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.
Ethan Hawke Cast in Moon Knight
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ethan Hawke has been cast in Moon Knight as the main villain. No word on who he might play, but the outlet speculates that it could be Bushman, another mercenary who turns on Marc Spector. Hawke will join the rest of the cast in Budapest when filming begins in March.
Cast for New David O. Russell Movie Grows
The cast for David O. Russell’s forthcoming feature for New Regency continues to grow. Deadline confirmed that Robert De Niro, Mike Myers, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Andrea Riseborough, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, and Zoe Saldana have all joined the ensemble project. Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington will also star in the untitled project. The film is based on an original idea from Russell. Filming is currently underway in California.
Cardi B Lands First Leading Role
Yay? Cardi B is set to take the lead in Paramount’s upcoming film Assisted Living. It is being described as a “raucous comedy” with “tremendous heart,” in the vein of comedies like Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire. It will follow “Amber (Cardi B), a small-time crook who finds herself in over her head when a heist goes wrong. On the run from the cops and her former crew, she struggles to find anywhere to hide. Running out of options, Amber disguises herself as an elderly woman and hides out in the one place no one will look — her estranged grandmother’s nursing home.”
The film is based on an original spec script by Kay Oyegun (This Is Us).
Clancy Brown is Dexter‘s New Villain
Clancy Brown has been cast in Showtime‘s upcoming revival of Dexter. He will play Kurt Caldwell, the “unofficial mayor of the small town of Iron Lake. He’s realized the American dream by going from driving big rigs, just like his father did, to now owning several trucks and the local truck stop. Powerful, generous, loved by everyone – he’s a true man of the people. If he’s got your back, consider yourself blessed. But should you cross Kurt, or hurt anyone that he cares for, God help you.”
Brown will join series lead Michael C. Hall, who reprises his role as the titular serial killer, in the 10-episode Showtime revival. The revival will air late 2021.
Jeremy Davies Joins The Black Phone
Jeremy Davies has joined The Black Phone, the new horror film from Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill. The film is based on a short story by Joe Hill and follows “a kidnapped boy locked in a basement with a creepy, unconnected telephone that suddenly starts ringing.” No word on who Davies is playing, but since the kidnapper is the only adult in the short story, it is most likely the role he will be playing. He joins previously cast Mason Thames (For All Mankind) and Madeleine McGraw (Toy Story 4, Secrets of Sulphur Springs).
Brendan Fraser is The Whale
Brendan Fraser is attached to star in The Whale, a new from Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream). The project is set up at A24 and will be an adaptation of playwright Samuel D. Hunter‘s 2012 stage play of the same name. Hunter will write the screenplay.
The play (and film) will follow “a six hundred pound recluse [who] hides away in his apartment, eating himself to death. Desperate to reconnect with his long-estranged daughter, he reaches out to her, only to find a viciously sharp-tongued and wildly unhappy teen. Big-hearted and fiercely funny, The Whale tells the story of a man’s last chance at redemption, and of finding beauty in the most unexpected places.”
Fraser is a great actor who unfortunately fell out of the spotlight. However, he’s been turning in great dramatic performances on television now for the last few years, so I’m glad to see someone has given him a shot at a film career revival. Fingers crossed this will bring Fraser back up the ranks.
Anna Paquin to Play Kurt Warner’s Wife
Anna Paquin is set to star opposite Zachary Levi in Lionsgate‘s American Underdog: The Kurt Warner Story. The drama will chronicle “the true story of Kurt Warner, who went from stocking shelves at a supermarket to become a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl MVP, and Hall of Fame quarterback.” Levi is playing Warner. Paquin will play his wife, Brenda.
Moonfall Adds New Cast Members
Michael Peña, Carolina Bartczak, Maxim Roy and Stephen Bogaert are the latest actors to board Roland Emmerich‘s sci-fi epic Moonfall. Peña is taking over the role previously held by Stanley Tucci, who had to exit the project due to government-imposed travel restrictions banning UK flights into Canada. Peña will play “Tom Lopez, a wealthy car dealer who is married to Brian Harper’s (Wilson) ex-wife, the loving and fierce Brenda, played by Bartczak.”
Netflix’s Matilda Adaptation Finds Its Stars
The movie musical version of Matilda has found its leads. The upcoming Netflix film will star Alisha Weir as Matilda, Emma Thompson as the nasty headmistress Miss Trunchbull (Ralph Fiennes was previously cast), and Lashana Lynch as Matilda’s kind and encouraging teacher Miss Honey.
Netflix has the rights to 15 stories from Roald Dahl‘s extensive library of works, and it looks like they decided to pick Matilda as the first one to adapt. Good luck competing with Danny DeVito’s version.
Being the Ricardos Casts Kidman and Bardem
Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem will play Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos. The film will tell the story of the husband and wife duo, who played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy. Aaron Sorkin is writing and directing the project for Amazon Studios. At one point, Cate Blanchett was circling the project to play Lucille Ball.
The film is “set during one production week of I Love Lucy — Monday table read through Friday audience filming — when Lucy and Desi face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.” No word on when production might star as the deals for the two stars are not yet finalized.
Tiffany Haddish in Talks for Landscape with Invisible Hand
Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip) is in talks to star in Landscape with Invisible Hand, a movie adaptation of author M.T. Anderson’s National Book Award-winning novel from 2017. The science-fiction film will be written and directed by Cory Finley (Bad Education). The project is set up at MGM. No word on who Haddish might play.
The story depicts “a near future in which an alien species known as the Vuvv has taken over Earth. After the Vuvv’s labor-saving technology causes Earth’s job market and global economy to collapse, a teenager and his girlfriend cook up a way to make much-needed money by broadcasting their dating life to the fascinated aliens. Unfortunately, things go badly when, over time, the two teens come to hate each other and can’t break up without bankrupting their families.”
The Little Mermaid Casts Noma Dumezweni
It looks like Disney is mixing things up (slightly) with the announcement that Noma Dumezweni (The Undoing) has joined the live-action The Little Mermaid remake as a new character. We know nothing else beyond that. Of course, Disney has added new characters to its live-action remakes before (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast), but let’s hope they give Dumezweni a little bit more to do.
Jessie Buckley & Rory Kinnear Board Alex Garland’s Men
Alex Garland has set up his next project, Men, with A24. The film will follow “a young woman who goes on a solo vacation to the English countryside after the death of her ex-husband.” Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear have been cast as the leads. It’s pretty clear that Buckley will play the young woman, but Kinnear could either be playing the ex-husband or someone she meets on vacation.
A24 will finance and distribute. Garland will write and direct. It will be his first feature since 2018’s Annihilation.
Latchey Kids Finds Its… Well, Kids
Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) and Alan S. Kim (Minari) have been cast in the upcoming dark comedy Latchkey Kids. The film will be helmed by director John J. Budion (Rockaway) from a script by Meaghan Cleary. Production on Latchkey Kids is slated to begin this June.
The film follows “a nine-year old boy (Kim) who befriends an eccentric teenager (Fisher) looking to escape a dysfunctional life with her mother. The two find themselves confronting a considerable obstacle when local law enforcement comes to believe that the young boy might be killing his babysitters.”
Kelvin Harrison Jr. to Play B.B. King
Kelvin Harrison Jr., who recently played Black Panther activist Fred Hampton in The Trial of the Chicago 7, has been cast in another upcoming biopic. Harrison will star as blues icon B.B. King in Baz Luhrmann‘s upcoming film about Elvis Presley. He joins a cast that includes Austin Butler and Tom Hanks.
Titans Casts Barbara Gordon
Savannah Welch has been cast as Barbara Gordon for the third season of Titans. In the series, Gordon will be the Gotham City Police Commissioner who is wheelchair-bound after a battle with the Joker. Welch is a real-life amputee, and I’m interested in seeing what she brings to the role.
I’ve always preferred Batman’s sidekicks after they had stepped out of his shadow (Grayson becomes Nightwing; Barbara becomes Oracle). It definitely looks like Titans will be focusing on Barbara’s transformation into Oracle, although her being the Commissioner reminds me of Batman Beyond. Character details also suggest that she will rekindle an old romance with Dick Grayson.
She-Hulk Adds Ginger Gonzaga
She-Hulk has cast Ginger Conzaga (Space Force) as Jennifer Walter’s best friend. No word on who that friend is specifically (there’s been a couple over the character’s tenure in comics).
Alisha Boe Joins When You Finish Saving the World
Alisha Boe (13 Reasons Why) has joined Julianne Moore, Finn Wolfhard, and Billy Bryk in When You Finish Saving the World. The upcoming A24 film will be Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut. The film, a mother-son comedy-drama, is inspired by Eisenberg’s Audible project of the same name.
The Audible project was set over three decades and followed “three members of a family: Nathan, a father learning to connect with his newborn son; Rachel, a young college student seeking to find her place in a relationship and in life; and Ziggy, a teenager hoping to figure out where he came from, and where he’s headed.”
That’s it for last couple of weeks. What casting mentioned above are you interested in seeing come to life? Tell us down in the comments!
