Movies
Meet the Wise Captain Speke in ‘World War Z’
The Pacific star James Badge Dale is going back into battle, albeit against an already-dead enemy.
Variety reports that Dale is in negotiations to join Brad Pitt in Paramount Picture’s World War Z, set 10 years after a global zombie epidemic.
Marc Forster is directing from J. Michael Straczynski and Matthew Carnahan’s script, which is adapted from Max Brooks’ popular novel, told in oral history form from various perspectives around the world.
Pitt will play a researcher for the U.N. Postwar Commission, while Mireille Enos of AMC’s “The Killing” was previously cast as his wife, a mother of two girls.
Dale will play Capt. Speke, an American soldier who trusts his instincts and is wise beyond his years. The character tries to alert authorities that the zombie threat is real, and is stuck in a military detention center when the zombie outbreak begins.
Production is slated to begin this July in London, Malta and other locales overseas.
Dale also stars in the indie thriller The Grey alongside Liam Neeson.
Movies
‘Drop’ – Violett Beane Joins the Cast of Christopher Landon’s New Thriller
Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) is staying busy here in 2024, directing not only the werewolf movie Big Bad but also an upcoming thriller titled Drop.
The project for Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes is being described as a “fast-paced thriller,” and Deadline reports today that Violett Beane (Truth or Dare) has joined the cast.
Newcomer Jacob Robinson has also signed on to star in the mysterious thriller. Previously announced, Meghann Fahy (“White Lotus”) will be leading the cast.
Landon recently teased on Twitter, “This is my love letter to DePalma.”
Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach wrote the script.
Michael Bay, Jason Blum, Brad Fuller and Cameron Fuller — “who brought the script in to Platinum Dunes” — are producing the upcoming Drop. Sam Lerner is an executive producer.
THR notes, “The film is a Platinum Dunes and Blumhouse production for Universal.”