It's already been a busy season for pilot casting, and the biggest trend seems to be the number of movie actors who are taking roles on the small screen.  The jury is out on what kind of a stage we are in with movies right now (the Sequel Era?) but we're definitely in the Second Golden Age of TV, and it makes sense that these actors art looking to get in on it (of course, where that leaves TV actors is fodder for another day).  Here are a couple of the latest ones to make the jump:

  • John Malkovich is set to star in NBC pilot drama series Crossbones
  • Christian Slater is looking to make his return to TV in the ABC pilot Influence
  • Josh Lucas has been cast in the Michael Bay A&E drama pilot Occult

For more on these projects, hit the jump.

The promising Crossbones comes from Luther creator Neil Cross (tip of the hat to you, sir), and Malkovich is said to be taking the role of Blackbeard the pirate.  The series will take place in 1715 in the Bahamian island of New Providence, with Blackbeard ruling over his many rogues in a den of sin.  I don't care of this really has any plot besides this, frankly.  Because pirates (but also NBC so … we'll "sea"? Sorry).

Slater has tried his hand at network TV recently with series like My Own Worst Enemy and The Forgotten, none of which stuck around for long.  But his new project for ABC could have legs: he will star opposite Steve Zahn in Influence, created by Kyle Killen (Awake).  Zahn will play Slater's brother, and their two characters are geniuses in the understanding of human motivation as well as scheming up heists, respectively.  And they run a "unique" business that showcases their talents.  It sounds something like The Mentalist meets another of Slater's former series, Breaking In.

Finally, THR reports that Josh Lucas will join Lynn Collins in Occult, from Michael Bay, about an FBI agent to returns after "going off the deep end" while investigating his wife's disappearance.  The setup sounds pretty familiar, and a lot like The Following (where the killings that they begin investigating have an occult connection).

Stay tuned for more casting news -- in the meantime, which of these seems the most likely to survive pilot season?