Kodi Smit-McPhee Joins DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Deadline reports another Australian actor has joined the cast of Dawn of The Planet of The Apes. As Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road, Let Me In, ParaNorman) will re-team with Let Me In director Matt Reeves, joining Andy Serkis and fellow Aussie Jason Clarke in the film.

Jason Clarke To Star In DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, Film Set 15 Years Later

THR reports that Australian actor Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty, Lawless, Public Enemies) has been cast the lead in Dawn of The Planet of The Apes which will be directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In). The film continues the events of Rise where a viral outbreak is posed to wipe-out a majority of the human population on Earth. This is a giant upgrade from James Franco leading the last installment. No word on the actual plot or Clarke's character but the film is set 15 years after the events of the first film. Andy Serkis has been confirmed to be reprising the iconic role of Caesar.

Chloë Moretz Pitched As Lead In STAR WARS EPISODE VII?

While SlashFilm has been fuelling the rumor that a female Skywalker would be the focus of the new trilogy. They've recently dropped another tidbit of information that could see a female lead in J.J. Abrams' Episode VII. Apparently, when Matthew Vaughn was still in the running he had pitched Chloë Grace Moretz ( 500 Days of Summer, Kick-Ass 1-2) to LucasFilm. This could really mean that the studio is looking to have the trilogy centered around this unnamed female Skywalker (likely Jaina Skywalker Solo).

Moretz has taken on a lot of adult material in her career including the iconic Hit-Girl in the Kick-Ass films. Along with taking on the role of scream queen in horror remakes Let Me In and Carrie.  I don't doubt the studio could still consider her but Abrams will likely cast his own choices. At least we have an idea that the lead of the new trilogy could be a teenage girl. Hitting the trend of a female driven franchise such as Hunger Games, would also help fans get a fresh take on the Star Wars universe.

Chloë Moretz Continuing Her Reign As Scream Queen With Zombe Film 'MAGGIE' And Possibly 'KICK-ASS 2'

Chloë Moretz is quickly cementing herself as the unofficial modern "scream queen" of our era placing herself in genre focused projects such as Let Me In, Kick-Ass, Texas Killing Fields, Dark Shadows and the upcoming remake of Carrie. Variety reports she's in talks to play a young zombie in the film Maggie which would co-star Paddy Considine (Dead Man Shoes, Submarine, Red Riding) as her father. The zombie genre couldn't be bigger at the moment with The Walking Dead taking over TV along with films such as the romantic/dramedy Warm Bodies and the event film World War Z starring Brad Pitt.

Set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse, story concerns a father's unconditional love for his daughter. Considine is in talks to play the father, while Moretz would play his titular daughter.

There's no word if this project would conflict with the summer production of Kick-Ass 2 which has Jeff Wadlow attached to direct. It's been reported that original cast members are in talks to reprise their roles. However, Moretz has grown considerably since the first film so it wouldn't be hard to imagine Universal re-casting Mindy/Hit-Girl. That said the Kick-Ass spin-off comic Hit-Girl does feature a more mature Chloë as the violent heroine in a varient cover.