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A few casting stories to report:

  • Michael Caine revealed that Daniel Radcliffe will play his son in Now You See Me 2.  Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Morgan Freeman are set to return for the sequel.
  • Catherine Zeta-Jones will play Colombian drug kingpin Griselda Blanco, also known as the Godmother of Cocaine, in the biopic The Godmother.
  • William Hurt signed on to star opposite Stephan James, Jeremy Irons, Jason Sudeikis, and Carice van Houten in the Jesse Owens biopic Race.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

Caine shared the following with Hey U Guys:

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“There’s a sequel to Now You See Me and we’re shooting in London. I shoot in December, the whole of December in London, and my son is Harry Potter. I thought it’d be funny, me and Daniel Radcliffe as father and son.”

This is the first we've heard about Radcliffe joining the cast---I wonder if that was a cameo that Caine let slip a little earlier than planned.  Now You See Me 2 is scheduled to start shooting this fall with Jon M. Chu (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) stepping in as director.

Branko Lustig and Daniela Cretu optioned Blanco's life rights in 2012, a few months before she died after a drive-by shooting.  Deadline reports they have finally found their Godmother in Zeta-Jones.  Norwegian filmmaker Eva Sørhaug (90 Minutes) will direct.  Here's the logline for the script by Frank Baldwin:

THE GODMOTHER is a true story based on the incredulous life of Griselda Blanco, the first and only woman in history to head a major Colombian drug network, and chronicles the rise and fall of the woman who became the wealthiest, deadliest, most notorious and most wanted drug lord in the world.

Along with the Hurt casting, Lionsgate announced Race will open April 8, 2016.  Here's the press release:

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WILLIAM HURT JOINS CAST OF FOCUS FEATURES’ RACE

Studio to Release Jesse Owens Biopic Nationwide on April 8, 2016

LOS ANGELES, October 1, 2014 – Focus Features announced today that Academy Award® winner William Hurt has signed on to join the cast of the drama Race opposite Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons, Jason Sudeikis, Carice van Houten, and rising star Stephan James. The studio also said that it will release the movie about the legendary athletic superstar Jesse Owens in theaters nationwide on April 8, 2016.

Race is directed by Emmy® Award winner Stephen Hopkins and is currently being filmed in Montreal and on location at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, where the real-life hero won a record-breaking four Olympic gold medals in 1936. The new film has the support of the Owens family, the Jesse Owens Foundation, the Jesse Owens Trust, and the Luminary Group.

Race tells the incredible true story of Jesse Owens, whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy. Race is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance, and friendship; and an inspiring drama about one man’s fight to become an Olympic legend. Mr. Hurt will portray Jeremiah Mahoney, president of the Amateur Athletic Union, who led efforts to boycott the 1936 Olympics.

Race is written by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel. The movie is produced by Jean Charles Lévy for Forecast Pictures, Luc Dayan for ID+, Kate Garwood and Mr. Hopkins for Totally Commercial Films, Louis-Philippe Rochon and Dominique Séguin for Canada’s Solofilms, and Karsten Brünig and Thierry Potok for Germany’s Trinity Race GmbH.

The film’s executive producers include Christopher Charlier, Ben Grass, Scott Kennedy, Bonnie Timmermann, George Acogny, Nicolas Manuel, Jonathan Bronfman, and Al Munteanu. Square One, which is distributing the film in Germany, is a co-producer on the film. Entertainment One (eOne) is distributing Race in Canada.

Mr. Hurt will next be seen in The Moon and the Sun. He won the Oscar® for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Kiss of the Spider Woman. He has since been nominated for three additional Academy Awards, for his performances in A History of Violence, Broadcast News, and Children of a Lesser God.

Mr. Hurt is represented by ICM Partners. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling international distribution of the film.