Orlando Bloom & James Corden Join Cast of Three Musketeers

Paul W.S. Anderson’s Three Musketeer’s cast just keeps growing and growing.  According to The Hollywood Reporter, Orlando Bloom and British actor James Cordon have signed on to the film, which is set to go before cameras later this summer.

This is the first big studio project Bloom has appeared in since 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, but he won’t be straying too far from his swashbuckling training for the part. Bloom will play the Duke of Buckingham, arch-enemy of the Musketeers. James Corden (Gavin and Stacey) will be playing Planchet, a servant for the Musketeers, who will almost no doubt serve up the comic relief for the film.  They join the ensemble cast that includes Ray Stevenson as Porthos, Matthew MacFadyen as Athos, Luke Evans as Aramis, Logan Lerman as D’Artagnan, Christoph Waltz as Cardinal Richelieu, Mads Mikkelsen as Rochefort and Milla Jovovich as Milady De Winter.  Juno Temple is also being eyed for the role of the young queen.

Paul W.S. Anderson will be working from a script by Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’s Diary) and Alex Litvak (Predators) and will be shot in 3D for Summit Entertainment with a summer 2011 release date. Anderson has stated that his version of the Three Musketeers will have a more contemporary feel:

“We are definitely modernising The Three Musketeers without compromising the fun of shooting a period piece. In our film, corsets and feathered hats don’t take center stage. Our version is rich in eye-popping action, romance and adventure.”

Anderson’s version of the classic Dumas tale isn’t the only version coming to theaters in 2011. Warner Brothers is moving forward on another version with Doug Liman on board to direct.  Liman’s Musketeers is expected to go start shooting this fall.