Emma Stone Could Join The Gangster Squad, and 5 Other Stories You'll Be Talking About Today

Also in this Wednesday edition of The Broadsheet: Ron Howard won't direct the next Dan Brown adaptation... Nicolas Cage and John Cusack may get Frozen... a pair of familiar faces rejoin the Bourne franchise (not Matt Damon)... and more ahead.

· After casting seemingly every available leading man in Hollywood for a role in The Gangster Squad, it appears Warner Bros. and Ruben Fleischer have finally found a lady. Variety reports that Emma Stone is in talks to reunite with her Zombieland director for the role of Jean, a "sharp-tongued siren" who has a relationship with both mobster Sean Penn and copper Ryan Gosling. Sultry! (Judging from the chemistry Stone has with Gosling in Crazy Stupid Love, here's guessing she winds up with the good guy.) Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi and Michael Pena all co-star. [Variety]

· Broadsheet patron saint Ron Howard will apparently not direct the Universal adaptation of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. Howard will stay on in a producer's capacity while the studio looks for someone new. [Deadline]

· If you were told John Cusack and Nicolas Cage were in talks for roles in The Frozen Ground -- about a family man who kidnaps girls and takes them to the Alaskan wilderness where he hunts them for sport, and the tireless state trooper who helps bring him down -- who do you think would be playing the killer? If you guessed Cusack, you're right? Looks that way! Newcomer Scott Walker wrote the script for The Frozen Ground, which is actually based on Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen. [Deadline]

· Albert Finney and Joan Allen are in talks to rejoin the cast of The Bourne Legacy, reviving the roles they played in the franchise previously. Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton and Oscar Isaac are already onboard this train. Matt Damon is not. [Variety]

· Speaking of supporting roles, Nick Nolte may join Shia LaBeouf and Robert Redford in the political potboiler The Company You Keep. [Variety]

· Finally, some television news with movie implications: Oscar-nominated director Frank Darabont has stepped down as showrunner on the AMC hit series The Walking Dead. [Deadline]