The "Mission: Impossible" franchise has had a pretty mixed bag of villains so far. *SPOILER FOR AN 18-YEAR-OLD MOVIE* Jon Voight was mildly interesting in the first film, Dougray Scott was pretty weak in the second, Philip Seymour Hoffman was brilliant in the third, and Michael Nyqvist was completely useless in the otherwise excellent fourth. The fifth movie has been shooting for a few weeks under the stewardship of Christopher McQuarrie, but hadn’t yet announced a bad guy. Now, it looks like the "Jack Reacher" helmer has found a villain.
According to Deadline, British actor Sean Harris has been selected to play the bad guy, although talks are only in their early stages. Harris isn’t necessarily a recognizable name, but he’s certainly a familiar face: his brilliant performance as Ian Curtis in "24 Hour Party People" was followed by roles in "Red Riding," "Southcliffe," and "Brighton Rock," among others. He’s no stranger to Hollywood either: he had a major role in TV show "The Borgias," was one of the dumbass scientists in "Prometheus," and this summer was the possessed bad guy in horror flick "Deliver Us From Evil." He’s a pretty interesting choice for the "Mission Impossible" franchise, and we look forward to seeing what he does with the role should the deal close. He’ll be facing off against Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson and Alec Baldwin when "Mission: Impossible 5" opens on December 25th, 2015.
"Mission Impossible 5" is again produced by J.J. Abrams, who has meanwhile just cast “Game of Thrones” actor Miltos Yerolemou in "Star Wars: Episode VII." Yerolemou, perhaps better known as Arya Stark’s swordfighting instructor, Syrio Forel, joins Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, ‘Thrones’ co-star Gwendoline Christie, and a slew of others in the film, which opens December 18, 2015. [Empire]
In more TV-related news, “Another Earth” director Mike Cahill is set to make his television debut when he helms the pilot for Syfy’s “The Magicians,” based on the excellent books written by Lev Grossman. The series tracks Quentin Coldwater, a young man thrust into a dangerous world of secrets and forbidden knowledge. [Live for Films]
The Boss himself is giving acting a try in E Street Band member and “Sopranos” alum Steven Van Zandt’s vehicle, “Lilyhammer.” Bruce Springsteen will cameo in the Netflix series’ third season as the owner of a mortuary. Tony Sirico will also join the series, reuniting with his former “Sopranos” co-star in a recurring role. [Deadline]