Following the news that broke last week regarding Nicolas Cage's departure from Sony' currently-in-production Green Hornet movie (although it's still unclear as to whether he ever signed on the dotted line, even though rumours suggest that it was the size of the paypacket that caused Cage and the Hornet to go separate ways), the film's casting team have moved quickly to plug the gap.

Cage was set to play the film's villain, and with the cameras already already rolling, it wasn't the biggest leap of faith to suggest that fresh casting news would be following shortly. And it has. Hot off the back of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, the role of Chudnofsky in The Green Hornet has now gone to Christoph Waltz.

He therefore joins Cameron Diaz, Seth Rogen, Jay Chou and the peerless Edward James Olmos in the cast, all under the stewardship of director Michel Gondry.

Another piece of Green Hornet news, meanwhile, has seen the release of the film pushed back from its original summer 2010 slot to the end of the year. It's currently slated for release in the US on 17th December 2010, with a UK date to be confirmed. This puts it in a Christmas blockbuster battle with Disney's Tron Legacy, which is due out on the same date.

Wonder if one of them will blink, or if two of the season's biggest films will really be coming out on the same day? They're already both facing up to fighting Harry Potter 7, due out the month before....

The Green Hornet, barring any further bumps, will be arriving in cinemas around 17 December 2010.