Hope Davis, James Rebhorn & Olga Fonda Join Shawn Levy's 'Real Steel'

Hope Davis, James Rebhorn and Olga Fonda have joined the cast of Shawn Levy’s upcoming sci-fi actioner, “Real Steel.”

Set in a futuristic world where the sport of boxing is outlawed on account of its violence and replaced by gladiatorial robots, the film follows a former boxer and down-on-his-luck promoter as he gets one last shot at a comeback, teaming up with his long-lost son to train the perfect contender.

The semi-interesting tale is based on Richard Matheson’s short story “Steel” (also adapted into a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode starring Lee Marvin in the lead role), but now with the added father-son twist it may have a somewhat over-killing emotional core. We’re sure its box office prospects won’t be affected though with Hugh Jackman taking the lead role and family film/box office master Levy at the helm. The flick also boasts big name producers such as Don Murphy, Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis which, considering the story’s involvement of 2000-pound robots, probably means Levy has the finest special effects teams at his disposal.

Co-starring will be the likes of Dakota Goyo as Jackman’s son, Evangeline Lilly as Jackman’s friend, Kevin Durand and the accomplished Anthony Mackie as rival promoters and the aforementioned Davis, Rebhorn and Fonda in unknown roles. Production is set to begin next month from a script by John Gatins.