Film News: Danny Trejo talks Muppets and Machete, Fantastic Four and Star Wars casting rumours, and more

DANNY TREJO SPEAKS: MUPPETS, MACHETE, BULLET AND MORE
Dany Trejo is the star of Machete and a cult figure in action movie circles both for his ubiquity (he has over 250 credits on IMDB), and his ability to play no-nonsense badasses. Slowly moving from a career as a bit-part player in obscure and low-budget films to a bona fide star with his own franchise, Trejo has come a long way from his drug and crime-ridden past, going on to become one of the most recognisable actors in American cinema, largely thanks to featuring in the films of Robert Rodriguez, who went on to direct him in Machete. In an interview with Den of Geek this week, Trejo held forth on his leading role in Machete and its follow-up Machete Kills, his recent turn in Muppets Most Wanted, and another recent lead role, in Nick Lyon's Bullet.

Speaking about Bullet, Trejo confesses he's happy to finally be playing the good guy and not the villain: "I love defeating the bad guys, because I played the bad guy for so long and with Bullet I got to play with a couple of great actors, which is always a lot of fun," he tells Den of Geek. Trejo also called bullshit on Hollywood stars claiming to do their own stunts (cough, Tom Cruise, cough), saying: "Insurance companies won’t let the lead do stunts, and then I don’t want to risk a hundred and fifty people's jobs, just so I can say I got big nuts on a late talk show, you know what I mean? If a stunt guy gets hurt, you put him on a stretcher and the next minute you’re ready to go."

On his iconic role as Machete, Trejo reveals how far his identification with the role went, saying: "Even my Mom was calling me Machete!" He also praises Machete director Rodrigues, saying: "Robert Rodriguez has done more for the independent film company than anybody in the last fifty years." He remembers meeting Rodriguez for the first time: "We started on Desperado and I went in to meet him and when I walked into his office he said, 'Wow! You remind me of the bad guys in my high school.' And I said 'I am the bad guy in your high school!'"

Trejo also discusses his role in Muppets Most Wanted, saying: "I never thought I’d be doing a song from Chorus Line in my life, but wait till you hear me sing... I do this duet, this single with Ray Liotta and we dance the theme from Chorus Line, it’s amazing!" Read the interview in full here.

THE RUMOUR MILL: STAR WARS AND FANTASTIC FOUR CASTING RUMOURS, NEW CONSTANTINE ACTOR – FIRST LOOK, KEELEY HAWES AND MICHAEL SMILEY JOIN DOCTOR WHO, DEXTER FLETCHER QUITS FREDDIE MERCURY BIOPIC
The latest from the Star Wars VII camp has five actors vying for the lead role in J.J. Abrams continuation of the classic space opera, with John Boyega (Attack The Block), Ed Speelers (Downton Abbey), Ray Fisher and Matthew James Thomas joining Jesse Plemons in the running for the main Jedi / Rebel role. The film's top villain will be played by Adam Driver (Girls). Details of the roles have yet to be revealed. Abrams, speaking to Variety, says that although he is still looking for actors, "these names have moved to the top of the list in recent weeks."

The new Fantastic Four movie helmed by Josh Trank (Chronicle) faced nerd-rage last week following the news that Michael B. Jordan would play Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch – the first black actor to take on the role. Now, rumours have emerged about the actors in line to essay the role of Doctor Doom, the series' main villain. According to Variety, the actors lined up so far are Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables), Sam Riley (Control, On The Road), Toby Kebbell (Dead Man's Shoes) and Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter).

The internet got a first look at Matt Ryan as John Constantine in the new, David S. Goyer and Daniel Cerone-penned, Neil Marshall-directed pilot for the show based on the DC Comics magician, and previously played by Keanu Reeves. Comics Alliance has the leaked shot of Ryan in costume, and an official press shot from Warner Brothers.

The rather magnificent Keeley Hawes, last seen in grim BBC procedural Line of Duty, has been cast as a major villain in the forthcoming series of Doctor Who, playing a mysterious character with a dark secret by the name of Ms. Delphox, according to Den of Geek. Last week, Den of Geek also reported rumours that Ben Wheatley regular Michael Smiley will join the Who cast as a character named Colonel Blue, most likely in the first two episodes, which Wheatley helms.

And finally, it appears director Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine on Leith) has quit the forthcoming Freddie Mercury biopic - the Ben Whishaw-starring project already lost its original star, Sacha Baron-Cohen, due to the oft-cited "creative differences" Feltcher gave as his reason for departure, leaving the film without a director, according to Deadline.

TRAILERS: THE QUIET ONES, MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS
Jared Harris, a fantastic actor who gave a memorable turn as Moriarty in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, stars in the new film from the revitalised Hammer studios, playing a professor experimenting with supernatural forces. With a decidedly retro feel nodding to Hammer productions of old, combined with the 'based on a true story' reportage style so popular with American horror directors in the past few years, The Quiet Ones looks like a classy, quintessentially British take on the possession chiller. 

Here's the trailer for Mistaken For Strangers, the new tour documentary following in the footsteps of indie darlings The National as they head out on an epic tour. Looking at the rise of the band in a media-saturated world, and the pressures brought to bear on the members as they move from city to city playing shows, this looks like it could be one of the more interesting and creatively-shot 'rockumentaries' of recent years, with the bulk of the footage filmed by Tom Berninger, brother of the band's singer Matt Berninger. At any rate, it's bound to be a better watch than the One Direction concert film.