A casting couplet to close out the night:
- Tye Sheridan, Nick Robinson, and Mitchell Hope will reportedly test with Chloe Moretz this weekend for a role in Sony's adaptation of Rick Yancey's sci-fi young adult novel The 5th Wave.
- Skylar Astin will return for Pitch Perfect 2, joining Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, and Adam DeVine as well as newcomers Hailee Steinfeld and Katey Sagal.
Hit the jump for more on both projects.
According to Variety, Sony could look beyond Sheridan, Robinson, and Hope for the role, but the studio is not expected to expand the net much wider. I am not familiar with Hope, but Sheridan already has a stellar resume (The Tree of Life, Mud, Joe) and Robinson was great as the lead of The Kings of Summer. I also appreciate the willingness to cast actual teenagers as the teenage characters.
J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) will direct The 5th Wave from a script by Susannah Grant (The Soloist). Here’s the book synopsis:
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother–or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. [Amazon]
I am surprised Astin was not already on board officially for Pitch Perfect 2. Yet Deadline confirms Astin will reprise his role. Rehearsals are underway in Baton Rouge with Elizabeth Banks making her directorial debut. Pitch Perfect 2 opens May 15, 2015.