The Weekly Ketchup: Rachel McAdams In, Katie Holmes Out Of "Dark Knight," "Evil Dead" Remake, And More!

by | February 2, 2007 | Comments

In this week’s Ketchup, Katie Holmes won’t be returning to the “Batman” franchise, with Rachel McAdams the early favorite to replace her in “The Dark Knight,” and Dino De Laurentiis is enthused about an “Evil Dead” remake, among other things.

Also, “300” makes more cine-buzz by heading to IMAX, and Jordana Brewster appears to be the female lead in the small-screen version of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Read on.

This Week’s Most Popular News:

Rachel McAdams to Snag Katie Holmes’ “Knight” Work?

Ask just about anyone who loved “Batman Begins” what they thought the flick’s “weak spot” was, and I bet you money they’d say “Well, Katie Holmes, obviously. Her character, partially, but mainly just her blank stare and entirely unconvincing performance. Why do you ask?”

De Laurentiises Bless “Evil Dead” Remake … and Want More “Hannibal”
Sam Raimi is a bona fide mogul now with his Ghost House Pictures studio producing horror movies while he’s off making “Spider-Man” movies. Back in the day, he needed Dino De Laurentiis’s help to make the third “Evil Dead” film, “Army of Darkness.” Now that Raimi plans to remake his original “Evil Dead” through Ghost House, De Laurentiis thinks it’s a great idea.

“300” Just Got Even Cooler — IMAX Cool!!

As we discussed earlier in the week, the countdown has begun to March 9th’s “300,” the epic, visually stunning retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae, as adapted from Frank Miller’s graphic novel. If you weren’t around for the conversation, or have somehow missed the assorted crazy-cool trailers, posters, and other assorted pre-release bits that have been making the rounds, here’s a simple recap…

Holmes Getting the “Knight” Off?
Fans of “Batman Begins” who thought Katie Holmes was the worst part of the movie — and there seem to be a lot of them — will be happy to read IGN Movies’ report, via LatinoReview.com, that Holmes’ role is being recast for the upcoming sequel, “The Dark Knight.”

Jordana Brewster is the New “Mrs. Smith”
Remember the news that director Doug Liman and screenwriter Simon Kinberg were planning to bring their “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” to television? OK, well, it seems like they have their Mrs. Smith locked up.


A welcome arrival for “Batman” fans.

In Other News:

  • Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell has told reporters that he would not be returning to direct the next Bond film despite the success of the 21st installment.
  • Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the script of the action-thriller “Invaders” from screenwriter Jayson Rothwell, for Basil Iwanyk‘s Thunder Road and Pierce/Williams Entertainment to produce.
  • Ryan Gosling will make his directorial debut in the tentatively titled “The Lord’s Resistance Army,” about child soldiers in Africa.
  • Universal Pictures has acquired the script to the children’s fantasy “Simon Bloom, the Gravity Keeper,” with Gary Ross tabbed as a possible director.
  • Roman Polanski will direct the adaptation of Robert Harris‘ best-selling novel “Pompeii,” which will begin filming in Italy this summer.

Another rom-com in the works.