Actress Antje Traue Joins HERCULES: THE THRACIAN WARS

CBM has reposted a tweet from Brett Ratner confirming that German actress Antje Traue has taken a role in Hercules: The Thracian Wars. Oddly, both that tweet along with Ratner's account have been deleted since. Not sure if Ratner got in trouble for it but it seems like the director has chosen to remove himself from social media for the moment.

Ian McShane, John Hurt, Josepeh Fiennes And Rebecca Ferguson Added To The Cast Of HERCULES Starring Dwayne Johnson

THR and Deadline report a bunch of actors have joined the cast of Hercules. They include Ian McShane (Deadwood, Jack The Giant Slayer, Pirates 4), John Hurt (Alien, V For Vendetta, Snowpiercer), Joseph Fiennes and Rebecca Ferguson (The White Queen). Ian will play Hercules' (Johnson) counselor and fellow warrior.

Rufus Sewell Joins HERCULES Starring Dwayne Johnson

Deadline reports that actor Rufus Sewell (Dark City) has joined the slowly growing cast of Hercules. The Brett Ratner directed swords and sandals actioner stars Dwayne Johnson (Pain And Gain, G.I. Joe: Retaliation). Rufus will play Autolycus in the film which is expected to be released on July 25th 2014 . It's going to be more grounded than previous Greek mythology films and could have more in common with 300 than Clash of The Titans.

After renouncing his mythological origins, Hercules lives in exile and fights as a mercenary for hire alongside his loyal but weary comrades. Hercules and his crew will face their most challenging labor yet when one battle forces the man behind the myth to question everything he once believed, and reconsider the truth behind his own legend.

Aksel Hennie Joins Dwayne Johnson In HERCULES

THR reports the first new addition to the cast of Bret Ratner's Hercules which stars Dwayne Johnson. They say that Norwegian actor Aksel Hennie (Headhunters) will play Tydeus a fellow warrior who welds twin axes. He's also a madman who has to be chained up at night. The film based on the comic book Hercules: The Thracian Wars will be more grounded than previous Greek mythology films such as Clash of The Titans or Immortal. Hercules is aiming for an August 2014 release date with production beginning this Summer.

DREAM CAST: Dwayne Johnson And Gina Carano For TRANSFORMERS 4

Now that director Michael Bay is revving up re-casting for Transformers 4 starting with Mark Wahlberg. We should be expecting a "different" group of actors selected this time around. Mark is better known for his action roles but has landed himself in the awards arena recently with The Departed and The Fighter. Wahlberg is also a solid straight-man in comedies like Ted and The Other Guys. So he's got the acting chops, charm and humor to add something human to the film franchise which has been lacking from it's human characters throughout the trilogy.

Granted I'm not a big fan of Bay's Transformers films but this next installment could change the entire tone of the films.  It's unknown how serious the studio will be going, likely a little more towards the recent reboot/sequel to G.I. Joe. A bit more grounded than previously but still including the humor and spectacle you'd expect from a summer blockbuster. I have two other recommendations that could greatly help this new era of the franchise. I feel like having an Expendables-type cast of action stars could help boost the quality of the film. That being said, I could see Dwayne Johnson and Gina Carano becoming excellent additions to the new cast.

Dwayne has broken out as an action star (again) after a rather terrible string of family friendly films. He's already jumped on board the Fast And Furious and G.I. Joe (another Hasbro film) franchises seemingly giving them new action cred. Production of his Hercules (also with Paramount) film with Brett Ratner directing is also ramping up in the new year. I assume with connections to both Bay and Wahlberg from working on Pain And Gain along with three projects for Paramount. He's a strong candidate to be the next name added to the lineup. Hiring someone that can be as charismatic as Johnson could be something the franchise could really use. We've seen three films already where character development and charisma is thrown out the window. It would be nice to see someone else with actual personality added to the mix.

Gina is the MMA fighter turned action heroine, thanks in part to her starring role in Steven Soderbergh's Haywire. The film was a huge success and has since seen Gina land roles in Fast And Furious 6 (alongside Dwayne) and the lead in a female version of The Expendables. Bay has been notoriously lazy with casting female actresses in the Transformers films, not to mention sexist. Girls tend to watch these genre films as well and having models playing damsels in distress is beyond cliche. It's time they developed a female character (lack of them as well) that wasn't just eye candy for Bay and teen boys.

Dwayne Johnson Could Join Hercules: The Thracian Wars

Hot of the heels of a looming release of Greek mythology blockbuster Wrath of The Titans. Variety reports that MGM and director Brett Ratner are in talks with Dwayne Johnson to lead an adaptation of Steve Moore's comic Hercules: The Thracian Wars. It's expected even with Ratner attached it could end up a gritty battle focused film that hopefully turns out a mix of Conan meets Troy.

It's yet another high profile project for Johnson who has G.I. Joe: Retaliation this summer, Fast Six and Michael Bay's Pain And Gain coming out in the future. Johnson is no stranger to the swords and sandals genre with previously playing the Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns and the prequel The Scorpion King. This also the second comic book character Johnson has played with aspirations to play Luke Cage for Marvel Studios. While I'm on the fence with the involvement of Ratner he's a step up from Peter Berg (Battleship, Hancock). I'm also betting that the charismatic Johnson will at least rangle this into a fun popcorn flick.