Barry Pepper Joins 'Scorch Trials'; Henry Cavill is 'Stratton'; Jay Chou Boards 'Now You See Me 2'

 Having recently crossed the $300M mark and surpassing Divergent as the most lucrative YA film of the year (until Mockingjay later this month), The Maze Runner is gearing up for the sequel, Scorch Trials. Joining the cast now are Barry Pepper and Lili Taylor, respectively playing "Vince, a survivalist who is one of the last remaining soldiers of a legendary unit called the Right Arm, and "Mary Cooper, a doctor helping Thomas and his fellow Gladers." Wes Ball returns to direct for release on September 18th 2015. Sheesh, they aren't wasting any time, are they?

Henry Cavill apparently can't live on playing Superman alone, and he's set up his own production shingle to take on more interesting projects. He's set to star in Stratton, based on the action novel series by author Duncan Falconer that follows John Stratton, "an operative of the SBS who works with the Intelligence Detachment in Northern Ireland." [Deadline]

Jay Chou will make his return to Hollywood for the first time since The Green Hornet, joining the growing cast of Now You See Me 2. Daniel Radcliffe and Lizzy Caplan are also part of the returning ensemble that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine, Mark Ruffalo, and Michael Caine. Directed by Jon M. Chu, the story takes place one year after the first film as the Four Horsemen contend with a new foe who wants them to pull off their most dangerous heist yet. [Deadline]

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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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Giancarlo Esposito, Rosa Salazar, and Jacob Lofland Join 'The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials'

After only a couple of weeks The Maze Runner has amassed $161M, not too shabby when one takes in the minuscule $30M budget. That's the kind of money that gets sequels moving, and we know director Wes Ball, Dylan O'Brien, and the cast will be returning for the next film, The Scorch Trials, with a few new additions joining them.

Giancarlo Esposito, who played Gus Fring on Breaking Bad but will always be known for his roles in Do the Right Thing and School Daze, has joined The Scorch Trials as Jorge, a pilot for the secretive WICKED organization. Also coming aboard are a couple of younger actors. Jacob Lofland (Mud) will play Aris Jones, a telepathic boy with ties to WICKED's creation, and Rosa Salazar (Insurgent) is Brenda, a key character holding on to a big secret. They join Aiden Gillan who was recently cast as Janson, the story's primary villain.

The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials opens September 18th 2015.

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Aidan Gillen to Play the Villain in 'The Maze Runner' Sequel, 'The Scorch Trials'

Predicting which of the numerous YA adaptations will turn out to be a hit is nearly impossible, and it seems most of the experts were off when it comes to The Maze Runner. The Wes Ball-directed film got off to a strong start in its first weekend, earning $81M worldwide and guaranteeing we'd see the second of James Dashner's trilogy, The Scorch Trials. And now we know who will be the bad guy antagonizing the surviving Gladers.

Aidan Gillen, who is probably best known for playing the devious Petyr Baelish aka Littlefinger on HBO's Game of Thrones, will play the villain in the film which Ball will return to direct. He'll play Janson, a researcher who is nick-named Rat Man and has an intense dislike for Thomas, played by the returning Dylan O'Brien.

20th Century Fox is moving fast on this one with filming to being next month for release September 18th 2015.

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