Now that his stoic role as Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger and the upcoming The Avengers has successfully washed the taste of Chris Evans’ failed early career attempts at being the wise-cracking comedic actor out of my mouth, it’s time to start figuring out what he’s going to do next. And according to a report from Variety, it sounds like he’s being pretty wise in taking his next step. Apparently the handsome young fella is negotiating to star in a movie called Snow Piercer, which is going to be the first English language feature from The Host and Mother director Joon-ho Bong. For those of you who don’t usually watch foreign films, Joon-ho Bong makes some awesome movies, so this is a project that should be taken seriously; even if the title and premise, that of a group of people trying to travel by train on an ice-covered world, sound a little lame.

Every bit of movie news has to be taken with a fistful of salt. With so many moving parts, even the biggest players in the game sometimes see their work fall into the tall grass of development hell. That’s the bad news. The good news is that all of those times you shake your fist at a new project (be it remake or reboot) are warranted, but they don’t always get made. Sometimes, the stuff we’re dreading goes down in flames too. So it’s with that bittersweet spirit that we look back on a few announced projects that still haven’t been made. And might never be.

We reported back in November about Chan-wook Park setting up his first English-language gig with Fox Searchlight, but at the time, the synopsis for Stoker merely alluded to foul play by the hands of a young girl’s uncle who comes to town when her father dies. According to the usually questionable Daily Mail (via Screen Rant), the uncle is definitely a vampire. What’s more, the rag claims that Oscar winner Colin Firth is set to star as the bloodsucker alongside Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska. All of those names are various replacements for Carey Mulligan, Jodie Foster and Johnny Depp (that guy is everywhere) who were all name-dropped last Fall. Park handled vampires with his trademarked insanity in Thirst, so seeing him return to that is bittersweet. The most fascinating prospect is seeing him handle someone else’s material (sense the script for Stoker was written by Wentworth Miller). Park has written for others, but he’s never directed a screenplay that wasn’t his own. That could be a challenge, especially in the face of the curse of brilliant directors making the jump to American cinema. At the very least, it will be interesting to see the auteur try on someone else’s writing for size. Firth in the mean time will be seen in the forthcoming Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and at some point we’ll get to see Park’s iPhone movie in all its glory.

Upcoming thriller Stoker looked to have a moment of trouble when its original lead actress Carey Mulligan dropped out of the project. Ever since her breakthrough performance in An Education, Mulligan has been seen as the go to girl when you need a talented young actress. Her attachment to the script is probably a large reason why it sold in the first place. But a crisis has been averted, as the project has managed to snag the girl poised to be the next big thing after Mulligan to take her place. Mia Wasikowska, who turned heads in last year’s indie success story The Kids Are All Right and who gained mainstream success starring in the Tim Burton-helmed Alice in Wonderland is reportedly close to signing on to the film. Wasikowska should gain further credentials before this one goes behind the camera by starring in a big screen adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë novel “Jane Eyre”, which is set to be released in March and looks just like the type of stuffy period piece that would get recognized during awards season. In Stoker Wasikowska would be playing a teenage girl who is forced to reconnect with an estranged uncle after the death of her father. The project is to be directed by Chan-wook Park, whose 2003 revenge film Oldboy gained a lot of critical attention in the US for its quirky yet brutal approach to its material. Park’s projects are always ones to watch, and the Wasikowska grab seems to be [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Just like you might expect, the authors of the original manga are upset that the production of the 2003 version of Oldboy felt they could sell the rights to anyone they pleased.

Chan-wook Park’s (Old Boy) new film, Thirst, is due in Korean theaters next month and the first trailer has finally made it’s way online. Sure it’s in Korean with no subtitles, but you shouldn’t have too much trouble following along.

We heard it straight from the star’s mouth. He’s definitely starring in Steven Spielberg’s Oldboy…but there’s a twist.

Steven Spielberg is apparently in the process of acquiring the remake rights for Dreamworks, in the hopes of directing the film with Will Smith as the star.