley have also joined the film which is set in Boston in 1978. Set to begin production in spring of next year the film follows an weapons transaction that goes wildly wrong.
Wilde takes the role of Justine, “a woman who has brokered a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two Irishmen (Murphy, Smiley) and a gang led by Hammer and Evans, who are selling them a stash of guns. But when shots are fired in the handover, a heart-stopping game of survival ensues.” Inspired by films such as The Asphalt Jungle, The Big Sleep, The Killing, The Big Combo, The Driver, Le Samourai, The French Connection, Goodfellas, Casino, Hard Boiled, The Getaway, and Reservoir Dogs, it’ll have a “no-nonsense” 70’s-esque feel. Yep, count us in.
In other casting news, James Franco has already started shooting his adaptation of Zeroville, coming from Steve Erickson‘s novel, but now we have word on the entire ensemble. Seth Rogen, Jacki Weaver, Megan Fox, Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Dave Franco, Craig Robinson, Joey King and Horatio Sanz have all boarded the project that follows Franco as an architecture student in the 1960’s that’s obsessed with films and soon dives head-first into the Hollywood culture. For details on the specific roles, check out Screen Daily.
Lastly, Ridley Scott‘s epic ensemble for his space drama The Martian continues to grow. Led by Matt Damon, the film follows him as an astronaut stranded on Mars that must figure out a way to return to Earth. With Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Donald Glover, Mackenzie Davis, Aksel Hennie and Jeff Daniels on board, EW reports that 12 Years a Slave‘s Chiwetel Ejiofor and Captain America‘s Sebastian Stan have been added in unknown roles. Production kicks off shortly in Budapest ahead of a release on November 25th, 2015.
Which of the above projects are you most looking forward to?