BREAKING BAD Star Aaron Paul Lands Lead in NEED FOR SPEED

DreamWorks’ adaptation of the popular video game franchise Need for Speed has found one of its two leads.  EW reports that Breaking Bad star and two-time Emmy winner Aaron Paul has been set to topline the racing film.  Act of Valor helmer Scott Waugh is set to direct from a script by George Gatins, but very little is known about the film’s story.  Presumably Need for Speed will center on street racing of some sort, though the pic isn’t based on a particular title in the game series.  DreamWorks hopes this is the first in a franchise of films, so this is very big news for Paul.

Paul has shown tremendous talent opposite Bryan Cranston on AMC’s Breaking Bad, but that show will sadly come to an end next year as the final batch of episodes air.  He’ll be seen this fall in the drama Smashed opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead and is also starring in the adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel A Long Way Down, but it’ll be fun to see him tackle the action genre with Need for Speed.  The film is set for release on February 7th, 2014.  Cars, yo!