Doing all he can to break the curse of Wire actors — digression: while The Wire is considered by many to be the greatest drama in TV history, very few (maybe none of) its actors have had consistent film careers; this is just another thing that’s only funny if you’ve actually seen the show — Idris Elba is adding a considerable project to his plate: The Gunman, an actioner which Sean Penn and Javier Bardem are leading for director Pierre Morel (Taken, District B13). Between this and July’s Pacific Rim, I don’t think we can’t fault the man for playing it totally safe on the mainstream circuit. [THR]

A politically tinged work, The Gunman — based on a novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette and adapted by director Pete Travis (Dredd, Vantage Point) — revolves around Martin Terrier, a hitman whose plans to get out of the game with his true love (Jasmine Trinca) go awry when his company prove traitorous. Soon, a Europe-spanning journey of bloody deaths begins, at one point or another bringing in Elba‘s character, “a mysterious operative” who goes by the name of Dupont.

The Gunman will begin shooting at the end of the month, with Silver Pictures producing. An American distributor is not yet in place, though this is expected to soon change.

Further casting bits come from Deadline, who tell us a shakeup of sorts has taken place with Cut Bank: the crime drama, first announced last April, was to star Armie Hammer as “Dwayne McLaren, a young auto mechanic and former high school football star who wants to get the hell out of this tiny town frozen in time.” Now, fourteen months later, it’s about ready to shoot with Liam Hemsworth taking the central spot as some different players — John Malkovich and Teresa Palmer have stuck around, but Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Dern, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Oliver Platt are new to it all — also enter the fray.

The Black List script by Roberto Patino takes off when the protagonist makes planes to leave the titular town (described as America’s coldest) but “sets in motion a series of events that will change his life, and the life of Cut Bank, forever.” TV helmer Matt Shakman will make his debut for producer Edward Zwick, having started production this week.

Does Elba sound like a proper fit for The Gunman? Is a trade from Hammer to Hemsworth acceptable?

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