Fox Searchlight has released a new The Drop trailer along with a new poster and images.  Tom Hardy plays Bob, a former criminal and current bartender working at a bar that serves as a money “drop” for local gangsters.  When the bar gets robbed, Bob and his cousin/employer Marv (James Gandolfini) find themselves in the crosshairs of an investigation and the criminal underworld.  Unlike the U.S. trailer, this international trailer features the excellent Matthias Schoenaerts, who is reteaming with his Bullhead director Michaël R. Roskam for the film.  It looks like a solid crime drama, and if anything, it will be worth watching for Gandolfini’s final big screen performance.

Hit the jump to check out The Drop trailer, poster, and images.  The film opens September 12th, and also stars Noomi Rapace, John Ortiz, Ann Dowd, and James Frecheville.

A few weeks ago, Will Smith dropped out of the sci-fi thriller Brilliance.  The film is based on the Marcus Sakey novel of the same name and takes place in a world where one percent of people are born with heightened cognitive abilities, dubbed “brilliants.”  Smith was set to play a federal agent whose gift is put to good use hunting terrorists, but he meets his match when he must track down another “brilliant” who is bent on igniting a civil war.  Noomi Rapace is on board to co-star as “a tattooed and pierced brilliant identified as a terrorist by the government.”

Today, THR is reporting that Jared Leto is in early talks to replace Smith.  After taking a six-year break from acting to focus on his music career, Leto returned to acting and picked up a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in Dallas Buyers Club.  Since then, he’s remained silent on his follow-up project although he has been rumored for as a possible candidate to star in Marvel’s Doctor Strange.  It’s odd to think that Jared Leto’s next movie could be such a big deal, but when you’re following up an Oscar win, choices matter even more.  Just ask Cuba Gooding Jr.

It appears that Will Smith has committed to his next project.  THR reports that Noomi Rapace is in talks to star opposite Smith in the sci-fi thriller Brilliance, firming up the pic as Smith’s next film.  Scripted by David Koepp (War of the Worlds), the film is based on the Marcus Sakey novel of the same name and takes place in a world where one percent of people are born with heightened cognitive abilities, dubbed “brilliants.”  Smith plays a federal agent whose gift is put to good use hunting terrorists, but he meets his match when he must track down another “brilliant” who is bent on igniting a civil war.  Rapace will play “a tattooed and pierced brilliant identified as a terrorist by the government.”  Julius Onah is directing the Legendary/Universal film, and production is looking to begin this summer.

Hit the jump for a major casting development concerning the Divergent sequel Insurgent.

Fox Searchlight has released the trailer for the crime drama The Drop.  Tom Hardy plays Bob, a former criminal and current bartender working at a bar that serves as a money “drop” for local gangsters.  When the bar gets robbed, Bob and his cousin/employer Marv (James Gandolfini) find themselves in the crosshairs of an investigation and the criminal underworld.  Directed by Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead) working from a script by Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone), who adapted his own short story, I have high hopes for this one, not only because of the talent on board, but because it’s Gandolfini’s final film, and I want his filmography to go out on a high note.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Noomi Rapace, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz, Ann Dowd, and James Frecheville.  The Drop opens September 19th.

When 20th Century Fox announced a glut of release dates last week, buried among the many superhero sequels and team-ups was an Untitled Ridley Scott Project dated for March 2016.  Scott has a number of projects on his plate at the moment, but many wondered whether this untitled project might be the Blade Runner sequel that’s been heating up over the past year, or maybe even the promised Prometheus 2.  Well it appears that the mystery has been solved, as The Wrap reports that the untitled project is indeed a Prometheus sequel.  Moreover, a new writer has been brought onboard and Scott is now eyeing a fall production start-date for the pic.  More after the jump.

[Update: Variety confirms that a new writer has been hired for Prometheus 2, but notes that it's unclear whether Scott will direct and that the film is still undated.  The Wrap's reporter doesn't appear to be disputing Variety's claims, so it's possible the initial story jumped the gun a bit. Hopefully more will be clear soon, but our original story follows after the jump.]

We’ve got a couple of casting announcements to attend to this afternoon.  First up, Idris Elba and Sam Worthington have boarded the dramatic thriller Alive Alone as Matthias Schoenaerts has dropped out of the picture.  Elba will play an ex-detainee of Guantanamo Bay working as a taxi driver whose world collides with a prostitute (Noomi Rapace) on the run from a feared crime boss (Worthington).  The story takes place in New York City and Khurram Longi is making his directorial debut on the feature, which he also wrote.  Per Deadline, production is looking to get underway next month.

Additionally, Deadline reports that John Travolta will lead the voice cast of the insane-sounding independent animated feature Gummy Bear.  The 2D/3D animated pic “sees Gummy and his friends—a vegetarian vampire bat, a cat, and a chameleon—fighting to save an alien planet from destruction.”  A director is not yet attached and Stealth Media Group is aiming to start production on the $30 million pic this September.  That premise is certainly something.

Summit Entertainment has released a collection of new and first-look images from its 2014 slate.  Briefly:

• Draft Day – Director Ivan Reitman’s dramedy takes place over the course of one day, centering on a general manager (Kevin Costner) who juggles his options with a number one draft pick.  The film opens April 11, 2014.
• Child 44 – Director Daniel Espinosa’s (Safe House) adaptation of the Tom Rob Smith novel stars Tom Hardy as a 1950s Soviet military policeman.  The film also stars Gary Oldman and Noomi Rapace and opens next fall.
• Step Up: All In – The fifth entry in the dance franchise takes the series to Las Vegas.  The film opens July 25, 2014.
• Divergent – The YA adaptation takes place in a dystopian future in which people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities.  The film stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet and opens March 21, 2014.
• The Legend of Hercules – This new spin on the Hercules tale stars Kellan Lutz as the titular demigod and opens January 10, 2014.

Hit the jump to check out images from the aforementioned films.

Here’s a bit more casting news today:

• Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild) is set to play John Belushi in Steve Conrad’s untitled biopic about the late actor.
• Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) will star in Tommy Wirkola’s indie sci-fi drama, What Happened to Monday?

Hit the jump for more on both pictures. 

20th Century Fox seems to have a game plan with regards to a sequel to last year’s Prometheus.  While director Ridley Scott made no secret of the fact that he envisioned the Alien pseudo-sequel as the beginning of a new franchise, firm movement on the follow-up had yet to materialize.  Coming off a box office take of over $400 million worldwide for the R-rated sci-fi pic, Fox was initially said to be targeting a 2014 or 2015 release date for Prometheus 2.  Screenwriter Damon Lindelof revealed earlier this year that he opted not to return to pen the follow-up, and a few months ago a story surfaced claiming that Fox was “freaking out” over how to continue the story. Well it appears that a logline for Prometheus 2 has indeed been sorted out, as screenwriter Jack Paglen is in talks to pen the script for the follow-up, with Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender expected to return in the starring roles.  Less certain, though, is Scott’s involvement this time around.  Hit the jump for more.

From acclaimed Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and screenwriter J.H. Wyman (Fringe), the crime drama Dead Man Down tells the story of two strangers who are bound together by their mutual obsession with revenge.  Victor (Colin Farrell) is a mysterious man who has infiltrated the crime empire run by ruthless kingpin Alphonse (Terrence Howard) for his own very definite reasons, while his neighbor Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) wants Victor’s help to carry out her own plans for retribution.

At the film’s press day, actress Noomi Rapace talked about talked about reuniting with her The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo director Niels Arden Oplev for this film, what it was like to add Colin Farrell to that mix, sharing her acting roles with her son so that he knows what she’s doing now, what it was like to see herself with all of her character’s scars, establishing the mother-daughter dynamic with co-star Isabelle Huppert, and how comfortable she is with English now.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

For a movie with two characters pursuing separate revenge stories, Niels Arden Oplev‘s Dead Man Down, manages to find a way to turn vendettas into plodding and tedious chores.  The film lacks the courage of its convictions, and when it writes itself into a corner, it simply refuses to acknowledge the shortcomings of the script, and trudges on to the next bland scene.  Oplev does seem to enjoy the cunning and violence his protagonist inflicts on the bad guys, but the revenge is so cliché that there’s no weight to any of the actions.  Vengeance has never been so dull.

FilmDistrict has released a batch of new high-resolution images from director Niels Arden Oplev’s (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) upcoming thriller Dead Man Down.  The film stars Colin Farrell as Victor, the right-hand-man for a New York crime lord (Terrence Howard) who seeks revenge against his boss following the death of his wife and daughter.  When a victim (Noomi Rapace) blackmails Victor into getting some revenge of her own against the crime lord, the two get caught up in the fallout.  These images highlight the intense nature of the pic, as we see the cast in some particularly stressful situations.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  Dead Man Down opens on March 8th.

While I was ultimately disappointed with Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, it certainly did conjure up an awful lot of discussion and interest in Scott’s planned sequel.  Star Noomi Rapace recently spoke with the director about the second film and revealed that work on the script is still underway.  We don’t know who the writer is at the moment, but we do know that Damon Lindelof won’t return to the franchise.  Hit the jump to see what Rapace  did manage to talk about.

FilmDistrict has released a new featurette and clip from director Niels Arden Oplev’s (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) crime thriller Dead Man Down.  The film stars Colin Farrell as Victor, the right-hand-man for a New York crime lord (Terrence Howard) who seeks revenge against his boss following the death of his wife and daughter.  When a victim (Noomi Rapace) blackmails Victor into getting some revenge of her own against the crime lord, the two get caught up in the fallout.  The clip shows a Rear Window-esque view of Farrell involved in some sort of fight, while the featurette highlights Rapace’s character.  It’s a great introduction to Rapace as an actress and her character, as Oplev, Farrell, and Howard talk about what she brings to the film.

Hit the jump to watch the clip and featurette.  Dead Man Down opens on March 8th.

We have some new TV spots to share with you from the following films:

• Dead Man Down – Director Niels Arden Oplev’s crime thriller starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace as an unlikely pair out for revenge against a mob boss.  Dead Man Down, also starring Dominic Cooper and Terrence Howard, opens March 8th.
• Dark Skies – Writer/director Scott Charles Stewart’s sci-fi thriller starring Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton as struggling parents whose limits are tested when strange events start happening to their family.  Also starring Dakota Goyo and J.K. Simmons, Dark Skies opens February 22nd.

Hit the jump to watch the TV spots.