The L.A. Times has the latest on The Expendables 2. It now looks like Sylvester Stallone won’t be directing the sequel, but has instead been meeting with other directors about helming it. Ken Kaufman (Space Cowboys) and David Agosto have delivered the script, so it looks like Stallone (who co-wrote the original) won’t be taking on that job either. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for plot details and any possible additions to the all-star cast. You may remember Stallone tweeting after the first film opened that he wanted Bruce Willis to return for a larger role as a “super villain.”
Vulture reports a bidding war has broken out to bring an adaptation of the 1984 animated series Voltron: Defender of the Universe to the big screen. Conan the Barbarian reboot screenwriters Thoman Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer have been developing a script, with concept art leaking last fall. The report also notes that Voltron Force, a new TV series, will air on Nicktoons this May. Could this be another Transformers-sized blockbuster? Vulture predicts the Voltron film will likely hit theaters in 2013 or 2014.
Miles Fisher, star of the pretty hilarious Pinkberry: The Movie spoof (watch to the right), and Jeffrey Donovan (Changeling,”Burn Notice”) are the latest names added to Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar. Deadline reports Fisher will play an FBI man who works under the title character and interviews him at different stages in the film while Donovan tweeted he’ll portray Bobby Kennedy in the film.
Deadline reports Walt Disney Pictures has acquired the pitch for The Runner, a futuristic science fiction film, as a potential directing vehicle for Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball, Quantum of Solace). The film takes place in 2027, where the Earth’s surface has been rendered uninhabitable due to a devastating attack. A group of survivors living the the Rocky Mountains have discovered a way to send a man back in time to stop the impending attack, but it turns out their volunteer’s priority is with saving the love of his life. Dave Andron (“Knight Rider,” “Justified”) will handle script duties.
According to Variety John Cusack will produce, co-write and star in Dictablanda,, a screwball comedy that will find him embroiled in international mayhem. Sorry I can’t give you more, but the tagline of “People don’t die, they get killed” is more than enough to hook me. Alejandro Agresti (The Lake House) will direct.
Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) told Access Hollywood he has met with the producers of The Hunger Games regarding the role of Peeta Mellark. The role is the main love interest role in the Suzanne Collins novel, which pits children against each other in a competitive duel to the death. My guess is that Pettyfer’s casting is dependent on the age of the actress they cast in the lead role of Katniss Everdeen. Pettyfer, 20, seems too old to match up with an Abigail Breslin or Haylee Steinfeld, but would fit nicely with a Jennifer Lawrence. Check out a full list of the reported contenders right here.
Continuing the progress of one of the worst ideas I’ve heard in some time, Deadline reports Sony Pictures is in negotiations to acquire Pan. It’s a “dark re-imagining” of the Peter Pan tale that will star Channing Tatum. Like I said, terrible idea.
And finally, here’s an update in case you were wondering how Mad Max: Fury Road was moving along. The film was put on a 12-month delay after heavy rain broke a decade-long drought where they were set to shoot in January in Broken Hill, Australia, turning the apocalyptic landscape into a flower garden. But director George Miller insists the project is still locked in and the contracts for the actors, which include leading man Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer are still good. So in short, the film is at a stand-still until next January. Miller will continue working on Happy Feet 2 in the meantime.
