Compiled by the entertainment desk with reference to official studio announcements and industry trade reports.

Comedy fans awaiting a sequel to Step Brothers will have to keep waiting, but Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly are set to share the screen again in a new project. The duo will star in Holmes & Watson, a comedic take on the classic detective duo, with Ferrell playing Sherlock Holmes and Reilly as Dr. Watson. Directed by Etan Cohen, the film is slated to begin production later this year, though no release date or setting has been announced. Sony Pictures is behind the project.

In other casting news, Keira Knightley is attached to star in The Aftermath, an adaptation of the best-selling novel, with Alexander Skarsgård also in talks to appear. The film, which Fox Searchlight acquired after a competitive bidding war, is set in post-war Germany. Knightley is expected to play Rachael, who reunites with her husband, a British colonel tasked with rebuilding Hamburg. Their reunion takes an unexpected turn when they are forced to share their home with a German widower and his troubled daughter. Jason Clarke is in negotiations for a role, which could place him as either the husband or the widower. James Kent, known for Testament of Youth and episodes of American Crime and 11.22.63, will direct from a script by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel, who previously wrote Race. Ridley Scott is attached as a producer.

Knightley is also set to appear in Disney's live-action adaptation of The Nutcracker, titled The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. She will play the Sugar Plum Fairy, alongside Mackenzie Foy, Morgan Freeman, and Misty Copeland. The film, based on E.T.A. Hoffman's 1816 story, is being adapted by Ashleigh Powell and directed by Lasse Hallström, known for Chocolat. Mark Gordon is producing. Knightley has prior experience with Disney, having appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. She will next be seen in Collateral Beauty, set for release in December, opposite Will Smith and Kate Winslet.

Disney's Live-Action Remakes Continue

Disney is also developing a live-action version of The Little Mermaid, with Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of Hamilton, and songwriter Alan Menken teaming up to write the music. The film will follow the familiar story of a mermaid who makes a deal with a sea witch to pursue a human love interest. While no casting has been announced, the project is expected to attract popular talent. Meanwhile, Working Title is moving forward with its own mermaid project, a Little Mermaid adaptation starring Chloe Grace Moretz, through Universal. The simultaneous development of two mermaid films suggests a potential box office clash, but both studios appear committed to their respective takes.