Casting roundup, Nov 7: Natalia Dyer leads the 1408 sequel and 7 more

Eight casting moves in one place. The headline goes to Natalia Dyer: the Stranger Things star takes the lead in a sequel to 1408, the Stephen King hotel-room horror that became a cult hit, with two of its original stars possibly coming back around her.

1408 sequel

Natalia Dyer Confirmed

Stranger Things

Role: lead of the 1408 sequel, with Elijah Wood · Film · FilmNation, Bluestone

Beto Pasillas / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Stranger Things star Natalia Dyer leads the follow-up to the 2007 horror hit, with The Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood in a supporting part, Variety reported. Original stars Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack are negotiating to come back in smaller roles, and Mikael Håfström, who made the first film from a Stephen King story, returns to direct a script he wrote with Mark Verheiden. Shooting is planned for early 2027.

In Laws

Idris Elba Confirmed

Luther, Thor

Role: stars as a blacklisted spy and directs · Film · A Higher Standard

Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Golden Globe winner Idris Elba, best known for Luther, will both star in and direct this action-comedy, Deadline reported. He plays Carson Hughes, a blacklisted spy handed one last chance who has to team up with a by-the-book rookie and still make it to a wedding. It will be his fourth feature as a director, with filming in Spain from March 2027.

Stuntnuts

Matt Damon Confirmed

Jason Bourne films, The Odyssey

Role: cameo in a comedy about stunt doubles · Film · Matthew Vaughn, UR MARV

PhilipRomano / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Oscar winner Matt Damon, the screen’s Jason Bourne, adds a cameo to this action-comedy about stunt performers, Deadline revealed. Produced by Kingsman director Matthew Vaughn and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, it follows two stunt doubles on a chaotic blockbuster whose stars, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Rockwell, play exaggerated versions of themselves. Veteran stuntman Damien Walters directs, and the film goes on sale at the American Film Market.

Boutique

Simon Pegg Confirmed

Mission: Impossible, Star Trek

Role: a reclusive author opposite Paul Giamatti · Film · horror

Bryan Berlin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

BAFTA winner Simon Pegg, Benji in the Mission: Impossible films, joins Paul Giamatti in this horror film, Deadline reported. Giamatti plays an American tourist who visits the English seaside town behind the books of his favourite reclusive author (Pegg) and stumbles on a murderous secret society. Lodge 49 creator Jim Gavin makes his feature directing debut.

Group 41

3 Body Problem director Derek Tsang will direct and executive produce this true-crime drama of 10 episodes, Variety reported. It follows the first Asian-American squad at the US Drug Enforcement Administration, formed in New York in 1986 to chase heroin networks the rest of the agency barely noticed. Producer Jonah Greenberg is pitching it at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest.

Can I Come In?

Brenton Thwaites of Pirates of the Caribbean leads this horror thriller opposite Thunderbolts* star Hannah John-Kamen, with Henry Thomas (The Haunting of Hill House) as the town sheriff, Deadline reported. Thwaites plays a carpenter whose wife, a nurse, vanishes after a night shift and then turns up on the porch one night, changed, asking to be let in. Rouzbeh Heydari shot it quietly in Toronto this year.

Am I The Wave?

The Lincoln Lawyer star Manuel García-Rulfo and Mexican actress Renata Vaca lead this adaptation of Francisco Goldman’s novel Say Her Name, which is already shooting, Deadline reported. Drawn from Goldman’s real romance with writer Aura Estrada, it moves between Brooklyn and Mexico City until a wave on a beach in Oaxaca ends it. Ariel winner Alejandra Márquez Abella directs.

Inherit sequel

Davika Hoorne Confirmed

Pee Mak, Inherit

Role: returns as the centipede-spirit grandmother · Film · Thailand

Sarran Hamilton / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Thai star Davika Hoorne will return for a sequel to the psychological horror Inherit, director Banjong Pisanthanakun told Variety. She plays a young-looking grandmother who hides an ancient centipede spirit; the first film premiered in Toronto in September. The pair first worked together on Pee Mak, the biggest local box-office hit in Thai history.

Reported by Variety, Deadline. Compiled with AI tools.