It would seem that casting news for Young Adult Hollywood revolves around just a few hot and very in-demand names, and what a busy bunch they are! But because things change in showbiz faster than you can say ‘Did you see who is cast in the newest Hunger Games?!‘, the names on that list are changing all the time. So to that end, we here at YA Mag will undertake the hefty task of keeping you up to date each month on who’s playing what, who’s not, and who should. The roles and stars everyone can’t stop talking about are all here…
To follow up on something we previously reported on, Jamie Foxx is rumored to be taking on the role of Benjamin Stacks, aka Daddy Warbucks, in the hip new Annie for producers Will Smith and Jay Z. Opposite cute little Beast of the Southern Wild Quvenzhané Wallis, this is one musical that will surely make the sun come out.
Next, we have the Battle of the Lilys: Lily James and Lily Collins to be exact, two beauteous brunettes who are enjoying plum roles in some exciting upcoming features. First we have Ms. James, of Downton Abbey and…Wrath of the Titans fame (if you could phrase it as such), who has landed the lead role in Disney’s update of Cinderella for gifted director Kenneth Branagh. But it must be said that Lily Collins is winning, since the actress—having survived the train wreck that was Mirror Mirror—is bouncing back (and then some) with The Mortal Instruments franchise (a sequel is already in the works even though the first film isn’t even out until August), as well as a lead role in the highly anticipated Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a well-timed adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith‘s tongue in cheek update to the Austen classic. Let it be known: zombies are the new vampires.
While the Transformers franchise is bulldozing forward without its caddish leading man Shia LaBeouf, the fourth film is holding on to original director Michael Bay, along with a surprising list of cast members sure to make this 4th installment not entirely terrible: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer and Nicola Peltz (from TV’s Bates Motel) are just a few who will be joining Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and the gang in 2014.
In TV land, supernatural spinoff Ravenswood continues to create buzz, as both Stacy (Stephanie Sousa) and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) have been confirmed to be making the jump from PLL to the new show, joined by Brett Dier, who has appeared in The Secret Circle and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
The Vampire Diaries’ seductive beauty Nina Dobrev will next star in Let’s be Cops, in which two friends decide to imitate police officers but soon find themselves in way over their heads.
Another CW stalwart, Ed Westwick of Gossip Girl, will be starring in the film adaptation of outspoken foodie Anthony Bourdain’s first novel, the uproarious Bone in the Throat. Westwick can add this to his list of already impressive credits, which includes the role of Tybalt in the upcoming remake of Romeo & Juliet.
We’ll finish this month’s roundup with one of our most popular and in-demand stars, Chloe Grace Moretz, who has been tapped to play opposite Denzel Washington in Antoine Fuqua’s film adaptation of the classic TV series The Equalizer. Moretz will reportedly be portraying a prostitute in the film, which makes her grown-up status official: nothing like playing a hooker to show that you’ve arrived (the list of stars who’ve done this before is long, including the likes of Jodie Foster and Julia Roberts).
—DH