Common and James Badge Dale are joining Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, and Elisabeth Moss in The Kitchen, a crime drama based on the Vertigo Comics series. Set in the 1970s, it follows the wives of Irish mobsters who take over the business when their husbands are imprisoned. The film marks the directorial debut of Straight Outta Compton writer Andrea Berloff. Common will play FBI agent Gary Silvers with Dale as Kevin O'Carroll, husband to Haddish's character Ruby. Also in the cast are Domhnall Gleeson, Brian d'Arcy James, Margo Martindale, Bill Camp, with new additions Jeremy Bobb (Godless) and Myk Watford (No Country For Old Men).
This must be the day for finding new Disney villains. Hot off Ed Skrein being named the baddie for Maleficent 2, Disney has now found its heel for Jungle Cruise. Edgar Ramirez will join Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, and Jack Whitehall in the adventure film based on the popular theme park ride. Johnson plays a boat captain transporting a brother and sister to tree said to possess healing powers, only to run into problems from wild animals and competing expeditions. Ramirez will play a villain with a conquistador background. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Jungle Cruise begins shooting next month. [THR]
Here's something I missed from last month. Tomb Raider star Alicia Vikander, American Honey's Riley Keough, and Ben-Hur's Jack Huston will star in The Earthquake Bird. Netflix's adaptation of the Susanna Jones novel has Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice) writing and directing. The Tokyo-set noir thriller centers on an a female expat accused of murder when her best friend goes missing in the wake of a tumultuous love triangle with a handsome photographer. [Deadline]
