Sad news for those of you who were looking forward to seeing Raging Bull 2: it’s still in development, but has changed its title to The Bronx Bull.  A lawsuit filed by MGM claimed the right of first refusal of a sequel by the studio, as they owned both Jake LaMotta’s life rights and the feature rights tied to Martin Scorsese’s original film.  The title change reflects LaMotta’s nickname and the producers will publicly dissociate their project from Scorsese’s picture and MGM studios.

The Martin Guigui (Beneath the Darkness) picture stars William Forsythe (Boardwalk Empire) as an older LaMotta with Mojean Aria (Cross Life) as a younger version.  The picture also stars Tom Sizemore (Heat), Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) and Penelope Ann Miller (The Artist).  The title change notice comes via THR.

If you’ve ever wanted to know what happened in middleweight boxer Jake LaMotta’s early life that made him such a Raging Bull in his later years, then Raging Bull II is the movie for you!  The new prequel/sequel, which recently began filming, highlights LaMotta’s life “before the rage and after the rage” found in the original Martin Scorsese picture, starring Robert DeNiro (neither of whom is attached to Raging Bull II).  The Martin Guigui (Beneath the Darkness) picture stars William Forsythe (Boardwalk Empire) as an older LaMotta with Mojean Aria (Cross Life) as a younger version.  The picture also stars Tom Sizemore (Heat), Joe Mantegna (Criminal Minds), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas) and Penelope Ann Miller (The Artist). Hit the jump to check out the first images and press release for Raging Bull II.

We’ve got a trio of TV casting stories to share with you this evening. First up, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the Swedish one) star Michael Nyqvist has landed the villain role in ABC’s drama pilot Zero Hour. The show comes from Prison Break scribe Paul Scheuring and centers on a skeptics magazine editor who is pulled into “one of the most compelling conspiracies in human history.” ER vet Anthony Edwards is set to play the magazine editor, and THR reports that Nyqvist will play one of the villains at the heart of a global conspiracy. He’s a mercenary who shares a special connection to the show’s protagonist.

Nyqvist has already done the “foreign star takes on American villain role” bit in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, but Zero Hour will make his US television series debut. I’m a big fan of Edwards and the premise sounds interesting enough, so it’s safe to say I’m sold on checking out the pilot should ABC pick the show up to series. Hit the jump for casting news concerning Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett and Friday Night Lights alum Zach Gilford.

We won’t see the series return until the later part of the year, but casting for the second season of Boardwalk Empire is already underway. THR reports William Forsythe (The Rock, Blue Streak) will have a recurring role on the series as a gangster named Manny Horvitz. Of course the actor is no stranger to crime dramas having played Al Capone in The Untouchables TV series back in the 90′s. In addition, Charlie Cox (Stardust) has also joined the cast as an Irish gangster with ties to the IRA. We’re still not sure just what story will be the focus on the second season, but no matter what, I’m already looking forward to the series returning later this year.