Weekly news round-up: Lord and Miller find their new Han Solo is found in the depths of the Ehrenreich System, James Franco’s Blood Meridian runs into trouble, Andrew Garfield tackles two new movies and Russell Crowe is the newest Dr. Jekyll.
Would that it ‘twere Solo simple
A standout in the Coens Hail, Caesar!, Alden Ehrenreich seems to be moving from stealing scenes to stealing cargo as everyone’s favourite space smuggler Han Solo. The Chris Miller/Phil Lord Star Wars anthology movie, which charts the young Solo’s backstory, have picked the Californian for a role that will catapult him to stardom and ensure our daily struggle to spell his surname correctly is now yours too. Read the full story here.
Garfield of dreams…
A double dose of good news for people who like Andrew Garfield (and who doesn't?) this week. The Surrey-raised, ex-Spidey actor had two projects confirmed this one, each intriguing in different ways. First came news that he’s signed up for It Follows director David Robert Mitchell’s new LA-set crime noir. We don’t know too much about that one yet, but there’s more out there about his other pick. He’ll be playing paralysed polio sufferer Robin Cavendish in Andy Serkis’ next directorial project, Breathe, with Wolf Hall’s Claire Foy as his on-screen wife. Should we expect something powerful and Theory Of Everything-y from that one? Read more here.
Russell Crowe to show them The Mummy
Universal has a lot riding on the successful resurrection of its glorious monster heritage and it’s taking no chances with its casting picks. The latest star to join the jamboree is Russell Crowe. The Aussie actor will be joining Tom Cruise in The Mummy, playing a Dr. Jekyll-alike character in the Alex Kurtzman-helmed project. Read the full story here.
Dud Meridian?
Weird one, this. Cormac McCarthy’s violent Western yarn Blood Meridian was earmarked as James Franco’s next directorial project. On Thursday new cast members were announced – Russell Crowe and Ryan Reynolds, no less – but by Friday the whole shooting match was off. Rights issues were cited as the major stumbling block. Find out more here.