Diesel for Third ‘Riddick,’ Costner Goes to ‘War’ and ‘Lone Ranger’ Gets a Scribe

Diesel Up for Riddick: Vin Diesel has signed on to star in Riddick, the third film in the franchise that started with Pitch Black in 2000, followed by The Chronicles of Riddick in 2004. Story details are nil, but word is it will hue closer to the intimacy of Pitch Black rather than the expansive universe story explored in Chronicles. David Twoy is back to direct from a script he wrote. I guess this answers the question I asked last April. [Variety]

Costner Starts a Little War: Kevin Costner has found his first directing gig since 2003’s Open Range as he will star in and direct A Little War of Our Own, an action-adventure set during World War II in which Costner will play a sheriff who must try to keep a town from exploding into violence. The film’s other lead role, that of a German U-boat commander, is still looking to be filled. [Variety]

Haythe to Script Lone Ranger: Revolutionary Road scripter Justin Haythe has been commissioned by Walt Disney Pictures to write the script for The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp already attached to play Tonto. [Heat Vision]

Mara to Boyle for 127 Hours: Kate Mara has joined James Franco and Amber Tamblyn in Danny Boyle’s next film 127 Hours, which tells the true story of a mountain climber trapped under a boulder in Utah and his desperate efforts to escape. Mara and Tamblyn play hikers he meets before his ordeal. [The Hollywood Reporter]

“Three Musketeers” Getting Sherlock Treatment: Peter Straughan (The Men Who Stare at Goats) has been hired to script an update to Alexandre Dumas’ classic “The Three Musketeers” with an eye to play up the action and “sexier” elements of the story. [Variety]

Morgan is Unblinking: Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen) has signed on to star in Michael Bassett’s new psychological thriller The Unblinking Eye, in which homicide detective John Callisto (Morgan), now a retired recluse after being nearly murdered by a serial killer, is tracked down by a relentless journalist. As the two confront each other, dark secrets from both their pasts come to light. Bassett penned the script, which is set to shoot in May with a $10 million budget. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Unknown White Male Adds Three: Orphan helmer Jaume Collet-Serra has brought on Aidan Quinn, Bruno Ganz and Frank Langella to join Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger and January Jones in his upcoming thriller Unknown White Male at Warner Bros. The film stars Neeson as Dr. Martin Harris, who awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife (Jones) suddenly doesn’t recognize him and another man (Quinn) has assumed his identity. Production just got underway for what is expected to be a 2010 release.

Lautner is Abducted: Taylor Lautner continues to rack up new projects, this time signing on for Abduction, a film centering on a teen who has long felt disconnected from his parents, and figures out why, which unleashes a chain of violent events. Shawn Christensen wrote the script. [Deadline]

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