Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas take the mic, Rosamund Pike pulls a rabbit from a hat, and more casting news of the week

The premise of Izabel Pakzad’s Find Your Friends is simple enough: A girls’ trip gone wrong. When 5 friends decide to escape to Joshua Tree National Park, they invite trouble because as it turns out, the locals don’t want them there, and their vacation quickly turns into a horror show. Per Deadline, Bella Thorne (The Babysitter), Chloe Cherry (Euphoria), Sophia Ali (Grey’s Anatomy), Helena Howard (I Saw The TV Glow), and Zion Moreno (Gossip Girl) will play the protagonists. [Saloni Gajjar]

Edward Berger’s The Ballad Of A Small Player is shaping up to be a fun one, at least based on the two cast members announced so far. Tilda Swinton is joining Colin Farrell in the film, according to Deadline, with filming scheduled to begin in summer 2024. Based on Lawrence Osborne’s novel, the movie is about a high-stakes gambler who hides out in Macau to avoid paying his debts and meets a kindred spirit who might just save his life. [Saloni Gajjar]

Strap in, folks, there’s going to be a lot of names thrown your way. Netflix’s Black Rabbit, which follows the turbulent relationship of two brothers (played by Jude Law and Jason Bateman), has built out its ensemble. The limited series will also star Oscar winner Troy Katsur, Abbey Lee, Odessa Young, Robin de Jesus, Cleopatra Coleman, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Dagmara Dominczyk, Chris Coy, Amaka Okafor, Gus Birney, Don Harvey, Steve Witting, John Ales, Forrest Weber, Amir Malaklou, Francis Benhamou, and… that’s it. You can breathe now. [Saloni Gajjar]

Indian filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who has created some terrific TV shows like Scoop on Netflix and Scam on SonyLiv, is helming a series about freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi. The period drama has added Harry Potter star Tom Felton to its cast. He plays Gandhi’s best friend, Josiah Oldfield, from when they both spent time in London together. Other British actors cast in the show include Jonno Davies, James Murray, Ralph Adeniyi, Simon Lennon, Libby Mai, Molly Wright, and Lindon Alexander. [Saloni Gajjar]

This is some really good casting news: it brings Glenn Close, Henry Winkler, Jeremy Irons, and Don Johnson together. The four stellar actors will lead Encore, a comedy about former actors who reinvigorate their passion for the craft while putting on a production for their retirement home. I sincerely hope everyone has a good time making it and watching it. Per Deadline, Simon Curtis will direct Closer, which is written by Robert Nelson Jacobs (Chocolat). [Saloni Gajjar]

Pharrell Williams’ untitled musical is shaping up to be an unbelievably star-studded affair. Missy Elliott is the latest singer who will get her freak on in the project, a coming-of-age story set in 1977 Virginia Beach, where the producer grew up. She joins Kelvin Harrison Jr., Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Halle Bailey, and, as announced last week, Brian Tyree Henry. [Emma Keates]

Guys, it’s happening. We’re one step closer to witnessing the glory of M3GAN 2.0, a sequel to the delightful 2023 horror film M3GAN. Allison Williams and Violet McGraw reprise their roles as Gemma and Cady, respectively, the aunt-niece duo who defeated AI doll M3GAN…or so they thought. The sequel has now added Ahsoka’s Ivanna Sakhno to the cast, according to Deadline, and it’ll be interesting to see if she’s a friend or foe to Gemma and Cady. (Now let’s just hope ). [Saloni Gajjar]

Jessica Biel returns to the small screen after The Sinner, Candy, and Limetown with, you guessed it, yet another thriller. She co-leads Prime Video’s crime drama, The Better Sister, alongside Elizabeth Banks. The two play estranged siblings who couldn’t be more different from each other. Chloe (Biel) lives a happy life with her husband and kid while Nicky (Banks) is an addict who struggles to make ends meet. This is a thriller, so naturally, a murder shakes up their world and they’re forced to reunite. [Saloni Gajjar]

Dan Stevens has been incredibly busy lately between Godzilla x Kong: A New Empire, Abigail, and the recently announced (also starring Al Pacino), but he’s still somehow finding time to swipe right on a new project. The actor will be joining Lily James in her Whitney Wolfe Herd biopic, following the life of the woman who founded Bumble and co-founded Tinder. Stevens’ role is still somewhat under wraps, but Deadline reports that he’ll be playing Wolfe Herd’s business partner. Rachel Lee Goldenberg is set to direct the film, from a script she wrote in collaboration with Bill Parker and Kim Caramele. [Emma Keates]

Ismael Cruz Cordova (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Safia Oakley-Green (Out of Darkness), and Vedanten Naidoo (Suzume) will be taking to the high seas. The three actors are joining a cast led by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Karl Urban for The Bluff, an upcoming Amazon MGM film from director Frank E. Flowers. Per , the film is set in the 19th-century Caribbean and “follows a former female pirate (Chopra Jonas) who must protect her family when the mysterious sins of her past catch up to her.” Cruz Cordova’s, Oakley-Green’s, and Naidoo’s roles have not yet been disclosed. [Emma Keates]

Once and Sing Street director John Carney is back with a new music-centered film that will probably break and fill our hearts in equal measure, as all of his past films have done. This one is called Power Ballad and will star Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas as a wedding singer and a rock star, respectively. Per a synopsis, there will be some sort of song that comes between them. This does sound pretty similar to plot of Carney’s 2013 film, Begin Again, but set in Dublin this time, so he’s also harkening back to his roots in that sense. “I’m delighted to be working with so many great people,” said Carney of the project. “I’ve been working on this script with my buddy Peter for years, and now Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas are in my kitchen.” [Emma Keates]

Currently gunning for the title of world’s most booked actor, Paul Walter Hauser landed several major roles this week. In addition to landing the coveted part of Chris Farley in Josh Gad’s biopic, Hauser will appear in reboots of and . While his role in the MCU’s upcoming tentpole is unknown, Hauser has big shoes to fill in Naked Gun. He’ll be taking over for the late George Kennedy as Captain Ed. [Matt Schimkowitz]

Ryan Murphy’s Dr. Odyssey has rounded out its cast with the addition of Sean Teale, who previously starred in Skins and Reign. He joins a crew that also includes Joshua Jackson, Don Johnson and Phillipa Soo, as previously announced. Nothing is known about the series yet apart from its title and cast, but sources for Deadline report that it’s about a medical professional (hence the name) and set on a cruise ship. A dark Suite Life On Deck redux perhaps? We’ll see. [Emma Keates]

Rosamund Pike’s character pulled off a massive bait-and-switch in Gone Girl, and now the actor is back for more trickery in Now You See Me 3, the upcoming followup to the popular 2010s franchise. Pike’s “pivotal” character has not been announced yet, but she’ll be joining returning cast members Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, and Morgan Freeman, along with newcomers Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, and Ariana Greenblatt. [Emma Keates]

It’s the British team-up of our dreams. Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy have signed on to lead the adaptation of Enid Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree, . They play Tim and Polly, a married couple who move to the remote countryside with their three kids. Soon after, the children discover a magical tree that houses eccentric citizens and possesses the ability to transport them to different fantastical lands. [Saloni Gajjar]

Titane and Raw’s breakout director Julia Ducournou is on the way to crafting her third film, Alpha. It’s being dubbed as her most personal work yet, although there are no actual details about the film’s plot. What we do know is that Tahar Rahim (Madame Web) and Golshifteh Farahani (Extraction) have been cast in it. [Saloni Gajjar]

Oh, you thought Robin Hood’s tale was done being reimagined, because how much more juice can we get out of it? Well, think again because a new film from Michael Sarnoski (Quiet Place: Day One) is a darker iteration of a familiar story. In The Death Of Robin Hood, Robin grapples with his criminal life after he’s gravely injured when a mysterious woman enters his life with a chance at salvation. Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer will lead the cast but don’t expect to see it anytime soon; production doesn’t even begin until February 2025. [Saloni Gajjar]

Hulu’s upcoming comedy Deli Boys has rounded out its ensemble. The series follows two Pakistani American brothers, played by Saagar Shaikh (Ms. Marvel) and Asif Ali (WandaVision), who inherit their dead father’s convenience store only to discover the truth about his secret criminal life. The cast includes Poorna Jagannathan, Brian George, and Alfie Fuller. And now, , Zainne Saleh, Tim Baltz, Kevin Corrigan, and Alexandra Ruddy have joined them. [Saloni Gajjar]

Oh, good, there’s another rom-com headed our way with Takes One To Know One. Olivia Cooke (House Of The Dragon) and Jamie Bell (All Of Us Strangers) are set to play Eleanor and Lucas, who have a meet-cute in Italy and quickly fall for each other over their shared passion for art. It looks like they’re meant to be, but there’s one teeny tiny catch: Eleanor and Lucas are in relationships with other people. [Saloni Gajjar]

Mike Manning (This Is Us) and Olivia Blue (Animal Kingdom) will lead Unexpected Treasures, described by as an “alien adventure film.” The movie will be directed by John Paul Ungaretti from a script—inspired by UFO sightings out at Joshua Tree—by Ungaretti and Christina Heller. Unexpected Treasures follows “a wild alien encounter restores a local resident’s faith in humanity.” (Blue plays the local, Manning plays the alien.) AnnaMaria DeMara (Lucifer), Jay Whittaker (The Orville), Michael Dunn (Bosch), Lauren Han (Beef), and Rex Edhlund also star. [Mary Kate Carr]

Yul Vazquez (Severance) has joined Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera in The Last Bus, according to . Based on Lizzie Johnson’s novel Paradise: One Town’s Struggle To Survive An American Wildfire, the film “is set during the disastrous 2018 Camp Fire that became the deadliest fire in California history.” It follows a school teacher and a bus driver helping to navigate a group of schoolchildren through a destructive natural disaster. Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum) will direct with a script from Brad Ingelsby. [Mary Kate Carr]