Sullivan Stapleton Linked For Unknown Role In STAR WARS: EPISODE VII

LatinoReview reports that Aussie actor Sullivan Stapleton has also tested for an unknown part in J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode VII. They don't know what the role actually is. However, since he's playing a heroes in 300: The Rise of An Empire and on his UK series Strike Back. I would assume Sullivan could be looking at a Jedi Knight role in the film.

I'd love to see him as Ben Skywalker, which is rumored to have been offered to actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Ryan Gosling (which he co-starred with in Gangster Squad). Sullivan had been at one point in the mix for the role of Peter Quill/Starlord in Marvel's Guardians of The Galaxy. He's also popped up as a fan favorite as the new Wolverine and Batman (pre-Batfleck). Sullivan's Animal Kingdom co-star Joel Edgerton played the young Uncle Owen in two of the prequels.

James Gandolfani And James Frecheville Looking To Join ANIMAL RESCUE

Variety reports that actor James Gandolfini is looking to return the crime genre with a role in Animal Rescue. James is currently in talks for the project from director Michael R. Roskam (Bullhead) that stars Tom Hardy (Inception, Warrior, Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max Fury Road), Noomi Rapace (Dead Man Down, Dragon Tattoo, Prometheus) and Matthias Schoenaerts (Bullhead, Rust And Bone). His last roles were Killing Them Softly as an alcoholic hitman (one of the more compelling characters in the film) and a small part in Zero Dark Thirty.

Twitch also reports that Aussie actor James Frecheville has also taken a role. The young actor is best known as the lead in the Aussie thriller Animal Kingdom which helped the Hollywood profiles of Jackie Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook), Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty, Warrior), Ben Mendelsohn (Killing Them Softly, Dark Knight Rises) and Sullivan Stapleton (Gangster Squad, 300: Rise of An Empire).

Ben Mendelsohn Wants To Play Doctor Doom

20th Century Fox should really take notice to this recent comment from Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn (Dark Knight Rises, Animal Kingdom, Killing Them Softly, The Place Beyond The Pines) who announces his dream role would be Doctor Doom to CityWeekly (via CBM). The iconic Fantastic Four villain was never done right in the original franchise so here's hoping Fox will take a little more care when re-casting for the upcoming reboot.

“I’d do anything to play Doctor Doom. I love the Doctor.”

Ben Mendelsohn Revealed In New 'DARK KNIGHT RISES' Trailer

It looks like we have yet another stunning surprise from Christopher Nolan as Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn appears in the new Dark Knight Rises trailer. It hadn't been reported he even was apart of the cast. We should expect a large number of these sort of cameos popping up. Since I'm sure a lot of these cameos were done as a favor to Nolan or actors just wanted to be involved in the final film. During the screening of the opening scene it was also revealed that Irish actor Adian Gillen best known for series like The Wire and Game of Thrones would have a small part as a CIA agent.

Sullivan Stapleton Joins 300 Prequel

Variety reports that Aussie actor Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back, Animal Kingdom) has landed the lead in the untitled 300 prequel. I'm a little confused about which role Sullivan has actually nabbed. Deadline reports it's Xerxes while ThePlaylist says it's the lead role that was originally offered to Joel Edgerton which had been reported to be Themistocles. Variety is even more vague and doesn't even give a hint what the role is. Stapleton hasn't had many high profiled projects since Animal Kingdom but has a supporting role in the gritty mob thriller Gangster Squad. Eva Green (Casino Royale, Kingdom of Heaven) has already joined the production playing the female lead Artemisia.

UPDATE: Jeff from ShowBlitz has confirmed to me that Sullivan is indeed playing General Themistocles.