Casting Call: Christopher Meloni in Talks for Jackie Robinson Drama 42; Ed Harris May Reunite with Michael Bay for PAIN AND GAIN

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share with you today. First up, leaving Law & Order has turned Christopher Meloni into a very busy man. He stars in the upcoming season of True Blood, he landed a role in the new Superman pic Man of Steel, and now he’s set to star in the Jackie Robinson baseball drama 42. Variety reports that Meloni is in talks to play Leo Durocher, the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, in the film that chronicles how Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey and Robinson worked together to eradicate segregation in baseball in 1947. Harrison Ford is onboard as Rickey, and newcomer Chadwick Boseman will play Robinson in the film written and to be directed by Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential).

Hit the jump for casting news concerning Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain.

Additionally, Ed Harris may be reuniting with The Rock director Michael Bay for the latter’s dark comedy Pain and Gain. The film is based on a true story and centers on two bodybuilders who got caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that went terribly wrong. It’s a passion project of Bay’s, and he plans to film it on a relatively small budget (around $20 million). Vulture reports that Harris is in talks to play a private detective hired by the victim of the bodybuilders’ kidnapping plot. Dwayne Johnson is attached to star as one of the bodybuilders, and Mark Wahlberg was rumored to have turned the project down but he recently told Steve that he’s still very much considering it.