Casting Net: Katie Holmes boards 'The Woman in Gold'

• Katie Holmes will join Helen Mirren, Daniel Bruhl, and Ryan Reynolds in The Woman in Gold, a drama about a Holocaust survivor who is suing the Swiss government in hopes of reclaiming pieces of art that the Nazis stole from her family. Orphan Black‘s Tatiana Maslany plays a younger version of Mirren in the pic. Simon Curtis (My Week With Marilyn) is on board to direct. Holmes can be seen in theaters next in Phillip Noyce’s adaptation of Lois Lowry’s The Giver (out Aug. 15). [Deadline]

• British model Suki Waterhouse, probably best known at this point for dating Bradley Cooper, and Jonny Weston (John Dies at the End) have joined the cast of Insurgent, the follow-up to this year’s Divergent starring Shailene Woodley and Theo James. Waterhouse will play Dauntless member Marlene in the Veronica Roth adaptation, while Weston is still finalizing his deal. Already in production, Insurgent is set for a March 20, 2015, release. [THR, Variety]

• Rhys Ifans (Elementary) will play the Mad Hatter’s (Johnny Depp) father in Alice in Wonderland 2. Stage vet Mark Rylance was previously in talks for the role. James Bobin (The Muppets) is directing the sequel, which will hit theaters on May 27, 2016. [The Wrap]

• It’s not casting, but Fox has hired Carter Blanchard to write a new draft of Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day sequel, ID Forever Part 1. James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man, Zodiac) wrote the first draft for the pic, which is set for a July 1, 2016, release. Fruitvale Station‘s Michael B. Jordan is still in talks to star, while Will Smith is not expected to return. [Deadline]