The Counselor has the potential to be one of the best movies of 2013. Director Ridley Scott is reteaming with his Prometheus star, the increasingly awesome Michael Fassbender, for the first spec script written by the legendary Cormac McCarthy. Deadline has a list of actors being considered for the villain role, so read on to find out who they are.

Action superstar Jeremy Renner (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, The Bourne Legacy), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), and Brad Pitt are all mentioned in the report, and though nothing is close to official, it’s still interesting to picture each of these guys taking on Fassbender in the drama. All of these actors are very busy, so it’ll be interesting to see which one can squeeze this one into his schedule; the film is set to start shooting this May.

The Counselor follows an admired lawyer (Fassbender) who is tempted by the drug business and ends up getting in over his head. No word yet on what the villainous role will be, but who would you like to see star opposite Fassbender here?

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We got the main details from the Skyfall press conference earlier today, and now Digital Spy have uploaded the full press conference for all to see.

The panel includes director Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe, along with producers Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli.

In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

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A press conference for Bond 23 was held this morning in London, and it was confirmed that the movie will be called Skyfall, a title which producer Barbara Broccoli said “has an emotional context which will be revealed in the film”.

Director Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig were in attendance, as were Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe, confirming their involvement in the film. Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw were also announced as cast members.

Here’s the full press release:

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today presented the cast of the 23rd James Bond adventure, entitled SKYFALL. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Academy Award® winner Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his third film as James Bond 007. The screenplay is written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan. SKYFALL, which goes into production on Monday, November 7th, will begin its worldwide roll-out in the UK and Ireland on October 26th 2012 and in North America on November 9th 2012.

Joining Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli and Director Sam Mendes were members of the cast of SKYFALL, including: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Dame Judi Dench, Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe. The filmmakers also announced Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw.

In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

“We’re so delighted to have Sam Mendes direct SKYFALL and be working once again with Daniel Craig. We’ve a great script, an extraordinary cast and an incredibly talented creative team for this latest James Bond adventure,” said Wilson and Broccoli.

The Director of Photography is Roger Deakins, a nine-time Oscar® nominee who previously shot the films Jarhead and Revolutionary Road for Mendes. The Production Designer is Oscar® winner Dennis Gassner, who previously designed Quantum of Solace and collaborated with Mendes on the films Road to Perdition and Jarhead. The Editor is Stuart Baird, A.C.E., whose many credits include Casino Royale. Jany Temime, whose many credits include the Harry Potter series, In Bruges, and Children of Men, is the Costume Designer. Action specialist Alexander Witt is the 2nd Unit Director. Gary Powell is Stunt Co-ordinator, Chris Corbould is SFX Supervisor and Steve Begg is Visual Effects Supervisor, all of whom have worked on previous Bond films.

It’s good to finally have a brief synopsis for the film. During the press conference Mendes and the cast kept plot details to themselves, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Mendes said the storyline will take 007 to London, China, Turkey and Scotland, and it had “”all the elements of a classic Bond movie, including – to quell any rumours – lots of action”.

What do you think of the title and cast?

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Javier Bardem’s casting in Bond 23 seems to have been confirmed by a few outlets over recent weeks, and in a new interview the actor confirmed he’ll star opposite Daniel Craig (likely as the villain).

From Nightline on ABC

I am very excited, my parents took me to watch the movies, and I saw all of them, and to play that is going to be fun. They chose me to play this man, but I cannot give you many details.

It seems details on his role won’t be revealed for some time (why would anyone want to be spoiled now?), but a Bardem Bond villain is something to get excited about either way.

Filming on Bond 23 (thought to be titled Skyfall) will shortly begin under the direction on Sam Mendes. Daniel Craig and Judi Dench are returning and will be joined by Naomie Harris (28 Days Later) as Moneypenny, Ralph Fiennes in ‘a darkly complex’ role and French actress Berenice Marlohe as Bond girl. Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy in Harry Potter) and Ben Whishaw (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) are also said to have joined the cast in yet unspecified roles

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Javier Bardem, who won an Oscar for playing an evil guy in No Country for Old Men, will be lending his vocal talents to Despicable Me 2. According to Heat Vision the actor is in talks to voice El Macho, a new villain introduced in the sequel who has a son named Machito. No further details on the character were given.

The first film (which made nearly $550 million worldwide) featured the voice of Steve Carell as a villainous mastermind who changes for the better after he hires a trio of orphans for an evil scheme. Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, and Will Arnett are expected to return, and Universal will release Despicable Me 2 on July 3, 2013.

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Earlier this year Universal started having second thoughts about The Dark Tower, their adaptation of Stephen King’s epic book series with Ron Howard attached to direct. The intention was to make a trilogy of films with a TV miniseries in-between each film, however budget concerns caused the planned shoot later this year to be delayed while screenwriter Akiva Goldsman re-wrote the script.

Now Universal has decided against making The Dark Tower altogether, and the only way it will move forward now is if it finds a new home at another studio.

From Deadline:

Universal has passed on going forward with the project, dealing a huge blow in the plan for Ron Howard to direct Akiva Goldsman’s script, with Brian Grazer, Goldsman and the autor producing and Javier Bardem starring as gunslinger Roland Deschain. Now, the filmmakers will have to find a new backer of what might well be the most ambitious movie project since Bob Shaye allowed Peter Jackson to shoot three installments of The Lord of the Rings back to back.

I’d heard back in May that Warner Bros–where Goldsman’s Weed Road is based and which is fully financing two installments of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit–was a possible landing place for the adaptation of King’s 7-novel epic that is that author’s answer to Tolkien’s LOTR novels.

This is the second potentially huge (but risky) project Universal have passed on this year. Back in March the studio decided against making Guillermo del Toro’s movie adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror novella At the Mountains of Madness with Tom Cruise.

Fans of The Dark Tower may be disappointed, although some will think they’ve dodged a bullet. The book follows a gunslinger called Roland Deschain who is the last living member of a knightly order of gunslingers, and humanity’s last hope to save a civilization that will fall unless he finds the Dark Tower.

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Last month Naomie Harris (28 Days Later, Pirates of the Caribbean) confirmed that she had met with director Sam Mendes and producer Barbara Broccoli regarding a role in Bond 23. Some thought she’d be up for the Bond girl role, but now it looks like the actress will be playing Moneypenny.

According to The Daily Mail (via Playlist) Harris is “poised” to appear in Bond 23 as Moneypenny, which means she isn’t confirmed yet but it’s likely. Moneypenny, secretary to M (Judi Dench), hasn’t been seen in a Bond movie since Samantha Bond played her in Die Another Day back in 2002. The casting of Naomie Harris suggests Sam Mendes will be doing something different with the character, and she’ll probably have a larger role than in previous films (possibly getting out of the office environment in the process).

The site also suggests Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes, who were previously thought to be up for roles, are locked. With The Dark Tower delayed until next year it appears Bardem has been freed up for Bond. No details have been revealed as to whom he will play, although Bardem confirmed it would be a villain. Bardem played a villain in his Oscar-winning turn in No Country For Old Men two years ago so he’s no stranger to this type of role.

As for Ralph Fiennes, next seen as Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, his role is said to be ‘a darkly complex’ one, and Mendes approached him because “the part is one of extreme complexity and only an actor of great ability and dexterity can take it on”.

Filming is set to begin later this year for an October 2012 release, and with a cast like this Bond 23 is looking very promising.

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Last month Universal started having second thoughts about The Dark Tower, their adaptation of Stephen King’s epic book series to be directed by Ron Howard. The intention was to make a trilogy of films with a TV miniseries in-between each film, however budget concerns caused the planned shoot later this year to be delayed while screenwriter Akiva Goldsman re-wrote the script.

In a new interview Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer speak about the script changes, saying they aren’t that radical, and talk about why they decided the franchise would cross the realms of both movies and TV.

From Deadline:

DEADLINE: Why does Dark Tower warrant three movies and two TV series in between?
HOWARD: The universe Steve King created is so dimensional and creative. It blends scope, sweep, and adventure with some very personal compelling stories. We could have tried to force all of it into one or two or three movies. It became clear to me that the medium of TV has become so bold and cool, we could use it to our advantage creatively and really fulfill the possibilities of this universe of characters King gave us to work with. We can use the intimacy of television when that’s appropriate, and the scope and scale of the big screen with the bigger fantasy ideas. We discovered elements that would probably never have a home either on the big screen or on TV, but would make fantastic narrative gaming opportunities that won’t rehash the movies or TV, but have its own material borne out of the books and graphic novels. We’ve got gaming designers and there is enthusiasm for that. It’s a way to use all the mediums at our disposal to try to fulfill what’s possible. Universal sees this as an asset that can benefit the company in a lot of different ways.

DEADLINE: Still, there were rumors last month that Universal might let The Dark Tower go. That hasn’t happened but they did push the start date to early next year. Why has it been so hard to get underway?
HOWARD: The first version represented a bold attempt to fast track, because of weather concerns. It was a little more dramatic to people on the outside than to us. We’d have liked to move forward on that fast track, but it was always Phase One. There was an understanding that if we couldn’t answer all the questions in a way that made sense to all the partners involved, then we would operate on a slightly more traditional timetable. Even if we go in March, that’s still moving quickly for something of this scale.

DEADLINE: You’ve been asked to bring down the budget. By how much?
GRAZER: I’m producing it with Akiva Goldsman, who wrote it to be sensitive to cost and is rewriting it to be more so. Without putting a number on it, the cuts aren’t that deep or that radical.

They also said that while Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) isn’t officially on-board, “he’s fascinated by the character and has great instincts for Roland. I’m hoping when we go, he’s available and will join us.”

The Dark Tower follows a gunslinger called Roland Deschain who is the last living member of a knightly order of gunslingers, and humanity’s last hope to save a civilization that will fall unless he finds the Dark Tower. Ron Howard says he sees the trilogy as their answer to the Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, with an old West setting instead of Middle Earth.

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Earlier this month we heard that Universal were having second thoughts about The Dark Tower, their adaptation of Stephen King’s epic book series to be directed by Ron Howard. The intention was to make a trilogy of films with a TV miniseries in between each film, however Universal put pre-production staff on hiatus as they discussed ways to bring down the budget.

Now THR reports that The Dark Tower will stay at Universal (for now) and shooting has been pushed back to early 2012 while screenwriter Akiva Goldsman re-writes the script to accomadate a lower budget.

No word yet on whether this delay will prevent Javier Bardem from appearing in the film. The actor signed up for the role when filming was set to begin later this year, so he’ll now have to readjust his schedule if he has any other projects lined up.

The Dark Tower follows a gunslinger called Roland Deschain who is the last living member of a knightly order of gunslingers, and humanity’s last hope to save a civilization that will fall unless he finds the Dark Tower. Ron Howard says he sees the trilogy as their answer to the Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, with an old West setting instead of Middle Earth.

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Production seemed to be going smoothly on The Dark Tower, an adaptation of Stephen King’s epic book series to be directed by Ron Howard. Recent Oscar nominee Javier Bardem had recently been confirmed to lead the film, which Universal hoped would span three movies, with TV miniseries in between each film.

However news has hit the web that Universal are having second thoughts about the ambitious project (as far as the budget is concerned) and according to Deadline “Universal Pictures has put pre-production staff on hiatus as they discuss ways to bring down the budget”.

The planned September start has been delayed while Universal, director Ron Howard and writer/producer Akiva Goldsman discuss the next step. One option may be to take The Dark Tower to Warner Bros., but that’s only if Universal decides the project is too big of a risk.

The Dark Tower follows a gunslinger called Roland Deschain who is the last living member of a knightly order of gunslingers, and humanity’s last hope to save a civilization that will fall unless he finds the Dark Tower. Ron Howard says he sees the trilogy as their answer to the Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Ring trilogy, with an old West setting instead of Middle Earth.

Read similar posts to The Dark Tower put on hold while Universal try to lower the budget on Filmonic