Roundup 10/9

Seems that casting rumors have been all the rage in the past week around the internets, so let's get to it.

• Kicking things off, we've got the possibility of Russell Brand (the hilarious Aldous Snow from Forgetting Sarah Marshall) playing Captain Jack Sparrow's brother in the recently-confirmed Pirates 4. Also in talks for the role is Borat himself, Sacha Baron Cohen. Tim Burton is rumored to be replacing series director Gore Verbinski, but Timmy's obviously got to finish Alice in Wonderland first (if it's even true that he's interested). In related news, Johnny Depp is said to be banking a record-breaking $75 million dollars for his role in the upcoming sequel. That's 75 million for ONE GUY. Incredible.
  

• Josh Brolin, recently thought to be the next Terminator in next summer's flick, has now switched genres and has reportedly signed to play western anti-hero Jonah Hex in the production directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor - the guys who wrote and directed Crank. Thomas Jane was considered, but eventually turned down by the directing duo; we'll see if Brolin actually gets confirmed here in the next couple of weeks. I wouldn't mind seeing him as Hex. He's got the gruff aspect down pretty well.

• Surprisingly, Warner Brothers wants Ryan Gosling to play Hal Jordan in the upcoming superhero blockbuster of Green Lantern. I guess they figure with all the talent they assembled with The Dark Knight, they might as well keep going for Oscar nominated actors for their superhero movies. It's seemed to work for them so far, and I know next to nothing about the Green Lantern, but Gosling is OK in my book and I'd be down for him to have a huge summer in a couple years like Robert Downey Jr. did this year.

• DC Comics President told Latino Review that they had meetings with Brandon Routh about the future of the Superman franchise and are still interested in him playing the character. He also said they are waiting on Chris Nolan to sign for the a third Batman film before they figure out the release date of the tentatively-titled Man of Steel.

That's enough of the rumors. Let's get to some confirmations.

• My girl Anne Hathaway (get off me, Branz - I saw her first) has signed to play the White Queen in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Helena Bonham Carter has been signed to play the Red Queen. While HBC seems right at home, Annie seems a little out of place here. Let's see if she can hang with the big dogs or if she'll be relegated to Get Smart 2 (which has coincidentally just been greenlit).

• Jamie Foxx (who, on a personal level, I absolutely despise but was phenomenal in Collateral) has joined Frank Darabont's Law Abiding Citizen, an awesome-sounding movie co-starring Gerard Butler. The plot follows a criminal mastermind (Foxx) who controls the city from inside his prison cell, while the assistant D.A. (Butler) stands in his way. It's being co-written by Darabont (director of The Shawshank Redemption) and Equilibrium writer Kurt Wimmer.

That's all for now. I'll have more for you soon, I'm sure. In the meantime, check out the ever-increasing post frequency over at The Solar Sentinel.