Lily Collins Drops Out of 'Evil Dead,' Warner Bros.'s adaptation of 'Elfquest' Hits the Skids

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A quick update on a few castings we have previously reported.

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Lilly Collins, star of Relativity's upcoming Snow White movie Mirror Mirror, has dropped out of the Evil Dead remake. Fede Alvarez, the South American director behind the hot short Panic Attack, is helming the movie, which is being produced by Sam Raimi, who directed the original three movies, Bruce Campbell, who starred in the originals, and Rob Tapert.

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Collins had the offer and was in talks to star as young woman trying to kick a drug habit when demons far scarier than addiction rear their heads. Dealmaking stalled due to “scheduling issues."

Meanwhile, Javier Bardem was in talks to voice the lead bad guy in Despicable Me 2, the sequel to Universal and Illumination’s surprise 2010 hit. He was going to voice a villain called El Macho but the two sides have parted ways and the part is now up for grabs.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ adaptation of the hit cult comic Elfquest is no longer embarking on a quest. Rawson Thurber was attached to direct the movie, which Hollywood has long tried to bring to the screen. The project had been set up at Warners since 2008.

The comic’s co-creator Wendy Pini wrote on Elfquest’s Facebook page: “After close to four years of suspense – and longer than four years of your much-appreciated interest and support – the word has come down from Warner Bros. And the word is “no.” Their simple explanation is that they don’t want to compete with The Hobbit. This was a possibility, among several, that we were prepared for. It is a relief, at last, to know.”

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com

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