Here's some more casting news to finish up your work week:

  • Mel Gibson is in talks to star in Mesrine director Jean-Francois Richet's Blood Father.
  • Bobby Cannavale and Nia Long are in negotiations to Paul Feig's Spy, the comedy starring Melissa McCarthy that was formerly titled Susan Cooper.

Hit the jump for more on both pictures.

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First up from Deadline is news that Gibson is in in talks to star in the action-thriller, Blood Father.  Scripted by Peter Craig (The Town), it’s about "an ex-con who reunites with his estranged wayward 16-year old daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her." The film will begin production in New Mexico this May.  Why Not Productions and Chris Briggs are putting this picture on the fast track, but currently, there's no U.S.-distribution in place.

THR has word that Cannavale and Long are negotiating deals to star in the action comedy, Spy.  McCarthy stars as "a CIA analyst who goes into the field to find the person responsible for the death of her lover."  Cannavale would play an Italian playboy who happens to be one of the picture's villains, while Long would play a higher-up at the CIA. Jude Law is attached to play a suave super-spy, while Jason Statham will take an out-of-type turn as an overconfident yet clumsy spy.  Rose Byrne and Miranda Hart also star.  Feig directs from his own script.  Word has it that the film is also being developed with a potential franchise in mind, but it's unclear as to which actors would return for future installments.