Though Ryan Reynolds’ latest film here, Green Lantern, didn’t perform that great at the box office, taking just under its 0m. budget at the box office, it was nice to see Reynolds generally accepted as one of the best things the film had going for it.
One of his next projects, RIPD, is starting to sound increasingly awesome, and THR and Deadline report that Victoria’s Secret model Marisa Miller, veteran Asian-American actor James Hong, and Glee’s Mike O’Malley have joined the film’s cast.
Of all these new additions, James Hong is the only name I really know well, for his brilliant role as Cassandra’s martial arts expert father in Wayne’s World 2. His fight scene with Mike Myers is the stuff of comedic legends. Marisa Miller will be making her feature debut with this after a few small roles in TV’s Entourage and How I Met Your Mother, and Glee regular Mike O’Malley has also signed on to the project.
The film will be based on the original comic by Peter M. Lenkov, and will be directed by Robert Schwentke, whose experience directing last year’s comic book movie success, Red, should definitely be useful for RIPD. Neal H. Mortiz will be producing, and his credits are more than a little bit impressive, including I Am Legend, all five The Fast And The Furious films, and every episode of Prison Break.
RIPD focuses on Nick Walker (Reynolds), a recently murdered cop that joins the Rest In Peace Department, a team of undead cops that fight spirits not yet ready to leave this world, whilst Walker all the while tries to hunt the man that killed him.
Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, and Mary Louise-Parker (who worked with Schwentke on Red) are all also attached to what is already looking like a fantastic cast. Bridges will be playing Reynolds’ new undead partner, Bacon will be playing the villain, and the lovely Louise-Parker will be the one overseeing the RIPD, informing Reynolds of what’s happened to him and his new duties.
In this comic book world, the undead take on a different form for external appearances when humans see them – after all, if you bump into anyone you knew when you were alive, things could get a bit tricky to explain. James Hong will be playing Grandpa Chen (what a name), Reynolds’ avatar, and amusingly Miller will be playing Bridges’ avatar.
There has of course been a big rise in the number of comic book adaptations made for the big screen in recent years, and whilst not all of them are as worthwhile as the rest, this definitely sounds to me like something that could turn out pretty awesome. The lead cast is brilliant, as is the director, and with a 28th June, 2013 release date, this certainly has the potential to be a popular summer blockbuster in two years.
