Hunter Schafer, Matt Berry, Kristen Stewart, Josh O’ConnorPhoto: Monica Schipper/Staff, Bryan Bedder/Stringer, Dimitrios Kambouris/Staff, Lia Toby/Stringer
Normally, Cannes isn’t just a first look at buzzy projects from Hollywood and beyond. It’s also a place where business deals happen; films are sold to distributors, and creatives are able to mingle and network at late night afterparties. While that is certainly still happening this year, those with their boots on the ground in France have reported that the ongoing writers’ strike has cast something of a pall over the business side of the festival.
Even if it was a light week for casting, there are still plenty of projects barreling ahead. Movies like Weapons, Juror No. 2,and Bad Boys 4 have rounded out their casts, while Doctor Who found at least one new actor to pal around with The Doctor.
Renate Reinsve will star opposite Pedro Pascal in Weapons
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Coming off the success of 2021’s The Worst Person In The World, Renate Reinsve has been cast in the forthcoming Weapons, a multi-story horror film that has been likened to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, . Current It Guy ; Barbarian’s Zach Cregger is set to write, direct, and co-produce.
Matt Berry circling role in Minecraft movie
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If there’s anyone who has the presence—and voices—to handle a role in a video game movie, it’s Matt Berry. , the What We Do In The Shadows star is in talks to appear in Warner Bros.’s upcoming live-action Minecraft adaptation. Jason Momoa has already been cast in the film, which is scheduled for an April 2025 release. Honestly, hearing of a zombie pigman or a creeper sounds like a treat.
Clint Eastwood’s Juror No. 2 is eying another star this week, as that fictitious J.D. Vance-portrayed Gabriel Basso is in talks to join the project. The news comes after . Rounding out the cast are Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and Zoey Deutch. The film, which follows a juror in a high-profile murder case facing a moral dilemma, is expected to go into production this summer.
Elle Fanning, Josh O’Connor, and Kristen Stewart are linking up
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Fresh off the success of Firebrand at Cannes, director Karim Ainouz has set her next star-studded feature. , Elle Fanning, Josh O’Connor, and Kristen Stewart are all set to star in Rosebushpruning, an adaptation of the 1965 Italian film Fists In Pocket. Notably, all three actors have recently garnered acclaim for their portrayals of royal figures: Prince Charles in The Crown for O’Connor, Princess Diana in Spencer for Stewart, and Catherine The Great in The Great for Fanning. While Rosebushpruning doesn’t seem like it’s going to be that kind of period piece, the three actors certainly have the gravitas to pull off a film destined for a festival run.
Indira Verma, best known for her role as Ellaria Sand in Game Of Thrones, has been cast in the upcoming Ncuti Gatwa-led season of Doctor Who, . Her role is that of “The Dutchess,” but further details have been predictably withheld at this point. Verma previously acted in the Whoniverse back in the 2000s with Torchwood.
Hunter Schafer, Anne Hathaway, and Michaela Coel are taking their talents to Germany
Back in March, we learned that for a pop music melodrama epic, distributed by A24 and featuring songs from Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX. Now, even more good news: , Hunter Schafer of Euphoria fame has signed onto the film, portraying Hilda, the assistant to Coel’s fashion designer, Sam. Though plot and timeline details remain under wraps, the project is set to film in Germany.
Jack Quaid has a sci-fi thriller on the horizon
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Jack Quaid is really making a name for himself in genre entertainment. After successes in The Boys, Scream, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Quaid is embracing more science fiction and more frights. Per The Hollywood Reporter, Quaid has agreed to star in Companion, a new feature from Barbarian director and scribe Zach Cregger. Cregger is a busy boy himself; his other film on the horizon, Weapons, and has been likened to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia.
Rhea Seehorn lands Bad Boys 4 role
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The cast for the upcoming Bad Boys 4 continues to grow. This week, that Better Call Saul breakout Rhea Seehorn has joined the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence-led flick. Plot and role details remain withheld, but Seehorn joins Paola Núnez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ioan Gruffudd and Alexander Ludwig. The movie is currently filming in Atlanta.
Mortal Kombat 2 finds a Kitana in Adeline Rudolph
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Mortal Kombat 2 is beginning to take shape. , Adeline Rudolph, who made a name in Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, has signed on to play Kitana in the upcoming sequel. Production and release dates still seem to be a ways off.
Rami Malek’s CIA thriller Amateur is continuing to round out its cast with the arrival of Blonde’s Julianne Nicholson and Nightmare Alley’s Holt McCallany, . This comes on the heels of that Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, and Laurence Fishburne had joined the cast. Nicholson’s role hasn’t been disclosed yet, but McCallany is reported to play a kill-first, ask-questions-later type character.
