Lars von Trier casts Dunst in 'Melancholia'

(AFP PHOTO / Max Nash)

Since Penelope Cruz left Melancholia to jump aboard Pirates of the Caribbean's next installment, Kirsten Dunst ( Spider-Man, Marie Antoinette) will take the lead role in the next film of Lars von Trier ( Antichrist).

A sci-fi disaster film that will shoot July through September in Southern Sweden will  bring together Charlotte Gainsbourg ( Antichrist), Kiefer Sutherland ( Monsters vs. Aliens) and Charlotte Rampling. Stellan Skarsgaard ( Angels and Demons), Alexander Skarsgaard and Udo Kier are also cast.

Dunst will star next in All Good Things with Ryan Gosling. Her short film "Bastard" will premiere at the Tribeca Film Fest and be screened at Cannes.

Kiefer Sutherland, star of the hit US television show 24, which ends this season, may see a film version of the series. Rampling appears next in Never Let Me Go with Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley.

RC