Ophelia Lovibond Joins Jim Carrey In 'Mr Popper's Penguins'; Is The Film The First Of A Trilogy?

While the Noah Baumbach-helmed version remains one of the more intriguing what-could-have-beens of this year, we've still got hopes that the upcoming adaptation of picturebook classic "Mr. Popper's Penguins" could be an above-average kids' flick. Star Jim Carrey, who took over from Ben Stiller, is likely to be in his element, and, while Mark Waters has made a brace of terrible rom-coms ("Just Like Heaven," "Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past"), his family films ("Freaky Friday," "The Spiderwick Chronicles") have been above average.

Based on Richard and Florence Atwater's book, the film follows Carrey as a high-powered businessman who inherits six penguins. Carla Gugino joined the cast last week, possibly as Carrey's love interest, although we're going to hazard a guess and say she'll be his ex-wife, and now rising star, and possessor of both the best fringe and the silliest name in the business, Ophelia Lovibond, has also come on board, in the role of Carrey's PA, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Lovibond's not yet well-known, but she's been on the rise for a while, with roles in "Nowhere Boy," Noel Clarke's "4321," and Hideo Nakata's "Chatroom" in the UK in the last year, as well as in William Monahan's "London Boulevard." She's starting to make a splash in the States too, making her US debut as Kevin Kline's much younger girlfriend in the rom-com "No Strings" coming up in January, and she was one of the names linked to the love-interest role in the "Spider-Man" reboot a few months back.

While we're on the subject, Australian site What's Happening suggests that 20th Century Fox are hoping that the film will be their next big franchise, and that young actors auditioning for the role of Carrey's son in the film are being told that they'll be expected to sign a three-film contract. We wouldn't take this to mean that an elaborate trilogy is already plotted out, however: these days, this is standard practice with any film that could conceivably be sequelized. So, interesting, but don't book your tickets for "Mr. Popper's Penguins With A Vengeance" just yet.