Australian site What’s Playing got wind of the shortlist of actresses lined up to play Lois Lane in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman film. Now that Henry Cavill has been cast as the Man of Steel, it probably won’t be long until we hear official word from WB about who will step into the role of the feisty female reporter, but until then, let’s check out the list of potential candidates (which includes some surprises).

Anne Hathaway was said to have been a top contender, but now that she’s been cast as Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises, we can assume scheduling conflicts will take her out of the running. In the meantime, Warner Bros. has a good relationship with another franchise player in Rachel McAdams – who joined Robert Downey, Jr. recently for Sherlock Holmes and will reprise her role in that sequel – and for the record, I think she’s the best choice here.

Among the others listed:

• “Glee” star Dianna Agron, who read for the role of Gwen Stacy in the Marc Webb’s new Spider-Man reboot but was beaten out by Emma Stone.
• Jessica Biel, one of the current lead contenders, according to the report.
• Malin Akerman, who worked with Snyder on Watchmen but may be a bit too old for the part.
• Kristen Stewart, who may fall on the opposite end of the age spectrum, possibly a bit too young to convincingly pull off a relationship with the 28-year-old Cavill.

Of the names listed, who would you like to see as Lois Lane? Sound off in the comments.

Follow us on Twitter: @benpears and @Filmonic

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Last month a number of studios met with Noomi Rapace following her breakthrough performance in the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Paramount were apparently interested in her playing the female lead in Mission Impossible 4 (which has since gone to Paula Patton), and Warner Bros’ Greg Silverman wanted the actress for Sherlock Holmes 2.

Heat Vision is now reporting that Warner Bros. got their wish, as Rapace has signed on to star alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in the sequel.

Her role has not yet been revealed, although the “character may be a French Gypsy”. Rachel McAdams will still be ‘present’ in the film as Irene Adler, but she won’t be the female lead like in the last film.

Sherlock Holmes 2 will start filming later this year under the direction of Guy Ritchie.

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Warner Bros. has set a release date of December 2011 for Sherlock Holmes 2, with filming expected to begin later this year. The news comes from THR who saw the date on a slide during a presentation by Warner chairman and CEO Barry Meyer this week.

Not much is known about the sequel thus far, although Robert Downey Jr. said last month that Holmes will be venturing out of London next time round, saying we’ll see “a bit of Paris, a bit of Switzerland by the end, if I’m not mistaken.”

Downey also said that he doesn’t know whether Rachael McAdams will be returning as Irene Adler as the character only appeared in one of the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. He’ll know as soon as the script is delivered, however.

I can’t see why they’d not want her back. She may have been arrested at the end of the film but that’s nothing Holmes can’t get around.

What do you want to see in Sherlock Holmes 2?

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Earlier today we got a quote from Rachel McAdams saying she wouldn’t be playing Black Cat in Spider-Man 4 after there was talk she had met producers. Now we have word of another actress who has apparently been meeting with the Spidey team: Julia Stiles.

From UGO:

UGO has learned that Julia Stiles has met with a casting company in New York to discuss the upcoming Spider-Man 4!

This makes sense based on the recently debunked rumor that Rachel McAdams was set to star. Could this mean we’ll be seeing the Black Cat saving Spidey’s last dance? We haven’t heard specifics about which role she was eyeing and assume it’s all early talks, but why not?

We haven’t really seen Stiles in a big way since The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007, however I think she would be a great choice for Black Cat, if that is in fact who they are looking to cast. From all the rumors it looks like they are looking for a new female character anyway, and if they’ve been talking with actresses such as Rachel McAdams and Julia Stiles then it’ll probably be a significant role.

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Last week a rumor started floating around the interweb saying that Rachel McAdams would be playing Black Cat in Spider-Man 4, and that she had already met with the producers. Well according to McAdams herself that is indeed, just an internet rumor.

From Entertainment Weekly:

“That’s a total rumor, I have to say,” the actress, who will next be seen in the Dec. 25 action-adventure tentpole Sherlock Holmes, tells EW. “I was hanging out in Toronto the other day and someone came up to me and said, ‘I just heard you’re doing Spider-Man 4.‘ And I said, ‘Really? No one told me!’ It’s not true.” A rep for Sony Pictures concurs: “It’s an Internet rumor, as so many things are these days.”

It could be the case that McAdams is denying it as things haven’t been finalized yet, although I’ve got a feeling that it wasn’t true to begin with. Hopefully we’ll find out who will be in Spider-Man 4 in the near future, as we know casting is certainly under-way.

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Sam Raimi said a few weeks ago that Spider-Man 4 will begin filming in March, which means over the upcoming months and weeks we should be hearing about casting, and what villains might be appearing. Dylan Baker revealed he would be returning to play Dr. Curt Connors, which rose speculation that The Lizard could be the main villain. However Mania are now saying that the villain could be Black Cat, the skilled cat burglar, and they apparently know which actress is the front runner to player her.

We can exclusively reveal that actress Rachel McAdams has met with the producers of the film for a major role. McAdams (of ‘Wedding Crashers’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes’ fame) is said to be a top contender for the role of Felicia Hardy, known to comic fans as The Black Cat.

Our sources tell us that the Black Cat’s story fits well with Raimi’s Spider-Man formula, which always finds the villains troubling not only the costumed hero, but also becoming entangled in Peter Parker’s personal life as well.

In other casting news actress Romola Garai (Atonement) wrote in The Observer that she recently audition for a role:

“Love is at the root of everything good that has ever happened and will happen.” This phrase swam into focus as I moved up the escalator at Oxford Circus tube on Tuesday morning on my way to put myself “on tape” for a part in Spider-Man 4. This is the acting equivalent of the London Marathon in that it’s important to try your best as long as you understand that you aren’t going to win.

It looks like Mary Jane may have some more competition in Spider-Man 4, that is, if the Black Cat rumour is true.

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Every time Warner Bros. release a new trailer for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes it makes me want to see the film just that bit more, which I suppose is their aim, so well done to them. The December release date is nearing and the effects are almost complete, which means we have a more action packed trailer for our viewing pleasure!

I’m warming to the Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law on-screen partnership. Ritchie and the writers have given them quite a few funny lines, I just hope they aren’t all in the trailers. Sherlock Holmes will be released on December 25th.

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Cinematical received a brand new (rather blue) poster for Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. It features all the gang including Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Mark Strong and Rachel McAdams. There’s also a bulldog which we haven’t seen much of in the trailers. I wonder if he/she has a large role?

Sherlock Holmes sends Holmes and his stalwart partner Watson on their latest challenge. Revealing fighting skills as lethal as his legendary intellect, Holmes will battle as never before to bring down an evil cult leader named Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) and unravel a deadly plot that could destroy the country.

You can watch the latest trailer by clicking here!

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It’s been 5 months since we got our first look at moving footage from Sherlock Holmes so it’s about time we got a new trailer. This one is slightly darker than the first one and contains more action, more slo-mo fights and more Holmes/Watson flirting.

Sherlock Holmes will be released on Christmas Day and is directed by Guy Ritchie.

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You know how ready the world is for a Sherlock Holmes movie from Guy Richie, Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law and Rachel McAdams? They’re already gearing up for a sequel, that’s how ready.

The movie doesn’t come out until Christmas this year, but already Warner Bros has brought on some writers to start scripting the sequel, according to Risky Business:

The studio is poised to bring on Kieran and Michele Mulroney, the scribes who are penning its “Justice League: Mortal” tentpole, to pen a draft of the new tale. Brad Pitt has had discussions with producers to star as Holmes’ nemesis Moriarty in the new pic, say people familiar with the project, though there is no deal in place for him to take the part.

Susan Downey, Dan Lin, Joel Silver and Lionel Wigram produced “Holmes,” a holiday release that, from well-received footage at Comic-Con, appears to be an action-heavy rendition of the world Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created.

Guy Ritchie helms the pic, and Downey stars as the title character; Jude Law plays protege Watson, and Rachel McAdams stars as love interest Irene Adler. Much of the talent is expected to return in the new pic, as could Ritchie as director.

The kicker in this news is the rumors that Brad Pitt has already flown to London to shoot a few scenes as Moriarty for the first Sherlock. Counter-acting those rumors are statements from people who have seen part of the movie, or claim to be in the know, saying that Moriarty only appears in the first film as a shadow and you can’t tell who the actor is.

Prediction? Speculation? How about this: if they are writing film 2 now and can turn out a script before early December, couldn’t Warners lock Pitt for the sequel then cut in a shot of his face?

That’s what I do if I were a studio.

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