Eduardo Noriega set to play the villain in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand

Guillermo del Toro’s THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE is easily one of my all-time favorites, and part of the reason for that is the presence of Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega who brilliantly plays the film’s evil, contemptuous, and downright hateful villain.

Now, according to Variety, Noriega will be bringing those qualities to the table against Arnold Schwarzenegger in Jee-woon Kim’s (I SAW THE DEVIL) American debut, THE LAST STAND. The film follows Arnie as “the sheriff of a sleepy little town who runs up against an escaped drug cartel leader heading for the Mexican border.” Noriega will play ‘Cortez’, “a ruthless fugitive who plans to flee to Mexico in a Gumpert Apollo with $400 million.”

THE LAST STAND, marking the first major starring role for Schwarzenegger since before his time as California’s governor, also stars Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Peter Stormare, and Zach Gilford. The film will begin production next week in New Mexico and is currently looking at a January 18, 2013 release.