Rodrigo Santoro in talks to join Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand

The big story surrounding The Last Stand will always be about Arnold Schwarzenegger's big comeback to being the movie star we all remember him to be. But to me that excitement has been blunted a little bit by his expanding role in The Expendables, a far more interesting film considering the star power he'll be surrounded by. So while South Korean director Kim Ji-Woon(I Saw the Devil) continues to round up the rest of the cast, the film is losing a little bit of steam.

Latino Review reports that Rodrigo Santoro has entered talks, playing a rookie cop opposite Schwarzenegger's failed LAPD cop now stuck as a sheriff in a small town. The story centers on their attempts to stop an escaped drug lord headed straight for their town as he flees for the Mexican border. Peter Stormare is playing one of the bad guys.

Santoro is probably best recognized as Xerxes in the Spartan war flick, 300. Ever since his films have strayed pretty far from stylized brawlers, getting featured in everything from Post Grad(with Alexis Bledel) to I Love You Phillip Morris. He was very good in the little scene historical pic, There Be Dragons. He's currently shooting the pregnancy guide adaptation What to Expect When You're Expecting.

Production kicks off next month, with The Adjustment Bureau's George Nolfi doing some rewrites on the script. The Last Stand should hit theaters on January 18th 2013.