Rourke Is Expendable Too: Mickey Rourke is the latest meathead to join Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Jet Li in Sly’s action flick The Expendables. Rourke will play a dirty arms dealer who supplies a group of mercenaries out to topple a South American dictator with the tools of their trade. He’ll also scare them with his ever-evolving face. [Variety]
Who?: Disney has tapped Garrett Hedlund to star in Tron, its sequel to the 1982 cult classic. Hedlund, whose credits apparently include Troy, Friday Night Lights (the movie), and Four Brothers, will play a computer programmer who is pulled inside a computer and must retrace the steps made in the original by Jeff Bridges (who is returning for the sequel). Perhaps most interesting, the suits at the Mouse House announced that they’re changing the sequel’s name from the difficult-to-pronounce TR2N to just plain ol’ Tron. [HR]
DJ and the Beanstalk: DJ Caruso is set to tackle New Line’s Jack the Giant Killer as his next project. The Mack Bomback (Live Free of Die Hard) script begins when a princess is kidnapped, threatening the peace between men and giants. A young farmer then leads an expedition to the giant’s kingdom to rescue her. No word on casting yet, but given Caruso’s relationship with one particular Hollywood leading man, seems like a decent chance that the plucky giant-fighter will be played by Shia LaBeouf. [HR]
20,000 Leagues With McG: When he’s done with John Connor and saving the future from giant robots, McG will direct Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. The pic, an origin story of Nemo as he creates his warship, the Nautilus, is being fast-tracked by Disney, which fought hard to secure McG for the project. In 1954, the original 20,000 Leagues was Disney’s first live-action film and won three Oscars. As cool as this one might be, if it wins three Oscars, we’ll eat the giant squid that attacks the Nautilus in the original. [Variety]
Recession TV: Kelsey Grammer has signed on to an untitled ABC pilot playing a corporate bigwig forced to reconnect with his family after company downsizing. Wow, sounds terrible. Even worse than losing your job and having to worry about feeding your family! [Variety]