Casting Net: Brad Pitt may star in General McChrystal pic

• Brad Pitt has signed on to produce and possibly star in The Operators, which chronicles the rise and fall of General Stanley McChrystal during his time as commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. David Michôd (Animal Kingdom, The Rover) will direct and write the script based on the late Michael Hastings‘ book The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan. [Deadline]

• Helen Mirren (The Queen) is in talks to star in the Dalton Trumbo biopic Trumbo, starring Bryan Cranston as the blacklisted screenwriter. Mirren would play his wife in the Jay Roach-directed pic. [Variety]

• Bill Pullman (Independence Day) and Tony Hale (Veep) will join Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart in American Ultra, an action comedy about a stoner who becomes the target of a government operation. Nima Nourizadeh (Project X) is directing the ensemble pic, which began production in New Orleans on Monday. [Deadline]

• Johnny Depp will be appearing in Kevin Smith‘s Tusk, according to an interview with star Justin Long, who plays a journalist writing a story about an adventurer with a walrus affinity. [The Wrap; Long Island Newsday]

• Taylor Lautner (Twilight) is in talks to star in Run the Tide, an indie from director Soham Mehta about a pair of brothers who go on the run to escape their drug addict mother. [The Wrap]

• Booboo Stewart (also of the Twilight films) is attached to star in Sonata, about a talented cellist who is struggling with hearing loss and a difficult family life. No director has signed on yet. [The Wrap]