Before it had even filled out a single supporting role, the upcoming prison break actioner The Tomb was already blowing my mind with its casting, because it managed to become the movie that finally fulfilled my childhood fantasy of having Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger team up as a duo of badasses. The film intrigued further, however, when it cast Jim Caviezel, an actor with some serious chops, as the evil prison warden that Sly and Arnie would be running afoul of. Maybe this movie would have even more to offer than just the chance to watch the two most preeminent ass-kickers of the 80s do their thing in tandem?
Well now a big casting update from Variety all but confirms that this one has more than one trick up its sleeve. Four new names have been added to, or are in talks to join the cast, and whether it’s because of talent, notoriety, or a combination of the two, each name is rather newsworthy in their own right.
Perhaps the most exciting of the bunch is Amy Ryan, who has signed on to play the Stallone character’s business partner and potential love interest. Whether it’s performing comedy on something like The Office, or doing drama in something like The Wire, Ryan has proven that she’s a great hand whatever the situation, so her inclusion should go a long way in classing this big, dumb action movie up.
Another well-respected name, Vincent D’Onofrio, is said to be at the “in talks” stage of joining the film. If he officially signs, he’ll be playing the Deputy Director of the Prisons Bureau, who is the guy who convinces Stallone to take one last job before he retires (that job presumably being the ridiculous gambit of being incarcerated in and escaping from a prison of his own design). This doesn’t sound like a role that’s going to require much action work, but over the course of D’Onofrio’s lengthy career he’s more than proven he can handle physical stuff as well as bringing the pathos, so should Stallone’s character come to get him in the end like he does Murdock in First Blood Part II, he’ll be able to handle things just fine.
The last two names being thrown around sound perfectly suited to getting their hands dirty over the course of the shoot. Vinnie Jones (the Juggernaut, bitch) is set to play an asshole prison guard who makes life very difficult for Schwarzenegger and Stallone, and rapper-turned-actor 50 Cent is also said to be on board for a still undisclosed role. These two may not bring the drama cred that names like Ryan and D’Onofrio do, but our heroes are going to need some musclebound meatheads to go up against while they’re in the slammer, and Jones and Fiddy sound like good enough choices to be just that. Hopefully everyone involved is starting up with jail yard exercise routines now. Pass the HGH!