Harry Potter actor David Thewlis has joined the cast of Red 2, which includes returning actors Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich.

As The Hollywood Reporter writes, Thewlis joins other newcomers to the now-series, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Byung-hun Lee.

Thewlis plays an information dealer known as The Frog, who earned the nickname for poisoning the water supply of the Kremlin with an Amazonian frog.

Galaxy Quest helmer Dean Parisot is on board to direct Red 2, which is written by Jon and Erich Hoeber, who penned the first Red. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who seems to be everywhere lately, is producing the film for Summit Entertainment.

Thewlis, perhaps best known for his work in the Harry Potter series, has appeared in such recent films as War Horse and Anonymous.

For those unfamiliar with the original Red, the film starred Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich in a story of a former black-ops agent (Willis) who reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort for survival from a group of assailants.

The film, due to start filming soon in Montreal, has a scheduled release date of August 3, 2013. Are you pleased to see Thewlis join the cast?

Anthony Hopkins

We reported back in May that Hopkins was in talks for Red 2, but was unsure whether he could do the film due to his commitment to Thor 2. It appears that this conflict has been resolved, as the trades are reporting Hopkins is on board.

Hopkins will play Edward Bailey, creator of a weapon of mass destruction called Nightshade, who Willis and company have to break out of an insane asylum. The character has been described as a villain.

We’ll continue to monitor the film as it heads into production and we get a better idea of who’s playing who. As of now, it looks like Hopkins is, in fact, on board.