Casting Net: Ian McKellen joins 'Beauty and the Beast,' Eddie Redmayne eyed for 'Harry Potter' spinoff
Disney has cast the stately, sophisticated Ian McKellen to play the worrywart, tattletale clock Cogsworth, in its live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. Production is set to begin later this year for a March 17, 2017 release. The actor is not the only Brit in the ever-growing cast that includes Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Josh Gad as LeFou, and Emma Watson as the lovely Belle. [Variety]
Eddie Redmayne is the favorite to play Newt Scamander in Warner Bros.’ highly anticipated Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The film is set in New York seven decades before Harry Potter’s story starts and is based on the Hogwarts textbook of the same name, which follows the adventures of its author, Newt Scamander. He is described as a “magiczoologist,” which in the Harry Potter world is a person who studies magical creatures. Besides Scamander, there are four other main roles—two American girls and two American boys—that the studio is currently looking to cast. The first in the trilogy of Fantastic Beasts movie is scheduled to arrive Nov. 18, 2016. [Variety]
Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) has been cast as a lead in Paramount’s Star Trek 3. Justin Lin is directing from a script by cast member Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. The film is set for release on July 8, 2016 which is the 50th anniversary of the debut of the TV series. [Variety]
Dylan O’Brien is in talks to join Deepwater Horizon opposite Mark Wahlberg. The film is based on the infamous 2010 BP oil-rig explosion in the Gulf Of Mexico, which killed 11 people and gushed oil into the water for months. O’Brien will play Caleb Holloway, the youngest crew member aboard, who survives but is devastated by the loss of the majority of his crew. [Deadline]
Willem Dafoe will join Gerard Butler, Billy Bob Thornton and Common for Relativity Studios’ thriller Hunter Killer. The film is about a renegade Russian military leader whose actions bring them to the brink of war with the U.S. An elite U.S. Navy unit is left to stop him from causing World War III. Dafoe has been cast as Russian submarine Capt. Andropoyov. The film is scheduled to begin shooting in New Orleans in July. [Deadline]
Danielle Nicolet will play the female lead opposite Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson in the Warner Bros-New Line buddy comedy Central Intelligence. The film is about a mild-mannered accountant (Hart) who hears from a former classmate (Johnson) who was bullied in high school. The guy the accountant remembers as a loser is now a killer for the CIA and talks him into helping him thwart a plot to sell military secrets. Nicolet will play Maggie, the wife of Hart’s character and his high school sweetheart. [Deadline]