Director Paul W.S. Anderson must have really liked Ridley Scott’s "Robin Hood," considering he’s cast Matthew McFadyen (the Sheriff of Nottingham) and Luke Evans (the Sheriff’s thug) as two of the three title characters in his 3D take on Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale "The Three Musketeers," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"Rome" star Ray Stevenson will join the sword-wielding duo, and Logan Lerman ("Percy Jackson & the Olympians") is in negotiations to play D’Artagnan, a young man who leaves home to become the fourth member of "the fighting force of the French king’s royal household." While I could barely pick the "Three Musketeers" out of a line-up of macho men, Lerman seems like he’d be a good fit as the fourth and youngest team member.
With a quartet of rising stars locked in to play the good guys, the main draw will be the established names playing the other characters.
Oscar winner Christoph Waltz ("Inglourious Basterds") is set to continue his streak of villains by playing Cardinal Richelieu, while Mads Mikkelsen ("Casino Royale") will play Rochefort. Waltz is also playing the bad guy in Michel Gondry’s "The Green Hornet" and the upcoming Robert Pattinson film "Water For Elephants."
Additionally, Anderson’s real-life wife Milla Jovovich has been cast as Milady de Winter, Athos’ former lover who is described as a "17th century Bond girl," and an offer is currently out to Orlando Bloom to play the Musketeers’ nemesis the Duke of Buckingham.
Anderson ("Death Race") co-wrote the script with Andrew Davies, and will produce with Impact Pictures’ Jeremy Bolt and Constantin Film’s Robert Kulzer. Constantin will finance the period film, which Summit will distribute domestically.
Warner Bros. is also mounting a "Three Musketeers" movie under the direction of Doug Liman, who will begin casting soon with production scheduled to begin in September. It’s unclear why the world needs two "Three Musketeers" movies but that’s Hollywood for you, folks! I wonder which of the competing projects will land the inevitable tie-in with the delicious candy bar of the same name.
Stevenson has appeared in "King Arthur" and "The Book of Eli," but is best known on the bigscreen for his starring turn in "Punisher: War Zone." He next appears in Adam McKay’s cop comedy "The Other Guys" and as Volstagg in Marvel’s "Thor."
MacFadyen starred in the British TV series "Spooks" is best known for playing Mr. Darcy in "Pride & Prejudice." He next appears in Starz’s star-studded miniseries "The Pillars of the Earth."
Evans played Apollo in "Clash of the Titans" and will play another God, Zeus, in Tarsem Singh’s 3D "Immortals."
