Bloody Disgusting is reporting that Bill Nighy will return as Viktor and Shane Brolly as Kraven in Lakeshore Entertainment’s Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans, which will be released theatrically by Sony Screen Gems. The prequel is set in the Dark Ages and traces the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires and their one-time werewolf slaves, the Lycans. Production begins mid-January in Auckland, New Zealand.
ComingSoon.net is reporting that Smallville star Kristin Kreuk will play Chun-Li in Hyde Park Entertainment’s Street Fighter: Legend of Chun-Li. The new movie is set to be directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak from a Justin Marks script. Filming in Thailand in March, 2008. 20th Century Fox will distribute the live-action feature based on Capcom’s video game. The movie is focused on female fighter Chun-Li and her journey for justice.
Director Peter Berg has confirmed to MTV that he will direct a new adaptation of the Frank Herbert classic, Dune. He says that if it wasn’t for the writers strike, that’s what he would be working on now. While there is no script yet, Berg added that David Lynch’s previous movie “left the door wide open for a remake.”
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Said Taghmaoui will join Rachel Nichols, Sienna Miller and Ray Park in Paramount’s live action film G.I. Joe says the Hollywood Reporter. Akinnuoye-Agbaje will play ordnance expert Heavy Duty and Taghmaoui will play Breaker, the team’s communications specialist. Nichols was also confirmed to play Scarlett, a skilled martial artist who specializes in hand-to-hand combat and counterintelligence.
Latino Review is reporting that Korean star Byeong-Heon Lee wil play Storm Shadow and Rachel Nichols was cast as Shana “Scarlett” O’Hara in Stephen Sommers’ G.I. Joe adaptation. The two join Sienna Miller and Ray Park, who were previously announced. Opening August 7, 2009, the Paramount action-adventure was written by Stuart Beattie.
Now aside from casting Sienna Miller as the Baroness, the recent casting for G.I. Joe has been really promising.
Chow Yun-Fat will star in 20th Century Fox’s live-action adaptation of Dragonball, says The Hollywood Reporter. Chow will play Master Roshi who is Goku’s mentor, helping him achieve the highest state of fighting and spiritual powers. He rounds out a cast that includes Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Emmy Rossum and Jamie Chung. Dragonball is shooting in Mexico City and Los Angeles.
Directed by James Wong, the film follows Gokum a warrior alien who protects the Earth from an endless stream of villians bent on dominating the universe and controlling mystical objects known as Dragon Balls. Stephen Chow is producing.
Variety says that Edward Norton is exiting State of Play, and talks are under way for Ben Affleck to replace him in the Kevin Macdonald-directed drama for Universal Pictures and Working Title. The film is expected to begin production in the first week of January. Norton becomes the second high profile cast member to disembark, following the exit of his Fight Club co-star Brad Pitt just before Thanksgiving. Pitt’s exit, and the courtship of Russell Crowe to replace him, moved the State of Play start date from mid-November into January. That created a clash, and the studio, working with Norton’s and Affleck’s reps at Endeavor, worked out an exit plan. Now it will be Affleck who plays a fast-rising politician who is caught up in a murder conspiracy. Crowe will play a journalist who leads a newspaper’s investigation into the killing. He’s conflicted in that he once ran the pol’s campaigns, and he is now romancing his estranged wife. Still in the cast are Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman.
Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Jackson, who directed the Rings trilogy, will serve as executive producer for The Hobbit. A director for the prequel films has yet to be named.
Relations between Jackson and New Line had soured after Rings, despite a collective worldwide box office gross of nearly $3 billion - an enormous success. The two sides nevertheless were able to reconcile, with MGM splitting The Hobbit 50/50, spokemen for both studios said Tuesday. “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line,” Jackson said in a statement. “We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth.”
Two Hobbit” films are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, similar to how the three Lord of the Rings films were made. Production is set to begin in 2009 with a released planned for 2010, with the sequel scheduled for a 2011 release.
Cary Elwes has been cast in Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol alongside Jim Carrey, Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth, Gary Oldman and Robin Wright Penn. Elwes will play multiple roles in the performance capture/Disney digital 3-D film. Carrey will play Ebenezer Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Future. Walt Disney Pictures is planning a November 6, 2009 release.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rapper Xzibit, Amanda Peet and Billy Connolly have signed on for director Chris Carter’s The X Files 2 at 20th Century Fox. Xzibit and Peet will play fellow FBI agents to David Duchovny’s Mulder and Gillian Anderson’s Scully in the supernatural thriller with a stand-alone story, not a sequel or continuation of the hit 1998 feature adaptation. Carter and Frank Spotnitz wrote the screenplay, and production is expected to begin this month in Vancouver. The film is set to hit theaters on July 25.