Transformers 4 and Crow Remake move forward

How much do we really pay attention to the actual human villains in the Transformers movies? Do you even remember who played them in the last three installments? Who cares about the little people scrambling around like ants on the ground?

I mean, we’re more into the villain robots than anything. Still, Transformers 4 is moving forward, Mark Wahlberg is going to star, and the movie was also offered to his Pain and Gain co-star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but he passed in favor of playing Hercules instead.

Now Deadline tells us that Kelsey Grammer will be playing the villain in Transformers 4, which is a very interesting and different casting choice.

Grammer is playing a counter-intelligence role, and just as Ben Kingsley is getting his geek on with Iron Man 3 and Enders Game, you may also recall that Grammer played Beast in X-Men: The Last Stand. Again, just because you love Shakespeare and the classics doesn’t mean you don’t like to have fun with the big blockbuster boys. 

Deadline tells us that Transformers 4 begins shooting this July, and it is scheduled for a June 27, 2014 release. Like a number of big blockbusters these days, the key action scenes in Transformers 4 will be shot in IMAX 3D, so if you dig Transformers, this should especially be a treat. Michael Bay’s work is so over the top and explosive as it is, just imagine what it will look like on an IMAX screen in 3D. 

In other genre casting news, we’ve been following the planned remake of The Crow, which many fans are against. The 1994 original, starring the late Brandon Lee, is still a very beloved film, and it obviously shouldn’t be remade just because it could potentially make a lot of money. 

It was initially reported that Tom Hiddleston, Loki from The Avengers, was up to play Eric Draven, but now Deadline has shot down those reports, and informs us that Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) is actually up for the role. Apparently he now has some space in his schedule because he was up to star in Tarzan, which was going to be directed by David Yates (Harry Potter), but that project has seemingly stalled at Warner Brothers.

Again, many will be watching the developments with Crow remake closely, because so many still love the original. If the remake does actually get made, the powers that be better be on their toes, because the fans won’t accept anything less than the best with it.