••• Cult fave The Tick is to return with a new live-action series for Amazon. The original live-action superhero spoof only lasted nine episodes in 2001 (an animated series fared better with three seasons in 1994-6) but its superhero silliness had an impact and influence that punched above its weight (and made creator Ben Edlund the go-to scriptwriter for comedy-episodes-that-were-actually-funny on shows like Angel, Supernatural and Gotham). Edlund is back as writer and exec producer on the new show, which has yet to cast its star, but has cast two of the support sidekicks:  Griffin Newman (Vinyl) is set to play Arthur Everest, the Tick’s moth-themed sidekick, and Valorie Curry (House of Lies, The Following) has been cast as his sister Dot Everest. [via Deadline]

••• New poster for Captain America: Civil War. Shame they couldn’t have Photoshopped in Spider-Man dangling from a web… Click on the image for a much larger version:

••• Variety reports the young actor Tom Taylor (minor credits in Doctor Foster, The Last Kingdom, Legends) has been cast in the pivotal role of Roland Deschain’s protege Jake Chambers in the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series of books.

••• America Olivo (Chicago PD) and British actor Mark Leslie Ford have nabbed regular roles in the CW’s Untitled Mars Project pilot that’s being showrun by Reign’s Doris Egan (Reign). The series follows a team of explorers who arrive on Mars to join the first human colony on the planet, only to discover that their predecessors have vanished. Olivo will play Captain Gautier, one of the mission leaders. Ford will play Friedman, a director and documentarist hired to capture the recruiting process and mission to Mars. [via Deadline]

••• Cote de Pablo (NCIS) is in negotiations to play the female lead in US Syfy’s Prototype, an SF thriller pilot written by Tony Basgallop (24: Live Another Day). Jack Davenport (Pirates Of The Caribbean) has already been cast. De Pablo would play Laura Kale, a driven, extremely intelligent mother of two who’s excited about a potentially world-changing machine being developed by herself and two partners. Propelled by a shot at glory, she is not about to give up despite numerous setbacks.

••• Variety reports that the usually-great-but-pretty-awful-as-Blofeld Christoph Waltz has joined the cast of Alexander (Nebraska) Payne’s sci-fi movie Downsizing. The satirical sci-fi film, which stars Reese Witherspoon, Matt Damon and Neil Patrick Harris, is about a husband and wife who, deciding that their lives have gotten out of hand, decide to voluntarily have themselves shrunk. Unfortunately for the man, his wife backs out at the last minute.

••• According to Deadline, Halle Berry is in talks to play the head of the CIA in the sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service. Interesting the piece also mentions it would be a two-picture deal so it looks like Kingsman 3 is also a possibility. Julianne Moore is in talks to play the film’s villain.