Oscar-Winning Composers Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross Will Score ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’

In early August, Paramount is releasing the latest incarnation of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” with their all-new animated film “Mutant Mayhem.” They’ve also put together one hell of a voice cast but that isn’t the only big draw for the upcoming soft-reboot as they’ve enlisted some series talent to help put the film’s score together.

After reports (via RollingStone and PitchFork) that iconic skateboarder Tony Hawk leaked the news about Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (“Watchmen”) working on the film’s score on a podcast. It was later backed-up by both director Jeff Rowe and producer/co-writer Seth Rogen on their official social media account expressing their excitement having the two Oscar-winners composing the score.

The film’s supporting cast is rather spectacular with Ayo Edebiri as April O’Neil, Jackie Chan as Splinter, Rogen as Bebop, John Cena as Rocksteady, Giancarlo Esposito as Baxter Stockman, Hannibal Buress as Genghis Frog, Ice Cube as Superfly, Paul Rudd as Mondo Gecko, Natasia Demetriou as Wingnut, Rose Byrne as Leatherhead, Maya Rudolph as Cynthia Utrom, and Post Malone as Ray Fillet. Alongside the youngsters tapped to voice the turtles such as Micah Abbey as Donatello, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, and Brady Noon as Raphael.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is set to be released in theaters on August 2 and is starting to look like it might end up becoming a good contender for best animated film nominations. This idea stems from Rowe’s last effort “The Mitchells vs The Machines” landing an Oscar nomination in 2022 and in 2021 Reznor/Ross’ film “Soul” from Pixar earned them awards statues for Best Score alongside fellow composer Jon Batiste.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

SOURCE: JEFF ROWE/SETH ROGEN

Rebecca Ferguson To Star In Skydance’s Fantasy Revenge Flick ‘Best Served Cold’ From ‘Deadpool’ Director Tim Miller

“Deadpool” and “Terminator: Dark Fate” director Tim Miller has finally found his next big feature film project after spending his time recently on the acclaimed animated anthology series “Love Death + Robots” at Netflix that he co-produces with David Fincher. The new project is based on the fantasy revenge novel “Best Served Cold” from author Joe Abercrombie and landed an A-list actress to lead it.

Deadline has revealed that Rebecca Ferguson has been enlisted to play the film’s heroine. Ferguson is no stranger to genre projects becoming a main staple of the “Mission Impossible” franchise along with the two “Dune” films. She’ll play the legendary mercenary Monza Murcatto, who is the aforementioned revenge seeker of the story. Abercrombie has also penned the script and has previously worked with Miller on “Love Death + Robots.”

There have been nineteen years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king. War may be hell but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso’s employ, it’s a damn good way of making money too. Her victories have made her popular – a shade too popular for her employer’s taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain and left for dead, Murcatto’s reward is a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Whatever the cost, seven men must die. Her allies include Styria’s least reliable drunkard, Styria’s most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers and a Northman who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. And that’s all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started…

While an actual distributor home isn’t named in the report, Skydance has been expanding it’s reach on streaming services such as Apple, Netflix, and Amazon. They do still put out theatrical releases for Paramount Pictures but there is a really good chance this project does end up on streaming. Given Ferguson’s hit series “Silo” is an Apple TV+ success, we shouldn’t be terrible shocked if it lands there.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘How To Train Your Dragon’: Universal’s Live-Action Remake Casts Mason Thames & Nico Parker In Lead Roles

Universal Pictures is putting together a live-action remake of the DreamWorks Animation fantasy films “How To Train Your Dragon” and it’s already slated by to be released on March 14, 2025 with Dean DeBlois set to direct. While there has been some early casting rumors, it looks like Universal has found their two big leads.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has recruited Mason Thames (“The Black Phone”) to play the film’s main protagonists, Hiccup, while “The Last of Us” actress Nico Parker has been tapped to play Astrid. The young actors are the first of many casting additions and we’re expecting to learn more names in the coming weeks/months.

In those original films, Hiccup is a son of a great Viking warrior/lead and is pretty much reluctant to follow in his father’s footsteps as a killer of dragons. When Hiccup discovers a rare dragon type he’s able to able train his new found friend in secret and starts to question the deadly relationship his village has with the dragons.

The film’s story originates from the book penned by British author Cressida Cowell. And with twelve full novels in the series, there is plenty of source material for Universal to pull from beyond those DreamWorks movies. That’s if they want to sort of do their own thing instead of making exact copies of the animated incarnations.

It’ll be interesting to see who else will be cast in the film, specifically as Hiccup’s father Stoick The Vast, the chief of the Hooligan Tribe. Stay tuned for more casting updates on the project as they come in.

Hiccup is a Norse teenager from the island of Berk, where fighting dragons is a way of life. His progressive views and weird sense of humor make him a misfit, despite the fact that his father is chief of the clan. Tossed into dragon-fighting school, he endeavors to prove himself as a true Viking, but when he befriends an injured dragon he names Toothless, he has the chance to plot a new course for his people’s future.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

WB’s ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Casts Johnny Cage, Jade & Princess Kitana

Fans of the “Mortal Kombat” video game franchise learned this month of a bit of shakeup as the upcoming release of “Mortal Kombat 1” is expected to be a hard reboot rather than a continuation. When it comes to the theatrical side, New Line Cinema is putting together a new cast for their second new live-action film that sees director Simon McQuoid and producer James Wan returning for “Mortal Kombat 2.”

The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively revealed that the latest casting addition will be Adeline Rudolph (“Hellboy: The Crooked Man”) as Princess Kitana joining her “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” co-star Tati Gabrielle (“Uncharted”) who plays the deadly Jade and Kiwi actor Karl Urban (“The Boys”) as beloved big-mouth Hollywood action star, Johnny Cage.

If you’re not familiar with the video game lore a group of skilled fighters from Earth realm have to protect it from a group of monstrous and god-like fighters from Outworld that will eventually gain complete control over our realm if they win a certain amount of to-the-death tournaments. The video game first burst onto the scene in the early 1990s which was strictly an arcade game that eventually was ported for home consoles and was the violent competitor to Capcom’s extremely popular “Street Fighter.”

Filming will take place in Australia again like the first installment which boasted a hefty cast that included Lewis Tan (“Deadpool 2”) as Cole Young; Jessica McNamee (“The Meg”) as Sonya Blade; Josh Lawson (“Bombshell”) as Kano; Tadanobu Asano (“Kate”) as Lord Raiden; Mehcad Brooks (“Supergirl”) as Jackson “Jax” Bridges; Ludi Lin (“Aquaman”) as Liu Kang; with Chin Han (“The Dark Knight”) as Shang Tsung; Joe Taslim (“Star Trek Beyond”) as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero; and Hiroyuki Sanada (“Skyscraper”) as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion. Also featured are Max Huang as Kung Lao and Sisi Stringer as Mileena.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Lionsgate Chairman Confirms ‘John Wick 5’ In Development & Teases More Wickaverse Films

This month the “John Wick” franchise has earned an impressive $1 billion at the global box office, which is a huge achievement given the R-rated franchise has been able to increasingly grow it’s audience which each installment. The studio is already working on a handful of spinoffs but finally confirmed that a fifth installment is going ahead.

During a Lionsgate earnings call via SlashFilm, studio chairman Joseph Drake has revealed that “John Wick 5” is indeed in development and suggests even more films are coming beyond the sequel and the spinoff “Ballerina,” starring Oscar-nominee Ana de Armas.

“We’re in development on 3 others, including [John Wick 5] and including a television series, ‘The Continental,’ will be airing soon. And so we’re building out the world and when that 5 movie comes, will be an organic — will be organically grown out of how we’re starting to tell those stories. But you can rely on regular cadence with John Wick.”

On the film side, Drake stopped short of revealing what what is coming other than “Ballerina” and “John Wick 5.” However, given how “John Wick 4” ended there is an expectation we could be seeing a film about Rina Sawayama‘s Akira or Donnie Yen’s Cane as a end credit scene teases that those two will finally come to blows. There had also been previous calls from fans to give Halle Berry‘s Sofia from “John Wick 3” her own film too and Laurence Fishburne‘s Bowery King could be further explored alongside other side characters.

Keanu Reeves will appear in “Ballerina” as that film takes place in during the six months between the third and fourth movies as Wick recovers from his injuries. That spinoff is set to be released in theaters with a prime summer date of June 7, 2024.

When it comes to “John Wick 5” the last film ***SPOILER ALERT*** seemingly kills John off-screen. Although, nothing says they didn’t fake his death potentially to avoid further retribution. Then again, if Wick is indeed dead another way to go would be hand off the franchise to Ana de Armas’ Rooney, who just happens to be another assassin from the Ruska Roma. Originally, it was said that the fourth and fifth film would be shot back-to-back but that ultimately didn’t happen.

We’re unsure when exactly “John Wick 5” might begin shooting as director Chad Stahelski is likely going to pursue one of his many other films in development such as the “Highlander” reboot and his samurai flick “Ghost of Tsushima” for Sony Pictures based on the acclaimed PlayStation video game.

SOURCE: LIONSGATE

Renate Reinsve To Star Opposite Pedro Pascal In Zach Cregger’s New Horror Flick ‘Weapons’ At New Line

Last year, the twisty satirical horror film “Barbarian” made waves as filmmaker Zach Cregger made quite the critic and crowd pleasing film that not only provided some quality jump scares but also a decent commentary on modern society with was likely unexpected. The success of the streaming film led to a huge bidding war for his upcoming projects including a new “Magnolia” inspired horror film called “Weapons” that ultimately landed at New Line Cinema.

There is now some traction on the casting side of things with another interesting name being added to the original horror project. Earlier this week, it was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve (“The Worst Person In The World”) has nabbed a leading role in “Weapons” opposite Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”) in the new horror flick from Cregger.

Although, it’s unclear what their roles are and we’re still waiting on a more detailed plot synopsis as the only details about the film are sort of cryptic in nature. Then again, given the big twist of “Barbarian” it might be simply how they plan on keeping things secret until the film’s eventual theatrical release.

That aforementioned nod to Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 drama “Magnolia” is said to be more of the structure of the film as it’ll have interconnected stories taking place through the runtime, which likely means we’ll see these characters either interact at points or have some sort of connective tissue leading to the film’s climax. Whatever the actual execution or plan is for “Weapons” it certainly sounds like an ambitious endeavor on Cregger’s part.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

‘Thunderbolts’ Is Latest MCU Film Paused Due To WGA Strike, ‘Deadpool 3’ Next?

The Writers Guild of America strike is still ongoing as a deal still hasn’t been made between writers and studios. This has led to a handful of high-profile projects pausing until the strike has been resolved. One of those recent projects was Marvel’s big “Blade” reboot starring Mahershala Ali and just last night more MCU delays were announced.

Deadline revealed that both “Thunderbolts” and the Disney+ series “Wonder Man” have been paused alongside “Blade.” This is happening as writers from “Agatha: Coven of Chaos” and “Vision Quest” have been spotted on the picket line, which suggests those projects are currently without their writing staff.

“Captain America: New World Order” has been shooting in Atlanta but doesn’t look like principal photography is going to be halted for now (that could change). Although, any reshoots or pickups are said to be only taking place until after the strike is over, which makes perfect sense as those scenes tend to be rewritten or altered during the editing process.

“Deadpool 3” remains a big question mark but all signs are pointing that film is heading towards a production pause during the strike as well. There are also some rumblings from those working on the film that despite what fan sites and Twitter accounts have been claiming over the past week, “Deadpool 3” might not actually have started production and is said to begin filming sometime in June. As of this posting Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds nor Hugh Jackman have made any official announcement that filming is underway on social media accounts, which is odd as you might expect them to that given how active they are and had used social media to announce Jackman’s big return as Wolverine for the sequel. However, costume and camera tests are mostly likely what are happening at this stage ahead since cast members are only now arriving in England. It could help explain why Jackman was recently spotted in a production van with a trimmed beard but never mentioned the film.

Regardless if filming has started or not, next month is going to make shooting “Deadpool 3” even messier as the DGA deal comes to an end on June 30 and someone like guild member, Shawn Levy, isn’t expected to cross the picket line. So, it does feel like it’s only a matter of time before Marvel makes a similar announcement as they did for their other big summer productions like “Blade” and “Thunderbolts.” Given that we don’t see Marvel completing production in a month it’s not hard to imagine that “Deadpool 3” getting delayed too.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Taika Waititi May Indeed Direct Scarlett Johansson In Disney’s ‘Tower Of Terror’ Movie

Disney is looking to release a new horror-themed film “Haunted Mansion,” which is loosely based on the popular theme park attraction. That’s isn’t the only project on the horizon that is connected to the parks as there had been plans on making a “Tower of Terror” movie and there seems to be confirmations of sorts that it’s still in some sort of development at the studio.

In a recent profile of actress Scarlett Johansson, Variety briefly supports a previous report from The DisInsider that Waititi is attached to direct the horror pic for Disney as the two worked together on the WWII movie “Jojo Rabbit.” But Variety failed to give any new concrete details of when that is exactly going to happen. The ride is directly connected to the “Twilight Zone” series and would certainly be a neat way for Disney to keep making horror films.

Step uneasily inside the infamous Hollywood Tower Hotel and find a dusty lobby frozen in time. Even the subdued hotel staff seems strangely out of another era. Suddenly a television set springs to life and Rod Serling welcomes you on a journey into the Twilight Zone. He reveals that on a gloomy Halloween night in 1939, some hotel patrons were riding the elevator when a violent storm struck the building… and they were never seen again. The hotel closed down and has stood empty ever since.

There had been some assumptions that after the actress’ legal headaches with Disney over money tied to Marvel’s “Black Widow” that something like “Tower of Terror” might have soured on her. However, given that Waititi is attached it could delay things even further given how busy the filmmaker is these days with multiple films he’s already attached to including a “Star Wars” film, a remake of “Flash Gordon,” and a new sci-fi pic “Klara & The Sun.”

SOURCE: VARIETY

Kathryn Newton & Dan Stevens Nab Roles In Radio Silence’s Mysterious Universal Monsters Film

Universal Pictures once attempted to give their Universal Monsters franchise it’s own cinematic universe, which spectacularly failed after Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy” ended up a flop leading to the studio to pivot. Instead, they decided on allowing various filmmakers and writers to play within the sandbox, however, without all these new projects needing to inhabit the same cinematic space. This has led to a few mysterious projects that include one from the directing team of Radio Silence who previous made “Ready Or Not” and the last two “Scream” movies. They’ve been gearing up to shoot their film and have added some interesting names to the call-sheet.

One of the latest additions to the untitled film is “Ant-Man 3” actress Kathryn Newton according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, given the secrecy surrounding the mysterious film it is unclear what her role will be. Newton, of course, isn’t a strange to the horror genre after the body-switching slasher comedy “Freaky” and will be seen in Zelda Williams’ “Lisa Frankenstein” that has a script penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno,” “Jennifer’s Body”).

Other actors assembled the for the upcoming horror project includes Dan Stevens (“The Guest,” “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”), Melissa Barrera, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir, Kevin Durand, and Will Catlett.

We’re still unclear who or what the “monster” is going to be and how exactly it ties into the greater Universal Monsters mythology, but those details are likely to trickle-out eventually. It’s said the project was once called “Dracula’s Daughter” that involved kidnappers scooping up a bunch of youngsters with the Count’s daughter being in that group. But it’s unknown if that is still what is happening in this incarnation from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.

The untitled horror movie has been given a release date of April 19, 2024 by Universal.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Cast Adds Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci & Catharine O’Hara

Tim Burton‘s “Beetlejuice” came out a year before he revitalized the superhero genre with “Batman.” After a nearly three decade attempt to make a sequel, it is finally coming to fruition with “Beetlejuice 2.” Warner Bros. is about to being shooting the sequel soon in London and it comes after star Michael Keaton had recreantly returned to the Bruce Wayne/Batman role for “The Flash” film. Burton, who back in the director’s chair, is slowly assembling quite the interesting cast and the newest acquisition is no different.

Backing up previous rumblings online, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that actor Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things”) has indeed joined the cast alongside fellow new additions such as Jenna Ortega (“Scream 6”), Justin Theroux (“Leftovers”), and Monica Bellucci (“Spectre”). Returning cast members include Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catharine O’Hara is now confirmed to be reprising the role of Lydia’s mother from the original pic.

In the first movie, Beetlejuice was more of an adversary than his cartoon counterpart and with Bellucci said to be playing the ghost’s wife in the sequel it could quell some of the more icky aspects of the 1988 installment. Mainly, Beetlejuice trying to marry a minor and could see the sequel lean more into the mythology established in that aforementioned cartoon series that explored the Netherworld (Land of The Dead) in more depth.

A script for the sequel was penned by Al Gough and Miles Millar, who had recently worked with Burton on his popular Netflix series “Wednesday” that starred Ortega as the titular character in the “Addams Family” revival.

The studio recently gave “Beetlejuice 2” a prime release date of September 6, 2024.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER