By Monique
Tons of casting news from weeks past up until now! Quick sentences begin now!
Olivia Munn has been cast as Psylocke in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse!
Tavis Smiley is working with JJ Abrams to bring the film adaptation of this book Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year to television. No word yet on whether this will be a TV movie or a miniseries. It could go either way, but my money is on miniseries, since they seem to be the popular thing right now.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw has joined the live-action Beauty and the Beast as Plumette (otherwise known as Babette and the provocatively-named Fifi), the maid/feather duster. Ewan McGregor was recently cast as Lumiere, who was always trying to get with Plumette, so I’m glad they paired Mbatha-Raw up with someone who would provide nice optics next to her.
James Wan is teaming up with Roy Lee to produce a remake of horror film The Entity. Wan’s dance card has been filling up lately in these “Casting News” posts.
Ta’Rhonda Jones and Gabourey Sidibe have been promoted to series regulars on Empire!
black-ish creator Kenya Barris and The Goldbergs executive producer Alex Barnow have teamed up to create a comedy pitch of a white guy developing a conscience that sounds like Ice Cube. Meanwhile, Ice Cube is in the middle of securing deals for 23 Jump Street, Rocky Mountain High and the Barbershop sequel.
IDRIS ELBA IS JOINING STAR TREK 3! WHOO! Nothing about his role has been stated, but HE’S IN THE MOVIE!
Common is joining Suicide Squad as…someone. There’s a ton of characters in this film already, and I’m wondering just how many more they’re going to add before production starts.
The Magnificent Seven remake directed by Antoine Fuqua has cast Brazilian actor Wagner Moura. Moura will also be seen in Netflix’s upcoming series Narcos.
Denzel Washington will star in an Equalizer sequel!
Attack the Block star Franz Drameh will star in the Arrow/Flash spinoff as “Jay Jackson, a former high school athlete who was injured in a debilitating accident.”
In “WHAT?!” news, Tyler Perry has been cast in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel as Baxter Stockman.
Furious 8 has been announced! It’s coming!
Star Wars: Rogue One, the first in I’m sure a long list of Star Wars anthology films, is already beginning casting. Felicity Jones has already been cast, and Sam Claflin and Riz Ahmed up for the main male lead and another key role, respectively.
Fred Armisen, Penélope Cruz and Billy Zane have been cast in Zoolander 2. Their roles are unknown, but their castings have been announced through Ben Stiller’s Instagram page.
Julian 