Leading today’s casting announcements is news on one of our most-anticipated projects. After finally pulling together financing for his English-language debut, the wild-sounding sci-fi drama The Lobster, Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, Alps) recently kicked off production. With Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, Lea Seydoux, Olivia Colman, Ariane Labed and Aggeliki Papoulia all on board, John C. Reilly, Ashley Jensen, Michael Smiley and Jessica Barden have been added to the ensemble. There’s no details on their roles, but the story is set in a dystopian future where humans must find a mate or they’ll be turned into an animal.
He’ll be seen in The Expendables 3 this summer, and now Mel Gibson has lined up his first leading role in a few years. According to Deadline he’s set to star in Blood Father, which comes from Mesrine helmer Jean-Francois Richet. Described in a Taken vein, Peter Craig‘s (The Town) script follows Gibson as an ex-convict who must reconnect with his daughter in order to protect her from drug dealers. Production kicks off this May in New Mexico for a likely 2015 release, pending distribution.
After Shia LeBeouf bailed on Barry Levinson‘s comedy Rock the Kasbah for undisclosed reasons, a last-minute replacement has been found. THR reports that Scott Caan is set to step into his role, which follows him as con man who deals in bullets alongside Danny McBride’s character. They work to hustle Bill Murray, who leads the films as a rock manager who takes his client on a USO tour in Afghanistan. Bruce Willis, Zooey Deschanel, and Kate Hudson round out the rest of the cast in the film that should arrive in 2015.
We’ve got yet another addition to John Hillcoat‘s crime drama Triple Nine, which already has Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Winslet, Michael B. Jordan, Aaron Paul, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Teresa Palmer, and Gal Gadot on board. Deadline reports that Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead, The Boondock Saints) has joined the Matt Cook-scripted thriller in an unknown role. Set for distribution next year by Open Road, the film centers on a rookie cop (Jordan) set up by his fellow officers for a 999, or “Officer Down,” planned with the intent of completing a difficult heist orchestrated by Russian mobsters.
Lastly, with the shortened title of Spy, Paul Feig‘s next project, once called Susan Cooper, has expanded its ensemble. Led by — you guessed it — Melissa McCarthy, the comedy following the actress as a James Bond-esque agent already has Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, and Jude Law on board. Now The Wrap reports that Bobby Cannavale is once again set to reteam with Byrne after Annie, joining the project as a “villainous Italian playboy.” Production begins shortly in Budapest for a May 2015 release.
Which of the above projects are you most looking forward to?