With a release date now just over a year away, the wheels are beginning to turn a bit quicker on the long-developing "The Mortal Instruments." A couple of weeks ago, French actress Jemima West joined the film's leads Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell-Bower, and now two more actors are aboard in some small, villainous roles.
Hey-it's-that-guy fave Kevin Durand ("Lost," "Cosmopolis," "Real Steel") and wrestler/sometimes actor Robert Maillet ("Sherlock Holmes," "300") have joined the movie as Pangborn and Blackwell, respectively. From what we recall in reading the book, these aren't big roles, but the kind of things character actor types can lift nicely off the page and onto the screen. And there is going to be a landslide of more casting, with a lot more roles to fill out (and you can check out all of our selections right here).
Based on the book by Cassandra Clare, "The Mortal Instruments" tells the story of a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Collins), who discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother, Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures.
Harald Zwart ("The Karate Kid") is directing the film that Screen Gems and Constantin hope can match the other based-on-a-young-adult-series franchise "The Hunger Games." Do you think this flick will have what it takes? Lots of time to debate as this doesn't hit until August 23, 2013. [Variety]
