Movie News

Michael Shannon is General Zod in “Man of Steel”

Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot, currently in the pre-production stage, has been the subject of numerous casting rumors, definitely more so than usual. When we first learned that General Zod would be in the picture, Viggo Mortensen quickly hit the rumor mill as one of the top contenders for the role.

Alas, he won’t be playing the iconic Kryptonian villain, but we finally know who’ll step into the role. IGN reports that Michael Shannon has signed on to play the character in the film, now titled Man of Steel. Snyder had this to say about the Oscar-nominated actor:

Carrie-Anne Moss, Malcom McDowell Join “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D”

Now we honestly didn’t see that coming but in hindsight, it’s not that surprising. Deadline reports that both Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix trilogy, Memento) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) have both joined the cast of Michael J. Bassett’s upcoming Silent Hill: Revelation 3D.

Anne Moss, who recently had a pivotal voice role in last year’s Mass Effect 2, joins the cast as a character named Claudia Wolf, while McDowell will play Leonard Wolf. This only further demonstrates how the sequel to the 2006 film is based largely on the game Silent Hill 3, as both Claudia and Leonard appear in the game along with Heather Mason, who will be played by Adelaide Clemens (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) in the film.

Javier Bardem to Play Lead in “Dark Tower” Series

Deadline is reporting that after a long vetting process, Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) is sealing the deal to play Roland Deschain in the film/TV adaptations of Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” series. Director Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) is in the stages of pre-production, preparing to start filming in September and is also slated to direct the first season of the planned TV series, which is slated to be released between the planned film trilogy.

Sylvester Stallone Might Direct “The Expendables 2” After All

UPDATE: Sly made it clear that he won’t hop back in the director’s seat for this one, according to Deadline Hollywood. He will, however, reprise his role from the first film. The update was announced by a fansite called Expendables Premiere earlier this month, but Lionsgate and Maple Pictures didn’t confirm the news. Sly still plans to work on the film quite a bit, as he really wants Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger to again play their characters; this time they’d have bigger roles than the cameos they had in the first film.

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The Sylvester Stallone-helmed action flick The Expendables didn’t impress critics, but Sly’s passion project was beloved by many simply for being a throwback to old-school action films. Of course the fans wanted a sequel, and not too long ago it was announced that there’d be one.

Getting the cast members to come back for The Expendables 2 didn’t pose a problem, but nabbing a director has proven to be much more of a hassle. Well, we may have finally found that director, and if this ends up being the case, this apple doesn’t fall far from the tree at all.

Hugh Jackman Offered “Snow White and the Huntsman”

In a world of competing “Snow White” feature film adaptations, every studio wants to have the “fairest of them all.” Universal’s Snow White and the Huntsman took a bit of a hit a couple weeks ago when Viggo Mortensen backed out of the role of the Huntsman. Now, Deadline reports that Hugh Jackman has been offered the part.

“300” Sequel “Xerxes” Will Get New Name

Though director Zack Snyder took a hit recently with Sucker Punch, he still retains a certain status in the industry for his highly stylized and well-received film 300. A little while ago, a sequel called Xerxes was announced. Mark Canton, a producer of the film, stated that the name had been changed recently in a conversation with MTV. Here’s the direct quote: “It’s not called Xerxes anymore. We don’t know [what it’s called] yet.”

Patrick Dempsey Wants to Be Dr. Strange

Patrick Dempsey made a name for himself in the ‘80s with films like Can’t Buy Me Love and resurfaced as an A-lister in the hit television drama Grey’s Anatomy just a few years ago. With a key role in the upcoming sequel Transformers: Dark of the Moon, he looks to venture out into the film world once again. According to The Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex blog, the actor wants to play sorcerer Dr. Strange in the adaptation of the Marvel comic. 

Jeremy Renner Offered “Bourne”

The hunt for the hero of Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Legacy may be drawing to a close as Latino Review reports that Universal has extended an offer to Jeremy Renner (The Town, The Hurt Locker) for the lead role. “Legacy” will not focus on Jason Bourne (previously played by Matt Damon), but will take place in the same world Bourne walked through in the last three films.

DVD/Blu-ray DISCussion (New for 4.4.11)

There are many new releases and re-releases this week for your entertainment and it is a real mixture of genres. Fans of both “Tron” films will pleased with both coming to DVD and Blu-ray and even in a combo pack together. And the big re-release of the week has to go to the Martin Scorsese classic Taxi Driver. There are a number of Oscar winning and nominated films getting a re-release. 

Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson Join “The Hunger Games”

The biggest casting dilemma for the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games was easily the role of Katniss Everdeen, and since Jennifer Lawrence nabbed that part instead of Abigail Breslin, Hailee Steinfeld, and a bevy of other actresses who are more age-appropriate to play that particular character, the casting of male leads Gale and Peeta has come to the forefront of “Hunger Games” talk. Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson both hit the rumor mill recently as possibilities to play the roles, but now it’s official. Deadline Hollywood brings not only the official news, but also the press release.