Tradecraft: RED 2 Director Hired

The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog reports that Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) has been tapped to direct the sequel to Robert Schwentke's 2010 hit RED (review here) for Summit. According to the trade, original cast members Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Morgan Freeman are all expected to return - even though at least one of them died in the first movie! They're not mentioned, but I really hope that Brian Cox, Mary Louise Parker and Karl Urban also return. Urban's a great actor who despite roles in big movies perpetually seems to hover in the realm of the almost action hero, and RED showed he has what it takes for the big leagues. (I'd love to see him headline his own spy movie one day.) As previously reported, the writers of the first film (which was loosely adapted from a DC comic book), Erich and Jon Hoeber, penned the sequel. Summit, now owned by Lionsgate, hopes to start rolling on RED 2 by the end of this year, once Willis wraps Die Hard 5.