"True Blood" stud Alexander Skarsgard will join "Friday Night Lights" hunk Taylor Kitsch aboard Universal’s "Battleship," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Peter Berg ("Hancock") directs the action-adventure movie from a script by Jon and Erich Hoeber that adds an "alien invasion" element to the story, which revolves around an international fleet joining forces to battle a water-bound armada of otherworldly origin.
Skarsgard will play Kitsch’s brother, a straight and narrow naval officer who is idolized by his more wild sibling.
Tom Arnold co-stars in the board game adaptation, which I am not particularly enthused about despite being a fan of Berg’s earlier films including "Very Bad Things," "Friday Night Lights" and "The Kingdom."
Berg is producing with Film 44 partner Sarah Aubrey, Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir and Scott Stuber. Jeffrey Kirschenbaum and Anikah McLaren will oversee the project for the studio.
Before playing a vampire sheriff on "True Blood," Skarsgard had a small part in Ben Stiller’s "Zoolander" and co-starred in HBO’s "Generation Kill." He’ll soon be seen in a pair of remakes — Rod Lurie’s "Straw Dogs" and Gela Babluani’s "13" — and is also set to appear in Lars von Trier’s "Melancholia."
Skarsgard was nearly cast as the lead in Marvel’s "Thor" before Chris Hemsworth won the role. The 33-year-old Swedish actor clearly has a bright future ahead of him, so here’s hoping "Battleship" doesn’t sink his blossoming career. He is represented by CAA.
"Battleship" starts shooting Aug. 30 in Hawaii and will be released on June 18, 2012.
