inception casting

Just when you thought that all the major stars of Christopher Nolan’s Inception had been announced. Warner Bros adds two more names to the list. The Dark Knight director will reteam with Batman Begins star Ken Watanabe, who will play the film’s villain, a man who is blackmailing Leonardo DiCaprio’s character. Tom Hardy, who got raves playing the title role in Bronson at Sundance, will play a member of DiCaprio’s team.


Details about the project are being kept tightly under wraps. All we know so far is that the movie is a contemporary science fiction action movie “set within the architecture of the mind.”

Leonardo DiCaprio plays the lead, a CEO-type, Marion Cotillard (La Vie en rose, Public Enemies) is his wife, Ellen Page (Juno) is a young college grad student and DiCaprio’s sidekick, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays an associate working for DiCaprio. Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, Sunshine) and Michael Caine are also signed on, but no details are known about their characters.

Inception will begin production this summer, and is scheduled to hit theaters on July 16th 2010.

source: THR

  • Jay
    I cannot fuggin wait.
  • gah
    Watanabe is a weird choice since he was the absolute worst part of Begins. Seriously that performance belonged in a Schumacher film. However, he's been solid in other things so I'm sure it'll work out.
  • Geist
    What the hell are you going on about?
  • [A]
    is that really Watanabe in the collage..?
  • top right, its a photo of him from Letters from Iwo Jima
  • Yes, I believe that's him in Letters from Iwo Jima.
  • Lpfanaddy
    The SAG award for best cast goes to...
  • jenny
    holy shit, this cast keeps getting better and better.
  • Brian
    Wow. I can't wait to see this film. Nolan is turning in to being me favorite director.
  • You really thought it was that bad?
  • There is no way this movie can't be anything but great.
  • Wow. I'd almost say I'd rather see this than a new Batman.
  • Wow what a great cast!!!
  • Can you really call Watanabe a Batman Begins star? He's in all of... 5 minutes, maybe. And dies within the first 45 or so minutes of the movie. Hell, he's not even who he claims to be and is just a decoy for Liam Neeson's character.

    Though adding Watanabe and Hardy to this movie only makes me want to see this even more. This is easily my most anticipated film at the moment that isn't coming out this summer (yes, even more anticipated than Avatar. Which shocks me, even)
  • What is this, Ocean's Fourteen? I kid, I kid. This movie looks sweet.
  • AlexanderSupertamp
    Any word on where principle photography will be taking place?
  • Can't wait to see this.
  • Add Liam Neeson or Gary Oldman to that lineup, and Nolan's got himself one hell of a baseball team.
  • you left out Morgan Freeman.
  • Vinyard
    Wow, if this ends up sucking, they sure poured salt on the wound by having such a great cast.
    Are they all signing on because of Nolan or because of a great script?
  • Maggie
    I keep thinking "What if this is really a smoescreen for a Logan's Run remake?"
    I know it's not... but wouldn't that be a kick in the pants. ;)
  • 2 years ago, and this cast would have been made for a romantic comedy.
  • gah
    it's weird how many of these people would be great in a Batman film.
    Levitt- looks eerily close to Heath, could probably pull off the Joker (i know hate all you want, but i guarantee the character will come back at some point in the series)
    Ellen Page- can you think of anyone better to play Barbara Gordon?
    Dicaprio - could pull off the Riddler. would love to see him tackle a villian.
    Cotilard- would make a great Catwoman
  • You're absolutely right about Levitt. I was just talking about that with someone yesterday. It's eerie that Ledger and Levitt look alike and were both cast in 10 Things I Hate About You. Levitt is younger I think but if he's got the acting chops and they slather some make-up on him he'd be a shoe-in for the role of the Joker. I would welcome back the Joker in the third Nolanverse Batman flick and deem it as honoring Heath.
  • Ass load of talent here. Hope the script is good.
  • musicsoup
    Why did I think this movie took place in space? Why was I expecting something like Solaris or Sunshine?

    Is this gonna end up being something like The Island and Surrogates meets Vanilla Sky? Like the manufacturing of 'minds' on assembly lines and shit - and the idea that the mind, the heart, and the brain are all separate things? The mind is the soul.

    That sounds cool. I made it up. Could be a movie.

    The problem is,

    When you say, "part of Leo's team" it sounds lame, like Mission Impossible or Ocean's 11.

    When you say, "Page plays a young college student and Leo's sidekick" that also makes this sounds really lame.

    I wish they could tell us something so it didn't sound lame. Or maybe just reword the whole arcticle. I know Nolan won't make a stupid movie, but we're all chomping at the bit for any more info on this one.
  • Good lord, this cast is reaching plaid levels of awesome.
  • Ben Mortimer
    wow, this is like the serious film equivalent of the expendables cast.
  • i AM LOVING THE BRADY BUNCH PICTURE, PETER. Hilarious! Getting better and better.
    No love for Levitt after his disastrous performance in KILLSHOT, but Ellen Page is the hottest babe, and Cillian Murphy is one of the best actors on the planet. He needs to stop doing tranny roles, though. C'mon Cilly!
  • mangokiwi
    omg, how many times to we have read those two paragraphs of synopsis?? please, release some info.
  • amazing cast.... I really wish we know what the movie is about.
  • Looking forward to this. A very interesting crowd of actors. Should be good.
  • I'm getting concerned. Ensemble cast films rarely deliver to their true potential, and the fan-geek-netters like ourselves have set expectations way too high for Nolan after some Batman success... I bet he's feeling the pressure right now!
  • elessar
    Not true at all. I can think of more than a few ensemble films over the years that have delivered. Plus, Nolan has yet to make a not-good film out of anything he's written. Insomnia was his weakest directorial effort, but that's probably because he did not write it.
  • Qillaq Berthelsen
    Please take this seriously. I know this is wild speculation.
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt, have anybody else seen the resemblence with Heath Ledger?
    Chris Nolan directing a third Batman in the future, maybe a Joker needs to be cast? Anybody get what I'm thinking?
  • moviefan
    Tom Hardy is fabulous
  • papasanchez
    I have recently been mesmerised by the performances of tom hardy in both bronson and the take. As a batman freak and huge admirer of Heath ledgers performance as the joker, I feel it only just that an actor of similar stature and presence should fill the shoes of mr ledger. I believe in my heart that that man is mr tom hardy!
  • rabchef
    tom hardy for the joker without a doubt, his performances in the take and broson sealed it for me.... if the joker is recast then it doesnt have to be a heath ledger lookalike, thats just daft, hardy would make a great joker and put his own manically deranged twist on it.
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