Canto Cast in “X-Men: Days of Future Past”

Adan Canto has the X (Men) Factor…

The 31-year-old Mexican actor has been cast as part of the ensemble of the next installment of the X-Men film franchise.

Adan Canto

No word yet on which character Canto will portray in the Bryan Singer-directed film X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Singer posted a photo on Twitter to confirm the news as Canto is photographed watching a hockey game and standing next to the film’s other cast members Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Shawn Ashmore.

Canto responded to Singer’s tweet, saying: “Thrilled to be X-Men,” confirming that he’s indeed part of the project.

 

Canto, who most recently starred in Fox’s serial killer-drama The Following, once hinted that his new project would have him “turn into a ball of fire if someone pisses [him] off.” Thus, he is predicted to play either Brazilian mutant Roberto da Costa a.k.a. Sunspot or Japanese mutant Shiro Yoshida a.k.a. Sunfire.

Days of Future Past will be based on Uncanny X-Men #141 and 142 back in 1981 during Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s run. The story introduced the idea of an alternate future for the Marvel Comics mutants that grew out of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants killing an important senator, leading to a future where all mutants are hunted by Sentinels.

In addition to Stewart, McKellen, and Ashmore, Canto will team up with other cast members, including James McAvoy, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Ellen Page and Halle Berry.

The Marvel film is slated to open in U.S. theaters on July 18, 2014.

Milans Lands Role in ABC’s “Killer Women” Drama Pilot

Marta Milans has landed a killer project…

The 30-year-old Spanish actress has been cast in ABC’s drama pilot Killer Women, which is being executive-produced by Sofia Vergara.

Marta Milans

The project, based on the Argentine series Mujeres Asesinas, revolves around a female Texas Ranger who is described as “a ballsy, beautiful badass.” She’s only woman in the notoriously male Rangers who isn’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers in getting to the truth.

Milans will portray Nessa, Molly’s sister-in-law and friend.

Her credits include a starring role in Spain’s Valientes television series and a guest-starring role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She also portrayed a cocktail waitress in 2011’s Shame, starring Michael Fassbender.

Bardem Earns Saturn Award Nomination…

He may not have earned an Academy Award nomination this year, but Javier Bardem is still having an out of this world awards season…

The 43-year-old Spanish actor has received a Saturn Award nomination from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his critically acclaimed role in the latest installment of the James Bond franchise, Skyfall.

Javier Bardem

The awards, in their 39th year, celebrate the best genre films, television shows and home entertainment.

Bardem, whose performance has earned recognition from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the London Film Critics’ Circle, has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category. He’s up against PrometheusMichael Fassbender, The AvengersClark Gregg, The Dark Knight RisesJoseph Gordon-Levitt, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’s Ian McKellen and Django Unchained’s Christoph Waltz.

Meanwhile, Oscar-nominee Paco Delgado is nominated in the Best Costume category for his work on Tom Hooper‘s film adaptation of the Broadway musical Les Misérables.

The Saturn Awards will be presented in June, though the ceremony’s exact date and location have yet to be announced.

Santoro Cast in the Natalie Portman-Starrer “Jane Got a Gun”

Rodrigo Santoro is heading to the Wild, Wild West…

The 37-year-old Brazilian actor, currently starring opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Genesis Rodriguez in The Last Stand, has joined the cast of the Western action film Jane Got a Gun.

Rodrigo Santoro

Santori, who will star opposite Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender in the film, will portray Fitchum in the Lynne Ramsey-directed film about Jane Hammond (Portman), who reaches out to her ex-lover (Fassbender) for help when her outlaw husband becomes the target of a violent gang.

Santoro will star in the upcoming prequel 300: Rise of an Empire, reprising his role as the Persian king Xerxes from the first 300.

300: Rise Of An Empire is due out on August 2, 2013.

Bardem Recognized by the London Film Critics’ Circle

It appears that crime does pay, at least for Javier Bardem

The 43-year-old Spanish actor – who earned an Oscar for playing a psychopathic assassin in No Country for Old Men – has picked up another nomination for his villainous role in Skyfall.

Javier Bardem

The London Film Critics’ Circle nominated Bardem in the Best Supporting Actor category for playing the main antagonist in the latest James Bond film.

Bardem, who received a SAG Award nomination earlier this month, will face off against Argo’s Alan Arkin, PrometheusMichael Fassbender, The Master’s Philip Seymour Hoffman and Lincoln’s Tommy Lee Jones.

Meanwhile, Chilean cinematographer Claudio Miranda has been nominated in the Technical Achievement Award category for his work on Ang Lee‘s Life of Pi. And the critically acclaimed Searching for Sugar Man, a film about Mexican American singer Rodriguez, has been nominated in the Documentary of the Year category.

The London Film Critics’ Circle will hold its 33rd awards ceremony on January 20.

Details Emerge on Rapace’s “Prometheus” Sequel…

So, the plot thickens for Noomi Rapace’s Prometheus sequel…

The sci-fi film’s director Ridley Scott has offered some insight into the planned sequel to Prometheus, which will see the 32-year-old half-Spanish actress reprise her role as archaeologist Elizabeth Shaw.

Noomi Rapace in Prometheus

In an interview with Metro, Scott talked candidly about his idea on how Rapace’s and Michael Fassbender‘s characters would make their return in the untitled Prometheus sequel.

At the end of the film, which has earned $402 million worldwide, Rapace’s character runs away from the hellish planet while carrying the head of Fassbender’s David, an android that acts as the ship’s butler and maintenance man.

“Prometheus evolved into a whole other universe,” Ridley explained, before hinting that the scene might lead to an important event in the sequel.

“You’ve got a person [Noomi’s Elizabeth] with a head in a bag [Michael’s David] that functions and has an IQ of 350,” he elaborated further. “It can explain to her how to put the head back on the body and she’s gonna think about that long and hard because, once the head is back on his body, he’s dangerous.”

Asked if the sequel would revolve around David and Elizabeth’s story, Scott said, “[Laughs] I wish it was that easy.” He added, “They’re going off to paradise but it could be the most savage, horrible place. Who are the Engineers?”

No word yet on when production of the sequel would begin.

Naranjo to Direct FX’s Drama Pilot “The Bridge”

Gerardo Naranjo is crossing the bridge into American television…

The 40-year-old Mexican filmmaker will direct the pilot for FX’s drama pilot The Bridge.

Gerardo Naranjo

Based on the Scandinavian series Bron, the project centers on two detectives from the United States and Mexico who have to work together to hunt down a serial killer operating on both sides of the border after a dead body is found on the bridge connecting El Paso and Juarez.

Naranjo rose to acclaim after directing the critically acclaimed feature Miss Bala, Mexico’s 2012 Oscar submission, which centers on an innocent teenager who heads to the Mexican border city of Tijuana and inadvertently gets caught up in a violent drug war on her way to compete in the Miss Baja California beauty pageant.

Naranjo is attached to direct the film adaptation of the Charles Martin novel The Mountain Between Us for 20th Century Fox, which will star Michael Fassbender.

He also recently closed a deal to direct A Man Must Die for Focus Features.

Rapace Returning in “Prometheus” Sequel?

It appears that Noomi Rapace will be heading back to outer space…

20th Century Fox has announced that Ridley Scott’s science fiction thriller Prometheus, which stars the 32-year-old half-Spanish actress, will be getting a sequel.

Noomi Rapace

The studio confirms that the follow-up to the groundbreaking mythology film is expected to be released sometime in 2014 or 2015, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s believed that the director Scott and 20th Century Fox are actively pushing ahead with the untitled Prometheus sequel and have even sealed deals with Rapace, who will appear in Dead Man Down next April, as well as Michael Fassbender to return to the ensemble cast.

But the follow-up film will need to find a new writer since Damon Lindelof will not come back to provide the script.

“Ridley is incredibly excited about the movie, but we have to get it right. We can’t rush it,” Emma Watts, Fox president of production, says of the sequel to the $130 million-costing sci-fi flick, which has grossed a solid $303 million internationally since its release on June 8.

Leguizamo Signs on for Two High-Profile Films

There’s no slowing down for John Leguizamo

The 48-year-old Colombian-born actor/comedian, who can currently be heard in theaters in Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, has signed on to star in two highly anticipated films.

John Leguizamo

Leguizamo will appear in Ridley Scott’s The Counselor and the Jeff Wadlow-scripted Kick-Ass 2, despite a deal to star in the ABC comedy pilot Only Fools and Horses.

In The Counselor, he’ll play a low level drug dealer in the Cormac McCarthy-scripted film that stars Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz.

Meanwhile, in the Kick-Ass sequel, he’ll play Javier, a bodyguard assigned to protect aspiring evil guy Red Mist, the role to be reprised by Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage will also be back to star in Kick-Ass 2.

Naranjo to Direct “A Man Must Die”

Gerardo Naranjo’s stock in Hollywood continues to rise…

The 40-year-old Mexican filmmaker has just inked a deal with Focus Features to direct A Man Must Die.

Gerardo Naranjo

Naranjo—who helmed Miss Bala, Mexico’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission—wrote the script for the project. The film is described as a political thriller comparable to the critically acclaimed Carlos.

The news comes as 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment continue to develop the film adaptation of Charles Martin’s novel The Mountain Between Us for Naranjo to direct, with Michael Fassbender attached to star.