Our Top Story Tonight: PTA, "Jane" and "The Crow" Reboot Find New Stars

Today was a slow news day, but we did get some interesting news tidbits as the film community prepares for the Cannes Film Festival in two weeks and Hollywood dives into the summer movie season. Let's take a look...

The most interesting story, in my opinion, is that Benicio Del Toro has joined the cast of Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel about a pot smoking detective in the 1970s. Joaquin Phoenix is set for the lead role, while other casting announcements are expected shortly as we get closer to the start date for filming next month. Older rumors stated that Charlize Theron was set for a major role, but that might not be true given that the actress has Dark Places and A Million Ways to Die in the West set for the next few months. Meanwhile, online speculation has lead to some believing that Robert Pattison and Vince Vaughn will be joining the cast (a rumor started by photos of the two with Phoenix at a party) but we won't know anything for sure until the studio makes an announcement. As for Del Toro, he will be playing a district attorney.

Meanwhile, Ewan McGregor is the latest actor to join the tumultuous production of Jane's Got a Gun, the Natalie Portman vehicle that was to be directed by Lynne Ramsay before she quit unexpectedly and was replaced by Gavin O' Connor. McGregor will play the film's villain, a role originally to be played by Michael Fassbender and, later, Bradley Cooper, before both actors dropped out. The film will follow a woman (Portman) who calls on a former lover (Joel Edgerton) to defend her farm after a gangster (McGregor) attacks her husband (Noah Emmerich of "The Americans"). It will certainly be interesting to see if McGregor will actually stick to the part.

In other news, Luke Evans has been cast in the titular role of The Crow, a reboot of the 1994 cult classic starring the late Brandon Lee. The film will find Evans playing a man who rises from the dead (with supernatural powers) and plans on avenging the brutal murder of he and his girlfriend. I saw the original quite a while ago, and will probably watch it again sometime soon, but I don't think a reboot is all that necessary. But, I doubt that matters. Evans takes the part that many actors- James McAvoy, Tom Hiddlestone and Alexander Skarsgard, to name three- were rumored for, while F. Javier Gutierrez directs. It will begin production in early 2014.

Next up, Keira Knightley has replaced Anne Hathaway for the lead role in Laggies, the Lynn Shelton dramadey that co-stars Chloe Moretz. Hathaway was forced to drop out of the project due to her commitment to Christopher Nolan's Interstellar. This film will find Knightley playing a woman who panics after her boyfriend proposes to her and spends time with a 16 year old she befriends (to be played by Moretz). The project sounds interesting, but I can understand why Hathaway would choose a role in Nolan's film over this. As for Knightley, she is hardly a bad choice. In fact, I'm quite a fan of Knightley's work.

Finally, Tom Cruise has signed on for a fifth Mission: Impossible 5. This is somewhat of a surprise, seeing that the fourth film of the franchise was used to set Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner as possible leads for future sequels. But, Ghost Protocol was a major success and Cruise's followup, Oblivion, was not. So, maybe this isn't much of a surprise. The director for this film hasn't been announced yet, but rumor has it we'll learn the name of who'll be at the helm of the fifth installment very soon. One of my favorite things about this franchise is that a new director takes on the series with each new installment. Each film feels distinct, and it prevents the audience from feeling like they're seeing the same thing over and over again. And I actually believe that this franchise has gotten better with each new installment. So I'm excited for it.

That's all for today! Check back tomorrow for more news, and later in the week for some box office talk, a review of The Great Gatsby and more!