Being cast in the Coen Brothers’ True Grit was the chance of a lifetime, but Hailee Steinfeld capitalized on that opportunity by delivering a powerful performance (despite not even being able to understand her co-star). It’s no surprise that offers have been coming in for the young actor, but Cinematical is claiming that the chorus seems to be revolving around The Hunger Games. The adaptation stands to be the next big thing, coming from the battle-tested grounds of YA novel competition, so Steinfeld very well could stand out as its star. It’s just a rumor, and a source isn’t even named, and The Hunger Games might be unrequited in its interest for her, or vice versa. So it’s a long way from being confirmed, but as a bit of dream casting, it’s pretty great.

The Akira remake news train is going to keep plowing forward – so far speeding over Zac Efron, the potential audience and now veteran actor Morgan Freeman. Freeman is rumored to be circling around the role of the Colonel – a vital component in the story. He’s the closest thing to a father figure the plot has, and he does experiments on a young man that result in turning him into a giant globular monster. Warning: if you don’t like hearing negative things about Morgan Freeman, do not read on.

Before you throw your computer at your television and yell, “Aww, hell naw!” take a moment to ponder the existence of an Old Boy remake/new manga adaptation that doesn’t at all, in any way, star Will Smith. Seriously. That equipment is expensive. Calm down. Even without Will Smith, the prospect of a remake isn’t a pleasant one, so keep your fingers crossed that this remains a rumor. Pajiba has the inside scoop that I Am Legend writer Mark Protosevich’s pass at a script is into the studio, they like it, and that Mandate is attempting to get Spielberg back on board. If this is true, and if they can’t get Spielberg, the secondary rumor is that they’ll try to put the hammer in Danny Boyle’s hands. Boyle might be a strong choice, even if Spielberg doesn’t shy away from violence the way people seem to think he does. Either way, while this all shakes out, I’ll be watching Chan-wook Park’s version on the television I didn’t destroy earlier.

With Eddie Murphy sadly out of the running, the world now turns to Charlize Theron and Vera Farmiga to fill the void. The two actresses are rumored to be in talks to join The Dark Knight Rises, a movie that the entire planet will get tired of talking about minutes before its release. According to Comic Book Movie, Theron would be a detective/love interest for Jim Gordon, and Farmiga is auditioning to be a socialite and love interest for Bruce Wayne. Either way, even though this is just a rumor, the two women would make strong additions to the film. Or any film for that matter.

Consider this a rumor until either Warner Bros. officially confirms it or Edward Norton lays claim to the role, but it looks like Guy Ritchie has filled the Brad Pitt-sized shoes of Sherlock Holmes’ most famous nemesis, Professor Moriarty. Word has been for months that the role would be going to a big name star like Pitt or Daniel Day Lewis, but according to the folks over at Latino Review (who are right a hell of a lot more often than not) the evil mastermind will be played by… that guy in the picture! Jared Harris, son of the late Professor Dumbledore, can currently be found on AMC’s Madmen. He also has upcoming roles in John Carpenter’s The Ward and Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. And yes, he is suitably British. Sherlock Holmes 2 will see the return of Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, and Harris will be joining other recently announced cast members Noomi Rapace and Stephen Fry. The sequel opens in December of next year.

Consider this as a rumor from the Swedish TMZ crowd until further confirmation, but Tom Cruise and director Brad Bird may have found their villain for Mission Impossible 4… Per online Swedish tabloid, Nojes Bladet, Michael Nyqvist may be starring against Cruise as one of the baddies in the latest installment of the action/spy franchise. If the name doesn’t sound familiar it may be that you have yet to catch international sensation, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, or its two equally popular sequels. I don’t speak Swedish, so I’ve had to trust in the infallible accuracy of Google Translator. Which means any errors in this post, big or small, can be blamed on the fine folks at Google. And probably on the Swedes too.

With all that Comic Book Convention 2010 stuff slowly dying out, someone out there in the superhero world had to pipe up and keep the train rolling down the track. After all the Marvel talk, it might as well be a DC property. The rumor of the day is that Jon Hamm – the actor known as Mad Men’s Don Draper and Liz Lemon’s impossible boyfriend – might be up for the role of Clark Kent (a man who, if you look at him without the glasses, resembles Superman an awful lot). This isn’t a done deal, but if it’s headed that way, it’s enough prompting to take a look at the pros and cons of what casting him might mean.

A major comedic writer might be lending his talents to shape a story about time-traveling, ghost busting heroes from SNL funnyman Dan Ackroyd.

The folks at Empire caught up with one actor who is not only in the hunt for Oscar gold, but also meeting with the folks at Marvel about a potentially great role.

Yesterday I presented you with a list of Five Actresses Who Should Play The Black Cat in Spider-Man 4, and no where on there did I mention Anne Hathaway. That said, it seems as if Marvel and Sony Pictures aren’t listening to me.

It’s no secret around my neck of the woods that I’m a rabidly-obsessive Middle Earth fanatic. So what’s the newest casting rumor to hit the interwebz? It seems Brian Cox just may be joining Bilbo Baggins on the quest to evict Smaug from the Lonely Mountain.

Since the (possible) news is so nebulous, would you rather have Charlize Theron or Tom Hardy play Mad Max?

You know it’s a guaranteed thing when a “very reliable source” says it’s so. Could the master of horror be back at the helm for Scream 4?

Oh, Bill. When I think I can’t love you any more, you go and say exactly what most of us have been thinking. People can crank up the hype machine, but without a script, there ain’t no movie yet. And there ain’t no Bill Murray. Yet.

On the other side of the world in Rumorland, the reality is that District 9 star Sharlto Copley has been offered the role of Murdock for The A-Team. Here in our reality, we have no clue whether this is true or not.

I know there are naysayers among you who think the headline above is redundant, who think Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo series has been a joke since the first sequel. However…

For some reason I have to write the word ‘Bilbo’ a ton in this post, and it feels slightly gross. Luckily, I don’t have to write “Ryan Reynolds Cast as Bilbo Baggins,” so that’s a relief.

We’re feeding grist into the mill with the non-news that the next Terminator installment might be set in Merry Olde England.

Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”) reportedly entered L.A.’s Golden Apple comic book store last week for some possible research material.

Less than two months ago we asked our readers to discuss who they think should take on the role of Hal Jordan, aka The Green Lantern, in the upcoming blockbuster film from director Martin Campbell. And as far as we can tell, no one guessed that it would be this guy…