david thewlis David Thewlis Joins The Likes Of Bruce Willis, John Malkovich & Helen Mirren In RED 2

THR reveal that David Thewlis has joined the cast of ‘RED 2,’ the sequel to the 2010 action-comedy ‘RED.’ Thewlis is reportedly playing a character called The Frog, an information dealer who got his name by poisoning the water supply at the Kremlin using a poisonous Amazonian frog. The likes of Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and Mary-Louise Parker will be reprising their roles from the the original ‘RED’ (Retired. Extremely Dangerous.), while the likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones, Neal McDonough and Byung-Hun Lee also join the fray. Recently, Anthony Hopkins was said to be in negotiations for a role in ‘RED 2,’ described as a “genius scientist who was locked up in an insane asylum.” The sticking point is whether or not Hopkins can make the dates work with ’Thor: The Dark World,’ as he’s already committed to reprising his role as Thor’s father Odin.

Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) is taking over directional duties on ‘RED 2,′ from a screenplay by Erich and Jon Hoeber - who wrote the script for the first installment, based in turn on a comic book by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer. Robert Schwentke, the original’s helmer, is hard at work finishing his Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges-starring comic adaptation ‘R.I.P.D.,’ which is released summer 2013. ’RED 2′ brings back the team of retired CIA operatives as they use their old-school style to take on a new set of enemies all across Europe. The film is scheduled to arrive in cinemas from August 2nd, 2013.