Film Casting: PIRATES 5, BRAIN ON FIRE, Simon Pegg Co-writing STAR TREK 3

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Brain On Fire: My Month Of Madness, Star Trek 3, and other movies have made recent film casting, screenwriting, and director news. These films come from movie studios primarily based in the United States. The castings, screenwriters, and directors are subject to change.

Brain On Fire: My Month Of Madness

Gerard Barrett…has been set by Denver & Delilah Films and Foundation Features to write and direct a drama based on Susannah Cahalan’s bestselling memoir Brain On Fire: My Month Of Madness. Dakota Fanning is set to star as Cahalan in a drama that details a young woman’s terrifying descent into insanity.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Kaya Scodelario is in early talks for the female lead in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Star Trek 3

Simon Pegg has been set to co-write Star Trek 3…He will co-write the script with Doug Jung, creator of the TNT series Dark Blue. Pegg’s already a pivotal player in the JJ Abrams-produced Paramount/Skydance pic; he also will reprise his role as Scotty, the engineering wiz originated by James Doohan in the original 1960s Gene Roddenberry series.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

Zac Efron…will star in Fox’s upcoming comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

The Chernin Entertainment project will be directed by Jake Szymanski…Written by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien, the film centers on two brothers who post an online ad for wedding dates.

Peter Chernin, David Ready, Jenno Topping and Jonathan Levine are producing. Cohen and O’Brien are exec producing. Daria Cercek is overseeing at Fox.

Boy21

Catch & Release Films…[is] developing an adaptation of the best-selling Matthew Quick novel Boy21 with Lasse Hallstrom attached to direct. Nicholl Fellowship winner Andrew Lanham is writing the script.

Boy21, from the author of Silver Linings Playbook, which was adapted into the Oscar-winning hit that starred Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, centers on the unique friendship between two high school basketball players who have suffered significant tragedies in their lives. The boys’ unlikely friendship and one’s love for a special woman enable each of them to overcome the burdens of their past and embrace a different path for themselves.

Ben-hur

MGM’s “Ben-Hur” has added “Lucy” star Pilou Asbæk to play Pontius Pilate

Keith Clarke and John Ridley wrote the latest script

The Pines

Rose McGowan is now preparing to direct her first feature The Pines…Alex Mar wrote the script for the pic.

Suicide Squad

Following Tom Hardy’s departure from the role of Rick Flag, sources now tell Variety that Jake Gyllenhaal has passed on an offer to play the leader of the superhero team.

The pic doesn’t go into production until April, so there is still plenty of time to find another person to fill the role.

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Source: Variety, Hollyreporter, Deadline