James McAvoy In The Mix For Arthur And Lancelot, Colin Farrell Backs Out

Deadline reports that Colin Farrell (Total Recall, Fright Night) has exited talks with Warner Bros. for the role of Lancelot in Arthur And Lancelot. Gary Oldman had been tapped for the role of Merlin while Marion Cotillard (Inception, Dark Knight Rises) had been linked for Morgana. They also add that actors including James McAvoy (First Class, Wanted) had been in the mix for the title role of Arthur. James is set to return for the sequel to X-Men First Class which could shoot later this year.

Colin Farrell In Talks For Arthur And Lancelot

ShowBlitz reports that the troubled Arthur And Lancelot has new life thanks to Colin Farrell (In Bruges, Total Recall). It's being reported that Farrell is in talks with Warner Bros. to take one of the two leads. Not too long again the studio put the movie on hold to figure out budgetary issues. This lead to their two leads Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) and Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) to drop out and sign on to other projects. Harington is taking a role in Seventh Son and Joel will be the new Robocop in MGM's reboot. Marion Cotillard (Inception, Dark Knight Rises) had been previously offered the role of Morgana as well. It's also mentioned that the studio is aiming for the film to have a tone similar to Braveheart.

Marion Cotillard Wanted For Morgana In Arthur And Lancelot

Vulture reports that Warner Bros. has offered French actress Marion Cotillard (Inception, Dark Knight Rises) the role of Morgana in Arthur And Lancelot. She is a villainous sorceress and the half-sister of Arthur. Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) is playing Arthur with Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman (The Killing) as Lancelot, Gary Oldman is also wanted by the studio for Merlin.

Kit Harington Will Play Arthur In Arthur And Lancelot

ShowBlitz reports that Kit "Jon Snow" Harington (Game of Thrones) who was the front-runner for the lead role in Arthur And Lancelot has been offered the part of Arthur. Joel Kinnaman has been tapped for the role of Lancelot with Gary Oldman asked to play Merlin. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the cast comes together since the names so far are peeking my interest.

More Actors Testing For The Role Of Arthur In Arthur And Lancelot

With Joel Kinnaman (Snabba Cash) in talks for Lancelot and Warner Bros. wanting Gary Oldman for Merlin the main role of Arthur has yet to be cast. HollywoodReporter is listing a few more names that are testing for the role. Kit Harrington is still in the mix who had been mentioned as a front-runner. The new names testing include his Game of Thrones' brother Richard Madden, Luke Evans and Tobey Kebbell.

While WB might be quick to cash-in on the Game of The Thrones heat with Harrington and Madden the other guys could be a better pick. Luke Evans has been making a splash with every big film that involves swords including The Hobbit, Clash of The Titans, Immortals and Three Musketeers. Tobey might be impressing the studio with his performance in Wrath of The Titans as he's rumored to be returning for Clash of The Titans 3.

That being said the studio seems to be testing every actor possible for Arthur. The previous group included Sam Claflin (On Stranger Tides, Snow White And The Huntsman), Dominic Cooper (Captain America, Devil's Double), Hans Matheson (Sherlock Holmes, Les Miserables), Jim Sturgess, Ben Walker (Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Paradise Lost) and Liam Hemsworth (Expendables 2). I'm hoping that we could see these names resurface in supporting roles as there should be plenty of knights and enemy roles to fill.

Warner Bros. Wants Gary Oldman For Akira And Arthur

Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is pursuing Gary Oldman for two roles in upcoming tentpoles. They confirm the previous report that Gary is wanted for the role of the Colonel in Jaume Collet-Serra's  Akira alongside front-runner Garrett Hedlund. The studio is also pursing him for the role of Merlin in David Dobkin's Arthur And Lancelot in which Joel Kinnaman is a favorite for Lancelot. There is a strong chance that Oldman could end up with an Oscar nomination for his performance in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. So it seems like a smart move on the part of Warner Bros. to lock him up for a bunch of projects. 

Joel Kinnaman Cast As Lancelot In Arthur & Lancelot

HeatVision reports that Joel Kinnaman has landed the role of Lancelot in Warner Bros' Arthur & Lancelot. It had been reported that Joel and Kit Harrington (Game of Thrones) were the front-runners of the film. The studio will now have Joel do chemistry reads with other candidates that include Kit Harrington, Sam Claflin (On Stranger Tides, Snow White & The Huntsman), Dominic Cooper (Captain America, Devil's Double), Hans Matheson (Sherlock Holmes), Jim Sturgess, Ben Walker (Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Paradise Lost) and Liam Hemsworth (Expendables 2). This very well means that Joel is now out of the running for Steven Soderbergh's The Man From UNCLE.

Joel Kinnaman & Kit Harington Front-Runners For Arthur & Lancelot

It was surprising when Warner Bros. axed potential remakes of Excalibur from both Bryan Singer (X-Men 1-2, Jack The Giant Killer, Usual Suspects) and Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes 1-2, Snatch) to more forward with Arthur & Lancelot. A new "grounded" take on the classical tale from Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin was chosen instead with a budget around $90 million. It seemed a bit brash considering the talent behind the Excalibur projects but you never know with these things. I never thought comedy director Ruben Fleischer would end up making Gangster Squad. Since Ruben's credits only include Zombieland and 30 Minutes Or Less but it seems like the studio is giving chances to let directors branch out.

There is finally some interesting news casting-wise as ThePlaylist reports that Joel Kinnaman (Snabba Cash, The Killing) and Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) have come out as front-runners for the leads. It's unknown who is expected in what part but there is also a list of other candidates that includes names like Sam Claflin (Pirates 4, Snow White & The Huntsman, Dominic Cooper (Devil's Double, Captain America), Hans Matheson (Sherlock Holmes, Clash of The Titans), Jim Sturgess (50 Dead Men Walking, Cloud Atlas), Ben Walker (Paradise Lost, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter) and Liam Hemsworth (Hunger Games, Expendables 2). Joel Kinnaman was recently toted as Steven Soderbergh's choice for the second lead in The Man From UNCLE which is being produced by David Dobkin. I expect Kit's rather large international following from Game of Thrones doesn't hurt his chances either.