We’ve got a few casting stories to share this evening.  Briefly:

Hit the jump for more on each film.

After dropping out of the villain role in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel, Deadline reports that Benicio Del Toro is now set to star in the drama Jimmy Picard.  The film is an adaptation of Georges Deverux’s book Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian and centers on the friendship between a Native American and a French psychoanalyst.  Del Toro will play the title character, a Plains Indian who travels to the famed Winter Hospital in Topeka, Kansas after returning home from World War II with symptoms that can’t be explained physically.  Directed by Arnaud Desplechin, the film also stars Mathieu Amalric and Gina McKee and begins production on June 18th.

Additionally, The Voice judge Adam Levine is looking to spread his acting chops further as he’s now signed on to join the impressive cast of Once director John Carney’s “feel-good” romance Can A Song Save Your Life?.  Levine recently committed to a role on the upcoming second season of Glee creator Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology American Horror Story, and Deadline reports that he’ll play Keira Knightley’s boyfriend in the film.

The story centers on a woman who moves to New York with her boyfriend to pursue their music careers, only to be dumped for a solo contract.  She’s then discovered singing at a bar by a washed-up A&R man played by Mark Ruffalo.  Hailee Steinfeld also stars and Judd Apatow is onboard as an executive producer.

Finally, Footloose star Kenny Wormald has been tapped to star in Kid Cannabis, per Deadline.  The film tells the true story of two young men who smuggle pot between the borders of Idaho and British Columbia.  We previously learned that Project X star Jonathan Daniel Brown will lead the pic, and Deadline’s report doesn’t specify what part Wormald would take.  We also previously heard that Kellan Lutz and Nina Dobrev were close to taking roles in the pic, but there’s no mention of the two in this latest report.  Production begins next month in Canada.

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