Morris Chestnut has two brand new roles to add to his resume. Though we won't see him on-screen again until the Steve Gordon-directed comedy Identity Thief comes out next year, he will be using that time to play key roles in both The Hive and Kick-Ass 2. The former is about a 911 operator who must work to try and help a kidnapped teenage girl while the latter is a sequel to the 2010 comic book movie with Aaron Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz.
Deadline, which is reporting both pieces of news about the actor, says that Chestnut will be playing a cop and a love interest for Halle Berry's character - who is playing the operator at the center of the film. Abigail Breslin is playing the girl in crisis and The Sopranos' Michael Imperioli has a part in the movie as well. Brad Anderson, who most recently helmed the thriller Vanishing of 7th Street, but made his name with titles like Session 9 and The Machinist, is directing based on a script by Richard D'Ovidio (Exit Wounds, Thir13en Ghosts).
As for Kick-Ass 2, which announced its release date earlier today, Chestnut will be playing a character that Deadline describes as "the guardian for the young butt kicker played by Chloe Moretz." Going from that description and knowledge of the comics, it sounds as though Chestnut will be playing police Sergeant Marcus Williams, who was played by Omari Hardwick in the first movie (unless they've changed up the story a bit). Johnson will return as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, as will Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D'Amico/Red Mist. Both John Leguizamo and Donald Faison both recently joined the sequel as well and Deadline has also learned that British actor Robert Emms has been cast as Insect Man. Kick-Ass 2 will be in theaters on June 28, 2013.
