Casting news : Ethan Hawke; Piper Perabo; James Hetfield

We touched on this yesterday but some more depth: Ethan Hawke has been cast as electricity pioneer Nikola Tesla in the new film “Tesla”, currently in development and being introduced to buyers at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin.

Michael Almereyda is set to direct the film from a script he wrote, and The Hollywood Reporter note the film as chronicling the life and times of the famed Serbia-born inventor, including his creation of the AC motor and his fierce rivalry with Thomas Edison.

Piper Perabo is joining Gerard Butler and Morgan in the third instalment of the “Olympus Has Fallen” series, titled “Angel Has Fallen”.

Ric Roman Waugh is directing the sequel, which follows Mike Banning (Butler) as he continues to be a target of terrorists, this time while mid-flight on Air Force One, per the report from Deadline.

Metallica rocker James Hetfield is getting his first live-action acting role in the Ted Bundy film opposite Zac Efron and Lily Collins. “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile” is being directed by Joe Berlinger, and Metallic announced Hetfield’s role as Officer Bob Hayward on their Instagram post (see below).

Officer Hayward, a Utah highway patrol veteran, was the first law enforcement officer to arrest Bundy in 1975 after pulling the killer over and discovering burglary tools in his car but wisely suspecting much worse.

Check out the first still of Hetfield in the role below.

No rest for the wicked here as James spent a few of his days between tour dates in front of the camera once again for Academy-award nominated director @joeberlingerfilms as he filmed scenes for Joe’s upcoming film “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile.” The movie follows the relationship between notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, played by Zac Efron, and his longtime girlfriend, played by Lily Collins, who at the time, had no knowledge of the crimes. . James will be playing Officer Bob Hayward, a Utah highway patrol veteran who was the first law enforcement officer to arrest Bundy in 1975 after pulling the killer over and discovering burglary tools in his car but wisely suspecting much worse. While James has played himself in other films and television productions, this will be his first dramatic role taking on a different character. . ‘Tallica fans all know Joe Berlinger as the director and producer our very own “Some Kind of Monster” along with the late Bruce Sinofsky in 2004. There is not a release date for “Extremely Wicked…” yet, but we’ll keep you updated here. And in the meantime, @papa_het_ is back out on the road as we hit the stage in Bologna, Italy tonight. . Photo by @herringandherring

A post shared by Metallica (@metallica) on Feb 12, 2018 at 8:00am PST

#Repost @joeberlingerfilms ・・・ A special day on set of our little Bundy movie starring @zacefron and @lilyjcollins… Metallica is in the house as @papa_het_ plays Officer Bob Hayward in his first dramatic role. Having one of my musical heroes in our film is pretty damn awesome. ・・・ Photo by @brian_douglas_stills

A post shared by Metallica (@metallica) on Feb 13, 2018 at 8:28am PST