Just recently we found out that Dwayne Johnson would be replacing Brendan Fraser in the sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, currently being called Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

Johnson will be playing the boyfriend of returning star Josh Hutcherson‘s mother, who accompanies the young explorer on his journey to a mysterious island to find his missing grandfather…a grandfather who at the time was not yet cast. Today that has changed. We now know who will be joining the cast to play this missing grandfather, and that man is Sir Michael Caine.

Many would think that this new role would be a brief one for Caine, but fear not, the knighted actor will have his share of screen time and action sequences. According to reports, he’ll be involved in a few chase scenes, including one with a swarm of massive bees. If he can help take down a shark, he can handle a few bees says this observer.

The 77-year-old Caine joins the cast and director Brad Peyton, whose previous films include Cats & Dogs 2: Revenge of Kitty Galore and a collection of short titles. The Mysterious Island is written by Richard Outten (Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, Pet Sematary II) and cousins Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn (brother and cousin to Slither director James Gunn).

Journey 2 is loosely based on Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island, and will begin filming soon in Hawaii and North Carolina for release in 3D on September 23, 2011.

[Source: Heat Vision]