1.) After last week’s report that Wes Anderson was approaching Johnny Depp to star in his next film, today brings news that Depp will indeed take the part. The film draws on Anderson’s own experiences in Europe and is entitled The Grand Budapest Hotel, which should pull in those anxious for a Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sequel. It will likely be Depp’s next project after he finishes work on The Lone Ranger, while his The Thin Man remake with Rob Marshall appears to be dead in the water. [Deadline]
2.) Ouija began as a $100 million project for director McG and has since morphed into a $5 million cheapie with the high concept, low budget Paranormal Activity formula firmly in mind. Universal has hired Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, the writing tandem behind Knowing, to rewrite and direct. They also wrote the script for next month’s chiller The Possession. [Variety]
3.) Anthony Mackie‘s star continues to rise and he has entered talks to star as the Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The character is one of mainstream comics’ first black superheroes and his powers include the ability to telepathically talk to birds, as well as a suit that allows him to fly and enhances his strength. The sequel hits theaters on April 4, 2014. [Heat Vision]
4.) Mark Wahlberg‘s Leverage Poductions will team with Evil Ink Comics and progressive rocker Claudio Sanchez (Coheed & Cambria) to bring the graphic novel The Amory Wars to the big screen as a live-action feature. The story is a sci-fi epic that centers on a superhuman dictator and the one family that could hold the key to liberating the world from his tyrannical reign. Singer/guitarist Sanchez originally conceived the saga as an inspiration for Coheed & Cambria’s albums, but it has taken on a life of its own. [Noisecreep]
5.) Dwayne Johnson has revealed via Twitter that he’s in the running to play DC Comics’ beefy intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo. The character is a badass anti-hero type in the vein of Wolverine and The Punisher. He’s also largely unheard of outside the comic book subculture, so it’s hard to imagine much more than a Jonah Hex or The Punisher-like return.
If the deal goes through, the film would reunite The Rock with his Journey 2: The Mysterious Island director Brad Peyton and I’ll begin to wonder whether they’ll keep the budget modest or view The Rock as a bankable enough star to warrant a tentpole-sized backing. Guy Ritchie was at one point set to direct, but that was before he decided to concentrate his talents solely on Sherlock Holmes sequels. [The Rock via The Playlist]
