D9 star is Mad?

Here’s a piece of casting I wouldn’t have foreseen but totally agree with. According to the folks of BlackFilm, Fox and director Joe Carnahan want DISTRICT 9‘s breakout  star Sharlto Copley to step in the the shoes of the incomparable Dwight Schultz to play THE A-TEAM’s “Howling Mad” Murdoch.

I’ve never really been a big fan of THE A-TEAM, but it does have a certain classic-80s quality everyone likes to remember, and the movie treatment, which has seen more script versions than a Spielberg/Lucas co-production, sounds cooler by the minute. Just the names Carnahan and Neeson are enough to apply a kick-ass tag even before a single frame is shot.

The casting of Copley only adds credibility to the project. He probably IS in demand since DISCTRICT 9 opened some weeks ago, but he’s still a relative newcomer which sounds much better than the oft-rumored Jim Carrey idea.  Nothing against Jim, but it would’ve painted too bright a dollar sign on the whole thing. Getting an unknown just sounds more like a serious film. As much as an A-Team film can be serious. And not an attempt to cash in on TV nostalgia.