News Round-Up: Casting With Harrison Ford, Benedict Cumberbatch; Mission: Impossible 5 Director; and More

In today’s (or this week’s) news, I’ll be reporting on casting announcements for Expendables 3, The Penguins of Madagascar, and The Good House. I’ve also attached news for The Familymoon (formally titled Blended) and director news for Mission: Impossible 5. Finally, I have two pieces of news regarding the biggest and baddest comic hero movies of the future – Avengers: Age of Ultron and Batman vs. Superman.

To catch up with the rest of the week, check out the newest trailers, posters, and photos.

Harrison Ford seems like the missing link in the Expendables franchise. Well, it appears that has changed. Although it is apparently because of Bruce Willis’ departure, Ford will join Expendables 3 with an array of action stars. The third installment added Wesley Snipes and Nicolas Cage recently. The movie will again be directed by Patrick Hughes and will release August 15, 2014. (Source: Deadline)

Rising star Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness) and John Malkovich (Red) have been added to the animated movie Penguins of Madagascar. The penguin spin-off of the ever popular Madagascar franchise won’t release until March 27, 2015, but it’s nice to know some more information. (Source: Total Film)

Two other huge stars, Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook) and Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), have joined The Good House. Billed as a dark comedy based on Ann Leary’s bestseller of the same name, the movie still is without a director or release date. (Source: Collider)

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore’s next project received an updated title. Now The Familymoon, the comedy will release May 23, 2014 (Memorial Day weekend). It was previously titled Blended, and the movie is about a blind date gone wrong…but they’re forced to spend more time together at a resort. (Source: Variety)

We all knew Mission: Impossible 5 was going to happen, but we didn’t know who would be directing it. Well, kind of. Conventional thinking had Chris McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) on the top of many lists and it was confirmed recently. Tom Cruise will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt and the movie is expected to release in 2015 sometime. (Source: EW)

It was also confirmed (unfortunately for some) that Tom Hiddleston will not appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Loki is confirmed for Thor: The Dark World, but with the looks of it, Ultron will be taking over the villain role. Maybe we’ll see him later on, who really knows? (Source: EW)

The last thing I wanted to talk about was the talk over the next Batman. Although the acclaimed The Dark Knight trilogy just closed last year, Zack Snyder confirmed at Comic-Con that Batman would face off against Superman in the Man of Steel sequel. According to multiple outlets, the biggest names surfacing are Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, and Joe Manganiello. At this point, it’s all rumor and speculation, but I thought I’d include it. (Source: THR)

Thanks for tuning in this week. Check back next Thursday for more!

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