Here’s a roundup of some of the latest casting news.
Next Goal Wins
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Elisabeth Moss is in talks to join Michael Fassbender in Next Goal Wins, a sports dramedy inspired by the 2014 British documentary of the same name, focusing on the perpetually losing national football team of American Samoa and their coach as the team tries to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
Taika Waititi will direct Next Goal Wins before moving on to Thor: Love & Thunder.
Untitled Meta-Supernatural Thriller
Deadline reports that Russell Crowe is teaming up with Scream writer and producer Kevin Williamson to star in a meta-supernatural thriller. Crowe will play “a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a horror film. His estranged daughter wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.”
Imaginary Friends
The Hollywood Reporter also reports that John Krasinski is in talks to write, direct, and star in Imaginary Friends. The movie is described as a “Dr. Dolittle-like tale” of a man who has the ability to see and hear other people’s imaginary friends. He is charged with stopping those imaginary entities who become abandoned and turn to the dark side.
Krasinski would co-star with Ryan Reynolds. The film is currently the subject of a major bidding war, with Paramount looking at picking up the film. The film would also mark Krasinski’s return to comedy. He previously directed and starred in the horror film A Quiet Place.
Twist
Variety has word on an upcoming modern-day, gender-bending film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist.
Michael Caine, Lena Headey, Rita Ora, and Raff Law (son of Jude) are set to star in Twist for Sky Cinema, which will release the film in theaters and on its pay-TV platform on the same day.
Law will play Oliver, who is reinvented “as a streetwise artist living on the streets of modern-day London. A chance encounter with a gang of grifters led by the charismatic Dodge, played by Ora, propels Twist into a high-stakes heist to steal a priceless painting for master thief Fagin, portrayed by Caine, and his psychopathic business partner, Sikes, played by Headey.
Franz Drameh, Sophie Simnett, and David Walliams also star. Production begins this fall in London.
The Northman
The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop on Robert Eggers‘s followup to The Lighthouse. He has set his sights on The Northman, a Viking drama that is being set up at New Regency.
Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Skarsgård, and Willem Dafoe are in various stages of talks to star in the saga. If casting is finalized, Alexander Skarsgard would play the prince and Kidman would portray his mother.
Written by Eggers and Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón, Northman is described as a “grounded story set in Iceland at the turn of the 10th century that centers on a Nordic prince who seeks revenge for the death of his father.”
Nightmare Alley
Willem Dafoe is lining up a couple of projects to follow his awards worthy performance in The Lighthouse. Variety claims Dafoe is set to join Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, and Rooney Mara in director Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming film Nightmare Alley.
The movie is based on the 1946 novel which tells the story of an “ambitious young con-man who hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more corrupt than he is. At first, they enjoy success fleecing people with their mentalist act, but then she turns the table on him, out-manipulating the manipulator.”
Dafoe will play “the head barker at a traveling carnival who gives Bradley Cooper’s character a job, ushering him into a world of show biz and grifting.”
The movie also stars Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Ron Perlman, and Mark Povinelli.
Thoughts
Honestly, all of these projects have me interested for various reasons. Next Goal Wins looks like it has the makings of a great biopic. I’m interested to see what Waititi brings to the table when he has to stick more closely to history.
For Russell Crowe’s meta-supernatural thriller, I love the premise, even if it sounds like Wes Craven’s New Nightmare. Imaginary Friends looks like it will be a great comedy, even if the actual film ends up sucking. Krasinski and Reynolds are usually able to secure a couple laughs no matter what.
I am interested to see a modern day twist on Oliver Twist, but The Northman and Nightmare Alley have my attention a bit more. I love a good historical epic, especially if it involves revenge. And who doesn’t love a film with countless characters manipulating one another. Sign me up, Nightmare Alley!
What do you think of the casting so far? Which films strike your fancy? Let us know in the comments below!
