Casting Notes: Jamie Foxx Reunites With Robert Downey Jr; Josh Brolin Steps In For Sean Penn

Two pretty tasty bits of casting today. First up, it's that big reunion of the cast from The Soloist we've all been waiting for! Jamie Foxx has joined the cast of Due Date, the next movie from Todd Phillips. That'll put him back in the frame with Robert Downey Jr., and this time in a matchup that people might actually want to see. Because the Oscar-baity Soloist is well and good, but seeing the two bounce off each other in a comedy sounds a lot more appealing. Though we may not see too much of Foxx and Downey together, as he plays "Downey's longtime pal, who once dated his wife (Michelle Monaghan) and secretly keeps in touch with her." Ruh-roh. Due Date has RDJ as a high-strung guy trying to get home in time for the birth of his child, which pushes him to hitch a ride with a slacker (Zach Galifianakis). Hijinks ensue. [THR]

After the break, why Josh Brolin is better than Sean Penn.

Ok, joking. Josh Brolin isn't better than Penn. They're completely different talents, though at this point I have a much better time watching Josh. (The two worked beautifully together in Milk, however; that was a fantastic pairing.)

Back in June the future of a film called Cartel was left in doubt when Sean Penn took a sabbatical from acting to focus on family issues. (The same event pulled him out of The Three Stooges, making way for Paul Giamatti to step in, assuming the film happens at all.) Now Brolin has been cast in Penn's place, and Cartel's show will go on. Ghosts of Cité Soleil writer/director/cinematographer Asger Leth will direct the film, which follows Brolin as a man out to protect his son after his wife is murdered by Mexican drug cartels. The film shoots in Mexico in January. No other major cast members have been announced, but with Brolin on board expect that to change very soon. [Variety]