Bacon becomes Supers villain

Remember when Kevin Bacon was cool? Well, he could be set to reclaim his mojo - with a little help from his friends, of course.

Having threatened a comeback with underappreciated turns in The Woodsman and Frost/Nixon , the Footloose star has now bagged himself the role that could finally send him spinning back into the mainstream.

Joining Ellen Page and Liv Tyler in action comedy Super , Bacon will play Jacques, the villainous foil to superhero Crimson Bolt (Rainn Wilson).

Wilson’s everyman is average through and through. Until his wife (Tyler) falls for smooth criminal Jacques. Deciding to take crime-fighting into his own hands, Wilson becomes Crimson Bolt. The only catch is that he doesn’t have any actual powers.

It all sounds slightly Kick-Ass , but Super could also genuinely kick ass in the hands of director James Gunn, whose Slither remains one of the horror highlights of 2006.

"Kevin Bacon is one of the few actors nimble enough to give life to Jacques, our supervillain with a nice streak,” says Gunn. “We need to love Jacques even while he’s doing horrible things – Kevin is one of the only actors I know who can pull that off.”

Shooting on Super commenced in Shreveport, Louisiana this week (yes, the week before Christmas).

Not seen Slither ? Here’s a taster...

Excited for Super ? Post your comments below...

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.