1.) The Captain America: The Winter Soldier it included Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Jessica Brown Findlay (“Downton Abbey”), Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four), Imogen Poots (Fright Night) and Alison Brie (The Five Year Engagement). Now, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Smashed) reportedly “has the most traction” with Marvel for a role that is speculated to be that of Sharon Carter, niece of Hayley Atwell‘s character, Peggy Carter, from the first feature.
Additionally, Josh Holloway, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Kevin Durand are rumored to be testing for two roles — “an American character and the other is a foreign character.” [Latino Review]
2.) While we’re talking comics and Marvel sequels, the studio has released the official synopsis for Thor: The Dark World and it goes a little something like this:
Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself.
In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos… but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness.
Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
The film hits theaters November 8, 2013.
3.) For the longest time I’ve been reporting on a potential new He-Man film, most likely titled Masters of the Universe, and the idea continues to be kicked around as yet another screenwriter will take a stab at an adaptation. Richard Wenk, writer of The Expendables 2 and The Mechanic, is now taking a stab at bringing the ’80s cartoon to life for the first time since Dolph Lundgren headlined an adaptation back in 1987. Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) is currently attached to direct for Sony Pictures. [Variety]
4.) Joe Wright (Hanna, Anna Karenina) is reportedly looking at The Secret Life of Houdini as his next film. Based on William Kalush and Larry Sloman’s biography “[amazon asin=”0743272080″ text=”The Secret Life of Houdini”],” the film would trace the arc of the magician’s life from desperate poverty to worldwide fame. The biography also claims Houdini acted as a spy on behalf of Britain. The screenplay was written by “Today” producer Noah Oppenheim and previously had Gary Ross (The Hunger Games) attached to direct before he bailed for Peter and the Starcatchers. [Los Angeles Times]
5.) Nicholas Jarecki has earned some street cred with Arbitrage and is now eying his next project, which may end up being Fuel, a detective story set in Los Angeles amid a futuristic world of electric vehicles and alternative energy. The story would center on a young man in surveillance; in over his head in a much bigger world than him. Jarecki penned the screenplay and has already started scouting locations with expectation to begin filming in April or May on a budget in the “low $20 million” range. [Variety]
