David Thewlis is well known to the fans of fantasy movies thanks to his work as Remus Lupin in the series of Harry Potter films, but now he's getting set to introduce himself to fans of action movies. The actor has officially signed on to the cast of Red 2, the sequel to the Robert Schwentke-directed comic book adaptation from 2010. Thewlis will join a cast that includes returning stars Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich as well as newcomers Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones, as well as Byun-Hun Lee.
According to THR, Thewlis will be playing a man known simply as The Frog, an "information dealer." The origin of his nickname comes from the time he poisioned the water at the Kremlin using an Amazonian frog. While the star hasn't had a hectic schedule since the end of the Harry Potter franchise last year, he has most definitely kept busy and has starred in movies like Roland Emmerich's Anonymous, Luc Besson's The Lady and Steven Spielberg's War Horse.
Dean Parisot, who last directed the Jim Carrey comedy Fun with Dick and Jane, is helming the sequel and Lorenzo DiBonaventura and Mark Vahradian are all producing. The script was written by Erich and Jon Hoeber, whose previous credits include the first Red, Battleship and Whiteout. Production is gearing up to start some time this fall and Summit/Lionsgate has already given it an August 2, 2013 release date.
