Greenlit: Danielle Brooks and More Join the ‘Suicide Squad’ Spinoff Series ‘Peacemaker’

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Greenlit means a project is officially a go, so all you have to do is follow these leads to stay up to date. You never know where you’ll find an opportunity to land an audition!

“Peacemaker”
While James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” is in post-production and is gearing up for a late 2021 release, its spinoff series “Peacemaker” is just getting started. Danielle Brooks, Robert Patrick, Jennnifer Holland, and Chris Conrad have joined the cast of the HBO Max project that will star John Cena and Steve Agee. The series will explore the origins of the titular Peacemaker (played by Cena), “a man who believes in peace at any cost—no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.” Gunn wrote all eight episodes of the miniseries and will also direct several. Betty Mae Casting worked on the parent feature, but no casting director has been made public for the spinoff.

“Ozark”
On hiatus from starring as Bobbie in the not-yet-opened revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” on Broadway, Tony winner Katrina Lenk will fill her time with a new screen role. The actor has joined the fourth and final season of the award-winning Netflix series “Ozark,” starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney. Lenk will play Clare Shaw, a “morally ambiguous CEO of a biopharmaceutical company.” Additionally, Alfonso Herrera and Adam Rothenberg have joined the cast as series regulars in Season 4, and Season 3 recurring actors Damian Young and Felix Solis have been promoted to series regulars. Bruno Bichir and CC Castillo will also join in recurring roles. Season 4 will be released in two parts—seven episodes each—and is set to begin production this year. The series will wrap up with Alexa L. Fogel continuing the casting duties. Read about Fogel’s audition process here at Backstage!

“The Shrink Next Door”
“The Shrink Next Door” has taken on two new patients. Former “Mrs. Fletcher” co-stars Kathryn Hahn and Casey Wilson have joined the cast of the Apple TV+ dark comedy series opposite Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. Inspired by true events documented in the Wondery and Bloomberg Media podcast of the same name, the eight-episode miniseries from Michael Showalter will follow the bizarre relationship between psychiatrist to the stars Dr. Ike Herschkopf (Rudd) and his longtime patient Marty Markowitz (Ferrell). Wilson will star as Bonnie, the wife of Dr. Herschkopf, and Hahn will play Phyllis, Marty’s younger sister. “Succession” and “Veep” writer Georgia Pritchett is set to pen and showrun the show. Bialy/Thomas is casting the series.

“Damsel”
Millie Bobby Brown is returning to Netflix for her next big project. The “Stranger Things” and “Enola Holmes” actor is set to star and executive produce “Damsel,” a fantasy film. Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and written by Dan Mazeau, “Damsel” will star Brown as Princess Elodie, who thinks she is marrying Prince Henry, only to find out that she is being sacrificed to a dragon. Fresnadillo is an Oscar nominee for the 1997 live-action short film “Esposados” and has also directed “28 Weeks Later” and “Intruders.” He typically works with casting director Shaheen Baig, so expect him to continue that collaboration on “Damsel.”

“The Burial”
First reported by Deadline, Jamie Foxx is setting his next project at Amazon. The Oscar winner will produce and star in the studio’s “The Burial.” Maggie Betts will direct the drama from a screenplay written by Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright (“I Am My Own Wife”). Based on a true story, the off-kilter film follows a bankrupt funeral home owner who decides to sue a rival businessman over a handshake deal gone wrong and hires a flamboyant attorney to handle the case. Foxx will star opposite what Deadline is describing as a legendary role that is currently being cast. No further casting or casting team has been announced.

“Bullet Train”
“Bullet Train” has been busy on the casting front in recent weeks, and last week, another star was added to the lineup. “Atlanta” star Zazie Beetz will round out the cast of the Sony action pic starring Brad Pitt and the previously announced Joey King, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Andrew Koji. David Leitch (“Hobbs & Shaw”) will direct and also supervise the script, which will be written by Zak Olkewicz. Plot details are vague and it’s unknown who Beetz will be playing, but the film will be based on the Japanese novel “Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka. Betty Mae, Inc. is handling the casting for the flick.

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