'Red Dawn' recruits Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki

Josh Peck and Arianne Palicki just got a nice career break by joining the cast of "Red Dawn."

Credit: AP Photo/Gus Ruelas/Dan Steinberg

The remake of "Red Dawn" is gaining steam as the MGM/United Artists production announced that two more actors have come on board the insurgency thriller.

Joining previously announced Chris Hemsworth, who is playing the role of Jed originated by Patrick Swayze in the 1984 cult classic, are Josh Peck and Adrianne Palicki.  According to EW.com, Peck will play Matt Eckert the loose cannon younger brother of Hemsworth's Jed and the star quarterback of the high school football team.  As Toni, Palicki takes over for Jennifer Grey as the tough fighter who falls for Jed.  Still unclear is who will play the parts of Robert and Erica, portrayed by C. Thomas Howell and Lea Thompson in the 80s version.

Unlike the original "Dawn," it's not just the Russians who are invading American soil.  This time the Chinese have joined the fray and its up to this band of renegade teens to take to the mountains to fight them off.

This is the second major "adult" role for Peck who is best known for his Nickelodeon series "Drake and Josh," but who made a splash in the indie "The Wackness" last year.  He'll be heard next month as the voice of Eddie in "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."

Palicki stars on "Friday Night Lights" and will appear in the Screen Gems thriller "Legion" in January, 2010. 

Hemsworth has gained fame by snagging the role of "Thor" in Marvel Studios adaptation of the classic comic book.  He'll also appear in MGM's "Cabin in the Woods."

The new "Dawn" will be the directorial debut of Dan Bradley, a stunt coordinator and second unit director on "The Bourne Ultimatum."  Production on "Dawn" is expected to begin in September.  The film already has a Sept. 24, 2010 release date.