Aragorn’s History Of Violence

It's been a good five minutes since we did a story touching on the cast or crew of The Lord of the Rings, so we thought it was time to bring you an update on their activities. Viggo Mortensen has signed on to star in A History of Violence for director David Cronenberg, which sounds suspiciously like a match made in heaven from where we're sitting. A History of Violence is based on the graphic novel of the same name by John Wagner, about a small-town family man leading a quiet and blameless life. When he thwarts a robbery and is feted by the press, some highly unsavoury types see him and suspect that he is a former colleague who disappeared underground years before. The film will be Cronenberg's first since 2002's Spider, and he certainly seems like the ideal person to take on the famously violent book. Mortensen, fresh from plenty of ass kicking in that obscure little trilogy he starred in, should fit in nicely as the quiet man with a dark side. Mortensen will follow this film with another interesting project - Alatriste for Spanish director Agustin Diaz Yanes. It's the story of Captain Alatriste, a Spanish solider-turned-mercenary and a heroic figure from the country's 16th century imperial wars. Mortensen will be starring there with Spanish actress Elena Anaya, with the badly educated (but only in his films) Gael Garcia Bernal in talks to join them. Meanwhile, there is a slight hiccup for Lord of the Rings fans, with reports that the Extended Edition has been delayed until early December, rather than the November release slot occupied by the other two extended versions. Apparently, it has been rather harder to reassemble the cast for commentaries this year, since they no longer have summer reshoots to do and are scattered across the globe, working on other projects. Still, it should still arrive in time for our Christmas stockings, so there's no need to worry too much.