.
.
Are you familiar with Taylor Kitsch? The young star who rose to fame playing the brooding high school football star Tim Riggins on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, and then later appeared as “Gambit” in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, is now set to star in director Peter Berg’s big screen adaptation of the classic board came BATTLESHIP. This film is said to take place on water, with the following as a brief synopsis – “a massive Naval adventure across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force.” Superior force? Can you guess? Well, the answer is aliens from another planet known as The Regents. According to SlashFilm:
They come from a world similar to ours, and aren’t actually looking to take over humanity or the planet Earth. Instead, they’re on a mission to build a power source in the ocean, which is where they come in contact with a navy fleet. The film will also show us both sides of the story—from the aliens’ perspective, as well as the humans.
Berg, who has proved his skills handling action with films like THE RUNDOWN and HANCOCK, also has a connection with Kitsch, as it was in fact Berg who produced, developed and even directed the pilot episode of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS for NBC. Taylor will be the star of BATTLESHIP, playing “Alex Hopper”, the Commanding Officer of a destroyer who is in charge of a team of five trusted shipmates which include the XO, a female Japanese commander, and a Scotty-like chief engineer. At one point Jeremy Renner (THE HURT LOCKER) was going to play Kitsch’s part, but couldn’t as the result of a scheduling conflict. The movie is written by WHITEOUT scribes Jon and Erich Hoeber, and is already scheduled for release on May 25, 2012. Kitsch is also starring (as the title character) in the upcoming JOHN CARTER OF MARS movie, so expect him to follow in the footsteps of current genre king Sam Worthington. Now why can’t someone throw Scott Porter a bone? Hell, Porter is a HUGE comic fan, and Kitsch has already scored two roles Scott would’ve made a LOT more sense for, if for no other reason than his geek knowledge. No offense to Taylor, I just wish Porter would catch one of these big breaks. Someone tell Peter Berg.
Sources: HeatVision – SlashFilm
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
