Monday film news roundup: Disney acquires Marvel; Justin Baldoni joins 'Barry Minkow' cast

Here are the latest film news from across the Web and the trades for Monday, Aug. 31, 2009:

• Big news this morning, as Walt Disney is set to acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. As Variety points out, this deal will give Disney ownership of more than 5,000 Marvel characters. At this stage, the deal still requires an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

• Justin Baldoni is set to star in Bruce Caulk's upcoming "Barry Minkow." Written by Jonathan Meyers, the plot follows a teenage entrepreneur who ends up in prison after running a Ponzi scheme. After his time in jail, he becomes a pastor working with the FBI. James Caan, Armand Assante, Mark Hamill and Ving Rhames co-star. (THR)

• Jerry Bruckheimer has acquired the rights to "Shake," a short story by Derek Haas, whose credits include "3:10 to Yuma" and "Wanted." The story follows an FBI agent who chases a killer and begins to lose control of his own body. (THR)

• Maggie Grace from "Lost" and "Taken" is in talks to join James Mangold's untitled Wichita flick, which also stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The story follows a woman's journey across the world with a spy who's trying to protect a battery that holds the key to a massive powers source. Grace plays the woman's sister. (THR)

• Bokeem Woodbine, Peter Jason, Noah Bean and Deborah Ann Woll have joined Josh Lucas, Terrence Howard and Lake Bell in Peter Antonijevic's thriller "Little Murder." The story, written by Gerald Di Pego and Justin Di Pego, focuses on a New Orleans cop looking for the killer of a cellist with the help of the victim's ghost. (THR)