Seasoned veteran actor Liam Neeson has joined the cast of Battleship, the movie based on the popular board game of the same name that sees players calling out locations in hopes of striking and sinking their opponents strategically placed fleet.

Neeson will play a Naval officer named Admiral Shane, whose daughter (played by model Brooklyn Decker) is engaged to a young officer played by lead Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, John Carter of Mars). Also starring in the film is Alexander SkarsgÃ¥rd (True Blood, Zoolander), who will play Kitsch’s brother, and pop star Rihanna.

Another member has been added to the cast of Peter Berg‘s board game/alien invasion film, Battleship. The actor isn’t actually an actor or actress by trade at all, but a big time pop music superstar, and her name is Rihanna.

The job will mark Rihanna’s feature acting debut, and she joins previously cast talents Taylor Kitsch, who will play the lead role, and Alexander SkarsgÃ¥rd, who will play his brother. The screenplay is written by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber, and is currently aiming at a June 18, 2012 release date.

Eric Northam was a Viking in his day. Hundreds of years later, he’s a vampire sheriff, and one of the more popular characters on HBO’s hit show, True Blood.

Eric is played on the show by the massive Swedish actor, Alexander Skarsgård, son of Stellan Skarsgård, who now has himself a new job. Skarsgård has been cast in the upcoming Hasbro board game-turned feature film, Battleship.

In the movie, SkarsgÃ¥rd will play a naval officer and sibling to Taylor Kitsch‘s character — also a naval officer — who’s close to and looks up to his brother. If you’ll recall, Kitsch was cast in the lead role back in April after things didn’t quite work out with Jeremy Renner.

Before X-Men Origins: Wolverine, we didn’t know much about Taylor Kitsch, and even since his turn as the Southern gambling mutant, Gambit, we haven’t seen him often. But what Kitsch has done since then, is set himself up for some major stardom.

It’s being reported that Taylor Kitsch has been cast to star in Peter Berg‘s feature based on the popular board game, Battleship, in which players strategically place their fleet of ships, and then proceed to fire back and forth at each other until someone’s fleet has been completely submerged. The project is one of a handful of currently in-development films based on Hasbro games and toys.

We all know that Taylor Lautner has been Mr. Popular since Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon have hit theaters. Job offers and casting announcements have come often, including for roles in teen superhero project Max Steel, a possible remake of Vision Quest, and the latest announcement that he would become Stretch Armstrong in the new toy-turned-movie project.

Along with other films like Abduction, Cancun, and of course The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, it appears this onslaught of jobs was just a little too much for the 18-year-old actor, and he has decided to step away from the Max Steel role. Lautner also walked away from a film called Northern Lights recently as well.