We've got two new additions to leading lady casting news today.  Check them out in brief below:

  • Viola Davis (The Help) will join Prisoners, a Black List script from Aaron Guzikowski (Contraband) that stars Hugh Jackman (X-Men) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) to be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Incendies).
  • Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) will star opposite Zac Efron (17 Again) in Are We Officially Dating?, a romantic comedy from debut writer/director Tom Gormican.

Hit the jump for more on both pictures. 

First up, The Wrap reports that two-time Oscar nominee Davis will join Prisoners in an unspecified role.  Jackman stars as a small-town carpenter by the name of Keller whose young daughter and her best friend are kidnapped.  Keller takes the case into his own hands when the police fail to find them, but runs up against Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal), a top cop with an over-inflated ego.  2013 will see a number of releases for Davis, including The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers, Beautiful Creatures and Ender's Game.

Deadline reports that Poots will star opposite Efron in Are We Officially Dating?  The Black List plot follows three male friends in New York City who pledge to stay single, even as each of them begins to fall in love.  Poots' role has yet to be specified.  The picture also stars Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood) as an ex-wife of one of the trio.  Production is expected to begin this month.  Poots recently landed the lead opposite Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) in Need for Speed.