Casting Net: Tom Hiddleston in 'Crimson Peak'; Plus J. Lo, Naomi Watts

• We might still be lamenting the fact that Tom Hiddleston will not be appearing in The Avengers: Age of Ultron as the tormented Loki, but at least it frees him up to work with some other actors. Hiddleston has signed on to replace his War Horse co-star Benedict Cumberbatch in Guillermo del Toro’s thriller Crimson Peak, alongside Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, and Charlie Hunnam. [THR]

• Before taking her seat at the judges table for American Idol, Jennifer Lopez is going micro-budget and a little risqué. She’s signed on to star in The Boy Next Door, a thriller about a mother who begins having an affair with her teenage son’s friend. Paranormal Activity’s Jason Blum is producing and xXx director Rob Cohen will be helming the project. [Variety]

• On the heels of Diana’s London premiere, star Naomi Watts is in talks to team up with Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Errol Morris (The Fog of War) for Holland, Michigan, a darkly comedic thriller set in a small, suburban town. [Deadline]

• Director David Gordon Green (Prince Avalanche) has added Chris Messina (Argo), Holly Hunter (Top of the Lake), and Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers director) to the cast of Manglehorn. Hunter will play opposite Al Pacino, who is portraying a man guilt stricken over his criminal past and the loss of a love. [TheWrap]

• Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion) and Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) are set to star alongside Morgan Freeman in Momentum about a thief (Kurylenko) trying to escape the law and a gang of assassins. Longtime camera operator Stephen Campanelli will be making his directorial debut on the project. [Variety]

• Kristin Scott Thomas (Only God Forgives) has replaced Jane Birkin in My Old Lady, about a New Yorker who tries to sell his Paris apartment, but must wait till the elderly woman living there dies. Kevin Kline and Maggie Smith star in the key roles, with Thomas set to play the daughter of Smith’s character. [Deadline]

• Nathalie Emmanuel, who Game of Thrones watchers might know as Daenerys’s assistant Missandei, will be trading her fantasy costumes for something much more modern for her role in Fast & Furious 7. [Deadline]

• Greek actress Amanda Stevens will play Jonah Hill’s love interest in 22 Jump Street, which is set for a June 13, 2014 release. [TheWrap]

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