Michael Shannon joins The Current War & Elisabeth Shue has a Death Wish

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Here's a little casting round-up to keep your Thursday fresh and lemon-scented. First off, Deadline reports that Michael Shannon will be joining Benedict Cumberbatch in Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's THE CURRENT WAR as George Westinghouse. The upcoming flick, which stars Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison, takes place in "the late 1880s and revolves around the two titans and their battle over the supply of electricity. Edison championed the use of a direct current for electric power distribution over an alternating current, which was backed by Westinghouse Electric." Jake Gyllenhaal was in talks for the Westinghouse role last year, but as a huge fan of Michael Shannon, I'm glad he's the one who walked away with the role. The Weinstein Company is looking to kick off production on THE CURRENT WAR in December.

While handing out bloody vigilante justice in Eli Roth's remake of DEATH WISH, Deadline reports that Bruce Willis will be joined by Elisabeth Shue, who will be playing the wife of Willis' Paul Kersey. Those who know the story of DEATH WISH know that Shue's role probably won't be all sunshine and unicorn farts. After his life is destroyed by a violent crime against his wife and daughter, Paul Kersey takes to the streets to seek vengeance against the perpetrators who were not brought to justice. Production on DEATH WISH is currently underway and the film also stars Vincent D'Onofrio as Paul Kersey's brother, Dean Norris as Detective Rains. and Mike Epps as Dr. Chris Salgado, a playboy doctor and close friend of Kersey.

I've got a real soft spot for Charles Bronson's DEATH WISH franchise and am eager to see what a modern re-imagining will look like, but I can't help but feel that Bruce Willis is the wrong choice for the role. It's been a while since I've gotten the impression that Willis was doing anything more than collecting a paycheck, but I suppose it won't hurt to keep our fingers crossed.