Giant Freakin Robot

It’s looking like this whole Riddick thing is going to be a reality as star Vin Diesel continues to share set photos via Facebook of the movie. Personally I keep being surprised every few months when a new slew of images and plot discussions take place, as I feel there was no one else in the world who enjoyed Chronicles. Somehow David Twohy and Diesel have convinced not only a production company, but many former cast members to return. Things are looking a lot more steampunkish with Riddick on the throne, and we now have a detailed plot synopsis along with extended cast list.

Most names, like Karl Urban, are familiar to fans but there’s a head scratcher or two on the cast list. The addition of WWE superstar Dave Bautista sort of makes sense, but who is Keri Hilson and why is she in this movie? Is it heartless and sexist that I assume she’ll play the throwaway hot woman role?

Here’s the cast list and synopsis from Universal.

John Hawkes is one of those actors who you’d recognize having seen but wouldn’t necessarily be able to name, which is how he prefers things.  He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Winter’s Bone, where his performance was superb and chilling.  His resume includes everything from high profile indies like Winter’s Bone and Martha Marcy May Marlene and television shows like Deadwood and Eastbound & Down to supporting roles in big flicks like Contagion and The Perfect Storm.  Now, he may be joining the cast of AMC’s The Walking Dead as one of the biggest non-zombie dangers from the comics: The Governor.

There’s been no official word from AMC execs or any of the creative team on who will play The Governor, but actor and make-up artist Tom Savini let it slip that Hawkes was being courted for the role.  Apparently, Savini has long been campaigning for The Governor based on the fact that he looks just like the character.  He says that the last time he brought it up to Greg Nicotero, the zombie make-up mastermind told Savini that they were going after Hawkes for the part.  Savini doesn’t seem terribly happy about it, seeing as he so strongly resembles The Governor and that “everyone I talk to, the people that read the graphic novels….They’ve all said that I would be the perfect Governor.  Because he is tough and brutal”.

It’s hard to deny Dwayne Johnson’s natural charm, a trait that he’s translated into a successful film career. The Rock is now going to have to turn his charms on monsters as he’s been tapped to star in the adaptation of the Monster Hunter’s Survival Guide. He may be headlining Survivor Series and Wrestlemania for the WWE once again, but Johnson also has his sights set on becoming a badass brand name in films. Johnson and Vin Diesel are essentially the trimmed and toned up versions of Schwarzenegger and Stallone.

According to Deadline Dwayne Johnson is now attached to star in the Simon Kinberg produced film. Based on the comic series by John Paul Russ, we’re not sure what the movie version of the Survival Guide will be. As the title suggests the comics are chock full of tips on how to make it through an encounter with vampires, Big Foot, werewolves, zombies, and other sordid creatures.

It looks like the Ender’s Game movie is going to start moving forward at a rapid pace. Of course, a project of this magnitude will require a great deal of time to get right. But the Gavin Hood directed feature film has sent out casting calls a few weeks ago, and now we’re getting the first information about what to expect from the movie.

This being an early version of the script we can expect that things will change, and while Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Fringe) penned the current script there’s no guarantee their vision will remain throughout production. io9 has an exclusive look at the casting call info for 10 major characters. The information includes details on the plot and character changes being made, so if you want no spoilers about the book or movie you should consider not reading the abundance of spoilers found here.

The best news is that Ender Wiggin will be ten in the movie, rather than a young adult or teen as was rumored long ago. It’s important to the story and message that Ender be a child. Bean seems to be almost an afterthought from the commentary over at io9, I’m hoping that Bean’s importance is not understated.

Bonzo Madrid and Petra appear to be almost exactly like the book versions, with Bonzo being the overconfident moron who doesn’t realize when he’s outclassed and Petra filling the role of support system for Ender when it seems everyone turns from him.