Matt Frewer (best known as Max Headroom, of ’80s television) joins the cast of Zack Snyder’s Watchmen as Moloch the Mystic, the team’s formerly satanic, now born-again nemesis. Extra points to Snyder for choosing a fanboy veteran.
Category: Casting
Wrestle and Trek.
Mickey Rourke signs on to play The Wrestler for Darren Aronofsky, set to begin shooting this January. (He replaces Nicolas Cage in the role.) And, more casting on the Star Trek reboot front: Bruce Greenwood is Capt. Christopher Pike, Winona Ryder is Spock’s mother, Amanda Grayson, and House‘s Jennifer Morrison and P2‘s Rachel Nichols are in too, possibly as Yeoman Rand and/or Nurse Chapel. Well, ok then. Update: Another Trek addition: Clifton Collins Jr. of Capote will play Big Bad Eric Bana’s #2.
Tears of a Clown.
“Let me be the way I’m not in interviews. I’m furious. I’m furious…They never asked me about a sequel with the Joker. I know how to do that! Nobody ever asked me.” Strangely enough, apparently Jack Nicholson wanted another run at the Joker for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. “Well, the Joker comes from my childhood. That’s how I got involved with it in the first place. It’s a part I always thought I should play.” Well, maybe so, but even back in 1989 Nicholson seemed like stunt casting, and his performance hasn’t aged well. Here’s to a new take on the character.
Scot Fuzz?
He’ll need more dilithium crystals, Captain…Following news that Chris Pine has been offered the role of James T. Kirk and that Eric Bana will play the villain (“Nero”) in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, Simon Pegg joins the Enterprise crew as Montgomery Scott. Ooh, that’ll be fun. Perhaps we’ll get Nick Frost as a Redshirt? Update: And another. John Cho, best known as Harold of Harold & Kumar, will suit up as Sulu. Update 2: And now McCoy…Karl Urban.
The Queen II: The Joint Inheritance.
Speaking of US-international relations, with Frost/Nixon, The Queen, The Last King of Scotland and rewrites of State of Play and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy under his belt, British writer Peter Morgan now plans a sequel to The Queen “which will examine former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s relationships with U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.” Michael Sheen is set to reprise his role as the PM, although director Stephen Frears is not returning.
Medellin.
Looks like Batman’s taking the fight to clean up Gotham City to its source: Javier Bardem and Christian Bale enlist for Joe Carnahan’s version of Mark Bowden’s Killing Pablo, about the Delta Force hunt for Colombian druglord Pablo Escobar (and one has to believe Bardem will be better in the title role than Adrian Grenier.)
Wife of Abraham.
Liam Neeson has his Mary Todd: Sally Field joins Spielberg’s forthcoming Lincoln biopic as Abe’s First Lady.
Broadbent to Hogwarts.
Speaking of Indy IV, Dr. Jones’ new colleague, Jim Broadbent, is cast as professor and celeb hound Horace Slughorn for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. That works.
But in time you see things clear and stark.
In Marvel news, the the teaser for Jon Favreau’s take on Iron Man, with Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges, is now officially online. (Basically, it’s a shortened version of the Comicon clip.) And has Matthew Vaughn found his Thor in Kevin McKidd of HBO’s Rome and Trainspotting? Possibly maybe…if so, that’s not half-bad.
The Chair recognizes the Senator from Gotham.
Waugh, waugh. Move over, Phillip Seymour Hoffman…Has Oswald Cobblepot been cast? (Nah, Cheney would work better.) Vermont Senator, Senate Judiciary Chairman, and Batman fan Patrick Leahy joins the cast of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. “Leahy is apparently a big comic book enthusiast, and actually served as an extra in the 1997 Batman installment: Batman and Robin.” (He also played himself on Batman: The Animated Series.) “The senator told the station he can’t reveal the exact details of his role in the upcoming movie, but he did say he has landed a scene with its two stars, Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.”