Huh. As it turns out, Orlando Bloom didn’t go into witness protection after his last screen appearance in the third “Pirates of the Caribbean” (excepting a cameo in “New York, I Love You,” but the less said about that, for all concerned, the better). Instead, the super-bland stilted-line-reader has been appearing in a handful of indie movies, including Mark Ruffalo’s supposedly disastrous directorial debut “Sympathy for Delicious,” the upcoming “Main Street,” alongside Colin Firth and Patricia Clarkson, and “The Good Doctor,” which he’s also producing.
But, never one to turn down the opportunity to ponce about with a sword in period gear, Bloom has officially signed on to Paul W.S. Anderson’s 3D version of “The Three Musketeers,” as rumored for a little while. The actor will play the villainous Duke of Buckingham, joining an otherwise strong cast featuring Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz, Mads Mikkelsen, Matthew MacFayden, Ray Stevenson, Juno Temple and Luke Evans. Considering that Bloom’s been out-acted by the furniture in most of his work so far, he doesn’t stand a chance.
British comedian James Corden has also joined the cast, as Planchet, a servant (and inevitable crude comic relief). Corden got his start giving an excellent performance in Mike Leigh’s “All Or Nothing,” but it was only when he co-created and starred in the hit BBC comedy “Gavin & Stacey” that his star really began to rise. Now he’s got a key role as Jack Black’s sidekick in “Gulliver’s Travels” coming up, as well as the lead in the Brit List-topping “Good Luck Anthony Belcher.” He’s been horribly overexposed in the U.K, but at his best he’s a genuinely funny, likable presence, and he should prove something of a bright spot in a movie we’re absolutely dreading. [Variety]
