There’s a lot of breaking news in Hollywood happening every minute. In the age of the blockbuster, it’s easy for some smaller movie and television news to slip through the crack. Last Week in Hollywood is our new weekly series highlighting all the interesting news from the last week that we thought didn’t warrant its own post, but was still worth mentioning. It’s less personal opinions and more a hearty roundup of what you might have missed.
Michaela Coel Joins Black Panther Sequel
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has added Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) to its cast. Details about Coel’s character are non-existent and secretive at the moment (although fans have already cast her as X-Men’s Storm), but the actress is reportedly already on set at Atlanta’s Pinewood Studios. Variety had the scoop.
In addition to Michaela Coel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever starsLupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, and Angela Bassett. The sequel hits theaters on July 8, 2022.
Tiffany Haddish, LaKeith Stanfield Eyed for The Haunted Mansion
THR has a report that Tiffany Haddish and LaKeith Stanfield are in talks to join The Haunted Mansion reboot, which will follow “a family that moves into the titular mansion.” Stanfield will play “a widower who once believed in the supernatural but is now a rather lifeless tour guide in New Orleans’s French Quarter,” and Haddish will play “a psychic hired to commune with the dead.”
Justin Simien is set to direct the new movie, based on the popular Disney attraction, from a screenplay by Katie Dippold. This is Disney’s second attempt to turn the attraction into a film after 2003’s The Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy.
Full Cast for We Have a Ghost
David Harbour, Tig Notaro, Jennifer Coolidge, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, and Anthony Mackie are all set to star in the Netflix family adventure film We Have a Ghost. The film follows “Kevin and his family, who find a ghost named Ernest haunting their new home and get turned into overnight social media sensations. But when Kevin and Ernest go rogue to investigate the mystery of Ernest’s past, they become a target of the CIA.”
Christopher Landon, the filmmaker behind Blumhouse breakouts Happy Death Day and Freaky, will direct from his own screenplay. Erica Ash (Uncle Drew), Isabella Russo (Crashing), Niles Fitch (This Is Us), Faith Ford (Murphy Brown) and Steve Coulter (Shotgun Wedding) are also set to star in the feature, based on Geoff Manaugh’s short story Ernest.
Zach Braff Cast in Moonshot
Zach Braff (Scrubs) has been cast in the upcoming HBO Max film, Moonshot. The Hollywood Reporter describes the film as “a rom-com with a sci-fi twist.” It will be directed by Chris Winterbauer (Wyrm) from a script written by Max Taxe.
The film is set “in a future where Mars has been terraformed and colonized by the best humanity has to offer. Two very different college students wind up joining forces and sneak onboard a space shuttle to the red planet in order to be united with their significant others.”
Braff is playing “the mastermind behind the effort to colonize Mars, a man who is described as an entrepreneur and a visionary.” He joins a cast that includes Lana Condor, Cole Sprouse, Mason Gooding, Emily Rudd, and Lukas Gage.
Regé-Jean Page is The Saint
Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton) has locked down another movie role. Page will play the title character in Paramount’s The Saint reboot film, “a master of disguise who serves as a modern day Robin Hood figure, robbing the rich and redistributing wealth to those in need.”
The reboot will be loosely based on a 1920s book series that inspired both a 1960s TV series and a 1997 film. Last we heard, Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman) is still attached to direct the movie. The current iteration of the script is being written by Kwame Kwei-Armah.
Jodie Turner-Smith in Talks for Kraven the Hunter
According to The Illuminerdi, Sony is reportedly interested in having Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) play the Spider-Man villain Calypso in the upcoming Kraven the Hunter. If cast, she would join Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who is set to play the titular character.
Introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #209, Calypso is “a voodoo priestess who is often an ally and love interest of Kraven the Hunter.” She is also responsible for gifting Kraven his enchanted speed and strength. Kraven the Hunter is currently set to hit theaters on January 13, 2023.
The Fabelmans Expands Cast
According to Variety, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett, Jonathan Hadary, and Judd Hirsch have all been cast in The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg autobiographical film about his childhood.
The film follows “a young aspiring filmmaker in Arizona and his dealings with his larger family.” All four actors are apparently playing older family members of the young filmmaker. They join a cast that includes Gabriel LaBelle, Paul Dano and Michelle Williams, Julia Butters, and Seth Rogen. Production is currently ongoing and a theatrical release for The Fabelmans is currently set for 2022.
Ari Aster Grows Disappointment Blvd. Cast
Ari Aster‘s latest project, Disappointment Blvd., has added Parker Posey, Zoe Lister-Jones, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Hayley Squires, Michael Gandolfini, and Denis Menochet to its cast. Deadline reported the casting update for the film, which has Joaquin Phoenix attached in the lead role.
No concrete details on what Disappointment Blvd. will be about besides this one line: “a decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time.” Nathan Lane, Amy Ryan, Kylie Rogers, and Pattie Lupone are also part of the cast.
Wes Anderson’s Next Film Snags Tom Hanks & More
Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton, and Adrien Brody are so far the four confirmed actors set to star in Wes Anderson’s new film that will begin production in Spain in August.
This will be the first Anderson movie Tom Hanks has starred in. The other three actors have all appeared in their fair share of Anderson flicks.
Sebastian Stan Joins Sharper
Sebastian Stan has joined Julianne Moore in Sharper, an upcoming A24 thriller being produced for Apple TV+. Stan will play Max, “a clever conman known for carrying out complicated plans and making away with large sums of money.”
Sharper follows “a con artist, played by Moore, set in Manhattan’s billionaire echelon.” Benjamin Caron (The Crown) will direct Sharper from a screenplay by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka.
My Fake Boyfriend to Star Keiynan Lonsdale
Deadline reports that Keiynan Lonsdale (The Flash), Dylan Sprouse (Suite Life on Deck) and Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) have been cast as the leads in My Fake Boyfriend, an upcoming LGBTQ+ teen rom-com from Buzzfeed and Lionsgate.
The story follows “young man (Lonsdale) who, on the advice of his best friend (Sprouse) creates a fake, social media boyfriend to keep his ex-lover out of his life. The plan backfires when he meets the real love of his life, and breaking up with his fake boyfriend proves hard to do.” Rose Troche will direct.
Cocaine Bear Gets a Cast
Margo Martindale (Uncle Frank), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project), Kahyun Kim (American Gods), and newcomer Scott Seiss have joined Cocaine Bear, “a character-driven thriller inspired by true events, which took place in Kentucky in 1985.”
Production begins this month in Ireland. Elizabeth Banks directs from a script by Jimmy Warden. Phil Lord & Chris Miller are on board as producers.
Brendan Fraser Lands Two Huge Roles
The comeback of Brendan Fraser continues! Following his recent appearance in No Sudden Move, Fraser has boarded two more high profile projects: Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Max Barbakow’s Brothers.
In Killers, Fraser will play lawyer WS Hamilton. No word yet on who he will play in Brothers, but the comedy film is currently in production in Atlanta. Fraser will star alongside Peter Dinklage, Josh Brolin, and Glenn Close. Macon Blair and Etan Cohen wrote the script for Brothers.
Nicholas Hoult is Renfield
Deadline reports that Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class) is set to play the title role in Renfield. The upcoming film is based on an original story outline from Robert Kirkman and will focus on Renfield, Dracula’s henchman.
It has been described as an “extremely violent comedy”. It is “believed to take place during the present day and is not a period piece.” Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War) is directing from a script by Ryan Ridley (Rick and Morty).
Mena Massoud & Lars Mikkelsen Rumored for Ahsoka
A recent report from Latino Review claims that Mena Massoud (Aladdin) and Lars Mikkelsen (The Witcher) have been cast in an upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series as Rebels‘ Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn. Mikkelsen previously voiced Thrawn in Star Wars: Rebels over seventeen episodes. Both characters are expected to factor into the upcoming Ahsoka series, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Take these rumors with a grain of salt until then.
That’s it for last few weeks. What castings mentioned are you interested in seeing the most onscreen? Tell us down in the comments!
