Chiwetel Ejiofor and Sebastian Stan Join 'The Martian'; Nathalie Emmanuel Boards 'The Scorch Trials'

Wow. Ridley Scott may be putting the finishing touches on his epic Exodus: Gods and Kings, but he's sure finding time to give his next film an impressive cast. Oscar-nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor and Captain America: The Winter Soldier's Sebastian have joined the cast of The Martian, with Mackenzie Davis (What If) confirmed after being rumored some weeks back. They join a terrific ensemble that includes Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, and Sean Bean in telling the story of an astronaut stranded on Mars who must stay alive long enough to be rescued. [EW]

Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emmanuel, who plays Daenerys' handmaiden Missandei on the HBO series,  is the latest to come aboard The Maze Runner sequel, The Scorch Trials. She'll play Harriet, the leader of a group of girls who escaped from another maze. Wes Ball returns to direct with Dylan O'Brien, Will Poulter, and Kaya Scodelario coming back to star. Emmanuel will also be seen in next year's Fast & Furious 7. [THR]

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Natalie Dormer Enters 'The Forest'; Sean Bean Joins 'The Martian'

The gorgeous Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones) continues her climb up the big-screen ladder by taking the lead in The Forest, based on an original concept by David Goyer. Directed by Jason Zada with a script co-written by Sarah Cornwell and Nick Antosca, the psychological follows a young woman named Sara who enters the famous Aokigahara Forest (aka the Suicide Forest) at the based of Mt. Fuji to find her missing twin sister. Despite warning to "stay on the path", she must contend with the angry tormented souls that prey on those who enter. Dormer will be seen next in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. The Forest will open on January 8th 2016.

Sean Bean, formerly of HBO's Game of Thrones and now starring in the TNT series, Legends, has joined Ridley Scott's The Martian. He'll play a NASA flight director in the film which stars Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars and must survive long enough to find a way home. Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, and Jeff Daniels co-star.

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Stacy Martin Joins 'The Childhood of a Leader'; 'The Martian' Adds Donald Glover; Hugo Weaving meets 'The Dressmaker'

Nymphomaniac breakout Stacy Martin will take on another sure-to-be controversial project, joining Robert Pattinson in Brady Corbet's directorial debut, The Childhood of a Leader. Written by Corbet and Mona Fastvold (The Sleepwalker), with Tim Roth and Berenice Bejo co-starring, the film is described as “a chilling fable about the rise of fascism in the 20th Century” and follows an American living in 1918 France whose experiences there give birth to a "terrifying ego". Martin will play the boy's French teacher. [ScreenDaily]

Ridley Scott has added Donald Glover (Community) to the otherwise amazing cast of The Martian. Sorry, he does nothing for me. Anyway, the film stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Mackenzie Davis and Jeff Daniels in the story of an astronaut, one of the first to ever step foot on Mars, who is abandoned after an accident and must stay alive long enough to be rescued. Also coming aboard is Aksel Hennie, best known for starring in Headhunters. Glover will play a NASA employee while Hennie is a fellow astronaut. [TheWrap]

Perennial tough evil guy Hugo Weaving will play a cross-dressing police sergeant in Jocelyn Moorhouse's The Dressmaker. Starring Kate Winslet, Isla Fisher, Liam Hemsworth, and Elizabeth Debicki, the adaptation of Rosalie Ham's book centers on Tilly, a scorned woman who returns to the small country hometown she fled after as a child after being accused of murder. This is hardly new territory for Weaving who played a drag queen in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

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Jeff Daniels Boards 'The Martian'; Eric Bana gets'The Finest Hours'; Richard Madden Joins 'Bastille Day'

 Jeff Daniels, who has Dumb and Dumber Too and The Newsroom's third season coming up, has joined Ridley Scott's The Martian. The cast keeps getting better with Matt Damon in the lead and Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Pena in talks. Adapted from Andy Weir's book, The Martian follows the first astronaut to ever set foot on Mars as he tries to survive being abandoned by his crew after an accident. [THR]

Disney has added Eric Bana to the cast of The Finest Hours, the period thriller starring Casey Affleck and Chris Pine. Directed by Craig Gillespie, the film "chronicles the massive rescue mission that’s launched when a pair of oil tankers split in two off the coast of Cape Cod in 1952." In a role that sounds similar to what he did in Lone Survivor, Bana will play the respected Coast Guard warrant officer who sends his men out on the dangerous rescue mission. [Deadline]

Game of Thrones' Richard Madden will join fellow HBO alum Idris Elba in Bastille Day, the James Watkins-directed action flick which "follows a rogue U.S. CIA operative who is tasked with interrogating and eventually making a young American man, who’s also a con-artist, 'disappear' in order to avoid embarrassment to the U.S. government after the American is linked as the prime suspect to an attack on the Paris metro. After several more attacks, the operative realizes the young American is innocent and may be the only link to the person actually orchestrating the terrorist attacks."

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Michael Pena Eyes Ridley Scott's 'The Martian'

Once a scene-stealing supporting player, Michael Pena is now one of Hollywood's most sought after actors. The Cesar Chavez and End of Watch star is now the target of Ridley Scott, who wants him for a role opposite Matt Damon in The Martian.

Based on the Andy Weir novel and adapted by Drew Goddard, The Martian has Damon as Mark Watney, the first man to walk on Mars who must find a way to survive when an accident leaves him stranded. Whether Pena comes aboard will depend on his busy schedule. He'll be seen in the WWII tank thriller, Fury, and has moved to television for the Fox miniseries, Gracepoint.

He's just the latest name mentioned for a role in The Martian over the last few days. Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Mackenzie Davis, and Kate Mara are said to be in the discussion but have not been confirmed. [Variety]

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Kate Mara Eyes 'The Martian'; John Leguizamo goes to 'Meadowland; Dennis Haysbert Joins 'Ted 2'

Ridley Scott's adaptation of The Martian already has an incredible cast shaping up with Matt Damon in the lead and Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, and Mackenzie Davis circling roles, but now Deadline is reporting Kate Mara (House of Cards, Fantastic Four) has been made an offer. The Davis story wasn't out there long before this one came out, and it may be that Mara is in line for the same part. Penned by Drew Goddard, The Martian centers on an astronaut who must survive long enough to be rescued after he's stranded on Mars.

John Leguizamo, Merritt Wever (Emmy winner from Nurse Jackie), and Nick Sandow have joined Meadowland, the directorial debut of cinematographer Reed Morano. Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Elisabeth Moss, Giovanni Ribisi, Ty Simpkins, Scott Mescudi (aka Kid Cudi), Mark Feuerstein, Kevin Corrigan and Juno Temple star in the drama about a New York couple who take very different approaches to healing after their son's disappearance. I'm a huge fan of Wever's and have been for years. Hopefully this leads to more big screen work for her.

Dennis Haysbert, last seen as Manute in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, will make a "fun cameo" in Seth MacFarlane's Ted 2, joining Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Morgan Freeman, and Amanda Seyfried. All we know about the plot is that Ted will be in need of a high-powered civil rights attorney at some point, which to me already sounds funny.  Ted 2 opens June 26th 2015. Haysbert has also landed a role in Dead Rising, based on the hit Capcom video game. Zach Lipovksy (Leprechaun: Origins) is directing the zombie flick for exclusive premier on Crackle.com before receiving a multiplatform release. Haysbert will be seen next in the racial satire, Dear White People.

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Matt Smith Joins 'Pride & Prejudice & Zombies'; Mackenzie Davis will Meet 'The Martian'

Former Doctor Who Matt Smith will go back in time as Mr. Collins in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Burr Steers' adaptation of the horror mash-up novel. He joins Lily James, Jack Huston, Bella Heathcote, and Sam Riley in the film which takes Jane Austen's classic and throws a zombie outbreak into the mix. Smith also has a role in Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, Lost River. [THR]

Mackenzie Davis, who was so good in Breathe In and What If, will join Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain in The Martian. Ridley Scott is directing the adaptation of Anthony Weir's novel which follows "an astronaut who becomes stranded on Mars and must figure out how to survive long enough to return home to Earth." So that's a cast I would kill to see in anything. Filming begins this fall, but if you're itching to see Davis in action you can catch her on AMC's Halt and Catch Fire which everyone says is good and I've yet to watch.

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Ridley Scott Takes Over 'The Martian' with Matt Damon Confirmed to Star

Although it may look like Sony's Spider-Man franchise is tanking, the plan to spinoff a Sinister Six film forced Drew Goddard to exit his adaptation of Andy Weir's sci-fi novel, The Martian. But with his departure came word that Matt Damon was being targeted for the lead role, and that has now been confirmed along with a somewhat surprising choice to replace Goddard as director.

Ridley Scott is in talks to direct Damon in The Martian, which follows an astronaut trapped on Mars and must survive long enough for NASA to mount a rescue. It's being described as Cast Away meets Gravity which are lofty expectations to place on any film. Goddard's script remains in play, with X-men and Fantastic Four writer Simon Kinberg on board to produce.

It's unknown when 20th Century Fox expects production to begin, but assuming they want it done fast that means Scott is unlikely to direct Prometheus 2 which is due to open in 2016.We'll see what happens. Next up for Scott is his Biblical flick, Exodus: Gods and Kings, arriving this December.

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Drew Goddard Exits 'The Martian' as Matt Damon is Eyed to Star

Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard just got extremely busy with comic book adaptations, agreeing to helm Marvel's Daredevil Netflix series, plus he just agreed to write and direct Sinister Six. With superheroes now taking up so much of his time, he's been forced to drop out of The Martian, a project he signed on to last year. But the film lives on at 20th Century Fox who are now eying a star in Matt Damon.

The Wrap reports that Damon is considering the lead role depending on who is chosen as the new director. Simon Kinberg (X-men, Fantastic Four) is producing the film which is based on Andy Weir's E-book about an astronaut stranded on Mars and must survive long enough to return to Earth. It may sound like Gravity, but it's supposedly "very different" and described as a cross between Cast Away and Apollo 13....which kinda sounds like Gravity.

With no director in place and Damon hardly confirmed, we'll have to wait and see how all of this develops.

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