With production gearing up to kick off next month, the flurry of casting announcements for Robert Zemeckis‘ Flight have begun. The Back to the Future director’s return to live-action filmmaking is already led by Denzel Washington, with supporting players include Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly and Brian Geraghty. Deadline lets us know another major actor joining the ensemble cast.
John Goodman has come aboard to play a friend of Washington’s character, who plays “an alcoholic and drug-addicted pilot whose plane engine malfunctions, forcing him to rescue the aircraft and its passengers, becoming a hero in the process. When the FAA investigates and finds evidence of drug abuse, it tries to sweep the evidence to the side to help preserve the image of the captain, who is trying to change the course of his life.”
John Gatins, who has Real Steel coming out soon, is behind the script. After a little dip in quality projects, Goodman has come back in a big way. He has supporting parts in two major award contenders this season, The Artist and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Expect the same next year, with this film as well as his part in Ben Affleck‘s Argo.
Expect a late 2012 release for Flight.
What do you think of Goodman joining this cast?