1.) Jessica Biel won’t be playing Viper in The Wolverine after all. Talks between the actress and 20th Century Fox have broken down over the past few days. And now the studio is already setting their sights on another actress for the role, but it’s someone you’re probably much less familiar with. The actress is Svetlana Khodchenkova, a 29 year old Russian who’s largely unknown in the U.S., unless you happen to recognize her from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. She does seem to fall closer in line with the character than Biel would have, as Viper is presented as an Eastern European in the comics. [Twitch]
2.) Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad spoke on the chances of Marc Webb returning to direct the The Amazing Spider-Man 2 saying, “We’d really like him back, but there are obstacles. He has an obligation to Fox.” Apparently Webb still owes Fox a film from his (500) Days of Summer deal. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is slated for a May 2, 2014 release.
In the same post, it’s insinuated they are moving forward with The Girl Who Played with Fire but a director and timeline are not mentioned, along with a remake of Jumanji and a fourth Men in Black feature. [THR]
3.) Relativity Media has tapped Breck Eisner (The Crazies, Sahara) to direct their live-action take on Stretch Armstrong. Dean Georgaris (The Manchurian Candidate) is taking care of the script for the project, which is aiming for an April 11, 2014 release. The studio says the film will be a “gritty actioner,” while Eisner says he’s excited about “the chance to build a hero from the ground up.”
4.) Sam Claflin is now said to have secured the most coveted remaining role in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, beating out Garrett Hedlund, Armie Hammer, Lucas Till (X-Men: First Class and Trevor Donovan (“90210”) for the offer to play Finnick Odair. Claflin is presently most famous for his part as Kristen Stewart’s childhood sweetheart in Snow White and the Huntsman. This report is still just a rumor, but the source seems confident. [Pop2it]
5.) Kenneth Branagh was already set to direct Paramount’s Chris Pine-led Jack Ryan reboot, but now he’s looking to play the lead villain as well. The character in question is Viktor Stazov, a financial wiz who teams with the Russian government in an attempt to destroy the U.S. economy by devaluing the American dollar. [Heat Vision]
