Yet another name has been added to the cast of Zack Snyder’s Superman flick, more talk of Transformers 4 and even talk of a Bridget Jones’ Diary 3. All that and more in today’s bit of movie news bites.
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) and Ryan Lee (Super 8) have joined the cast of Judd Apatow‘s next film which is currently known as This is Forty, but will reportedly be undergoing a name change. The film features Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann as they reprise their married characters Pete and Debbie from Apatow’s Knocked Up in a new story after their experience with the latter’s pregnant sister. Lee will play the son of McCarthy, a mom at the school where Rudd and Mann’s children attend. Albert Brooks and Megan Fox are also among the cast. Universal has already set a December 21, 2012 release date. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Michael Sucsy (“Grey Gardens”) has signed on to direct Rosaline for Fox, an adaptation of Rebecca Serle’s debut novel set in modern-day high school where Rosaline, Romeo’s jilted ex-girlfriend, tells her side of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” [Variety]
Harry Lennix (Matrix Reloaded) has been cast as a high-ranking military officer named General Swanwick in Zack Snyder’s Superman pic Man of Steel. Lennix joins a cast that includes Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Julia Ormond, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Christopher Meloni and German thesp Antje Traue. The film is scheduled for a December 2012 release. [Variety]
Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) is reportedly “in the middle of very complex negotiations” to direct a Bridget Jones’ Diary 3. The 2004 sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, didn’t fair too well here in the States making only $40 million, but overseas the film hauled in over $222 million. The 2001 original based on Helen Fielding’s novel was a worldwide hit making over $281 million worldwide. Outside of Feig, deals with principal actors Renee Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant have also not yet been made. [The Daily Mail]
Transformers producer Don Murphy has taken to his message boards to comment on the potential for more Transformers films saying:
What happens next? Certainly not a reboot. We haven’t lost the Transformers. They didn’t grow up or become expensive like Toby Maguire. I don’t know what happens next. I’m pretty sure there will be a second trilogy. I am pretty sure it will kick ass. And I am pretty sure some of you will hate it because it wasn’t all bots.
Shia LaBeouf has already said he’s done with the franchise and director Michael Bay is planning to go to a smaller production next so who exactly would you like to step in and take over the franchise? [Don Murphy via Slashfilm]
