Author: Christopher Marc

Posted on in Television News

‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Series In Development From ‘John Wick’ Creator Derek Kolstad – Multiple Projects In The Works

As production is expected to begin soon in Belfast, Northern Ireland for a new live-action Dungeons & Dragons movie from Paramount Pictures, more projects within the fantasy table-top franchise is reportedly in the works. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Hasbro/eOne is now in the early stages of development on a series with the help of writer Derek Kolstad.

Derek Kolstad, the creator and writer behind the John Wick franchise, has been tapped to pen and develop a pitch for a live-action series based on the Dungeons & Dragons universe.

A screenwriter with massive action chops, Derek is best known for creating the successful John Wick franchise at Lionsgate starring Keanu Reeves, he’s also worked on Marvel’s The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and the Bob Odenkirk action flick Nobody that will be released by Universal next month.

They also mention that other writers are working on multiple other projects, but they stopped short from naming who they are and what they’re developing. This sounds a lot like how a handful of Transformers projects were developed all at once for Hasbro/Paramount, using a writers’ room format to hash-out many different film projects. While there are plenty of stories within the umbrella of the Dungeons & Dragons mythology, it’s unknown if the series will be something original or connected to various table top modules or existing stories/characters.

Paramount’s feature film starring Star Trek actor Chris Pine will be directed by with a release date of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the duo behind the comedy Game Night. More casting announcements are expected within the coming weeks/months.

The fantasy genre is getting many high-profile television projects with a Lord of The Rings and Wheel of Time series at Amazon, both expected to have large budgets. HBO is about to begin production on their Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon this spring. Streaming giant Netflix has their The Witcher series adaptation starring Henry Cavill that is in the middle of filming Season 2 with another spin-off show in the works and they also recently secured film/television rights to Robert E. Howard’s iconic fantasy character Conan.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Chris Evans Responds To Report of His Potential Return To The MCU – “News To Me”

Yesterday, news broke via Deadline that Chris Evans’ retirement from the Marvel Cinematic Universe was about to end with talks of the Avengers actor nearing a deal to reprise the Steve Rogers role for an upcoming MCU project and adding a second project could also be in play.

Chris Evans has taken to Twitter to seemingly respond to Deadline’s report stating “news to me” with a shrug emoji.

https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1349835808497229824

Deadline is quite reliable and actors connected to Marvel roles have been deceptive before when it comes to them publicly confirming casting reports or returns to various projects before the go-ahead from the studio. It’s also possible Evans’ return doesn’t come together and Avengers: Endgame is the final say on Steve Rogers.

Having an older Steve mentoring Sam Wilson in a Captain America 4 feature film feels like the play here, but I’m not sure that is something they’ll be ultimately attempt as they gave Rogers a solid ending that seemed to sit well with Chris Evans.

The actor signaling on Twitter he would stepping down from the role back in 2018.

https://twitter.com/ChrisEvans/status/1047896966410190849

There are other ways to have Evans return with his time-travelling to the late 1940s to meet up with Peggy Carter post-WWII and spends a lifetime with her, allowing some wiggle room to have him tackling The Cold War era threats to the United States and world peace via a team like The Invaders.

The role they were talking-up sounds larger than a simple cameo that could take more time than he currently has for other projects as he is about to begin filming Netflix’s $200 million budgeted spy film The Gray Man directed by The Russo Brothers. This might telegraph his work in California could conflict with current Marvel Studios productions such as Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness or even Thor: Love & Thunder.

Speaking of the Multiverse, there could be another timeline where Captain America fought through-out the entire WWII campaign beyond just taking down HYDRA and was able to hook up with other Marvel superheroes from that era.

SOURCE: CHRIS EVANS

Posted on in Features

Marvel Should Tackle ‘The Invaders’ In A Project Set During WWII or The Cold War

Yesterday, it was revealed by Deadline that Chris Evans was nearing a deal to reprise Steve Rogers aka Captain America in a small supporting role (similar to Robert Downey Jr. in Spider-Man: Homecoming) for an undisclosed MCU project. They also mention Evans might be returning for second thing, possibly a film but didn’t reveal what that could be either.

There are a couple of obvious options such as old Steve Rogers becoming a mentor to Sam Wilson in Captain America 4 as he takes over the mantle. Also, seeing what Steve was up to while hiding between Captain America: Civil War to Avengers: Infinity War, not unlike where Black Widow takes place in the MCU timeline. There is the multiple years between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, I’m sure there would still be threats in the wake of Thanos’ snap.

There is another option to add. Thanks to Avengers: Endgame, that Steve was able to go back in time to be with Peggy Carter and stayed there starting in 1948 just when The Cold War begins. Steve as an old man ends up handing Sam Wilson the shield at the end of the film and launching the events that will be covered in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier.

The Multiverse also opens the door to other timelines allowing to them return to WWII.

I think it’s hard to imagine with all the threats surrounding him during that timeline and Peggy Carter’s work at S.H.I.E.L.D. that he doesn’t eventually jump back into the fray between his return and Avengers: Endgame. What would make a lot of sense would be Rogers leading his own team which has previously happened with The Invaders, a group mostly made up of WWII era heroes such as Namor McKenzie aka The Sub-Mariner, Union Jack, Spitfire, the original android version of The Human Torch aka Jim Hammond, Blazing Skull, and multiple other wartime heroes that could get some live-action love.

It’s worth noting that Wyatt Russell’s John Walker aka U.S. Agent, Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes have been established members on the roster.

There is another superhero that was kicking around during WWII and The Cold War that has teamed-up with Captain America the comics that could make for another excellent addition to those ranks, that being the Canadian super-soldier Wolverine.

Luckily, since Logan doesn’t really age he can be able to time-hop to various eras of the MCU including something like WWII or even futuristic setting like with Old Man Logan.

Rebooting Wolverine is clearly a huge priority to the studio alongside the X-Men and having the anti-hero connect to various MCU characters beforehand wouldn’t be shocking since he’s, like Steve Rogers, he is part of a super-soldier program via Weapon. When his origin takes places in the MCU doesn’t seem to be set in stone and Marvel can certainly tinker with it to fit their needs but I’d personally like to see him running around WWII without his indestructible skeleton and then get it during The Cold War.

It might be a good idea to introduce Wolverine as a supporting character elsewhere so that he doesn’t dominate the main X-Men films as much. The fictional X-Men locale of Madripoor is going to be introduced in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, which had many fans jump to conclusions that Wolverine is connected to the Disney+ series, although, there hasn’t been credible information backing up these fan desires. However, it becoming a stomping ground for the mutant eventually wouldn’t a surprise.

If they’re genuinely going to bring Chris Evans back I think it is worth considering giving him another period project since while Captain America: The First Avenger canonically takes place during WWII, it felt like they copped-out by limiting how much fighting he did against the actual Axis. The Cold War era could be another fine option as Steve combating the new threat of The Soviet Union during the height of the nuclear arms race feels just as a plausible of a setting for another adventure.

X-Men villain Omega Red could be a good baddie to use as well given his connections to Soviet Union super-soldier experiments.

It’s worth mentioning we’ve previously seen Easter Eggs to canonical members of The Invaders lineup in previous Marvel Studios films.

Union Jack was teased via Iron Man 2 as Joey Chapman was listed as one of the racers going head-to-head with Tony Stark. The Human Torch is seen encased in glass and Namor’s Atlantis was briefly teased in Captain America: The First Avenger at the Stark Expo (blink and you’ll miss the underwater city nod). The S.H.I.E.L.D. boat called The Lemurian Star in Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a direct nod to Namor villains The Lemurians, a sign that something nefarious was happening onboard.

I’m sure we’ll start to get confirmation what Evans is actually going to show up in but I think fans are also quite comfortable leaving old Rogers alone as well given his satisfying ending.

Posted on in Film News

‘Kitbag’: Apple Studios Nabs Ridley Scott’s Napoleon Film Starring Joaquin Phoenix – Shooting Early 2022 In The UK

Deadline has revealed that Apple Studios has secured Ridley Scott‘s Napoleon film Kitbag that will star recent Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix, the pair had previously worked together on Gladiator. They also reveal production is expected to begin early 2022 in the United Kingdom.

All The Money In The World screenwriter David Scarpa penned the script.

The film is an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. The intention of the film is to capture Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary.

Ridley Scott is supposed to begin shooting his fashion world crime thriller Gucci next year and is finishing-up the post-production of The Last Duel. He’s also producing an original earthbound Alien universe series for FX on Hulu coming from Noah Hawley and has stated he’s talking with 20th Century Studios about a follow-up to Alien: Covenant.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Chris Evans Nearing Deal To Play Captain America In A Future MCU Project

It looks like Chris Evan‘s break as Captain America didn’t last that long.

Deadline is reporting Evans is closing-in on a deal to play Steve Rogers aka Captain America one more time for Marvel in an unnamed project at Marvel Studios. The outlet stops short from revealing what the project could be, either film or a Disney+ series, claim it’s much more substantial than a cameo potentially more in a supporting role.

In a move that is sure to rock the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sources tell Deadline that Chris Evans is cleaning the dust off his Captain America attire as he expected reprise the role in the MCU in some form. Still vague if deal as completely closed but insiders say its headed in that direction for Evans to return as Steve Rogers aka Captain America in at least one Marvel property with the door open for a second film. Sources add it’s unlikely to be a new Captain America installment and more likely to be like what Robert Downey Jr. did after Iron Man 3, appearing in films like Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

A Multiverse project feels like the most current thing he could be doing for Marvel Studios, however, he’s about to begin shooting Netflix’s spy flick The Gray Man for the Russo Brothers in California making it difficult for him to be flying to London or Atlanta anytime soon to shoot a bunch of scenes.

I personally would love to see an Invaders film/series that takes place during WWII since we really didn’t get that in Captain America: The First Avenger, the studio seemed to be squeamish about having one of their heroes taking on a group of real Nazis. A Multiverse project set within the WWII could allow Marvel to return to that era and explore the multiple superhero characters that fought alongside Cap and Bucky. Those include Namor, Union Jack, Spitfire, and the original android version of The Human Torch. Plus, there are many many other WWII era characters they could use that would likely never see the light of day elsewhere.

When Steve goes back to be with Peggy there is a possibility he had further adventures which could allow for the Invaders to come together in that timeline.

Then again, they could use the older version of Steve Rogers from Avengers: Endgame in a project as well.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

‘Lord of The Rings’: Elvish Kingdom of Lindon & Moria Will Be Explored In Amazon Series – Will Celebrimbor Appear?

A synopsis for The Lord of The Rings series posted by fansite The One Ring and confirmed by IGN doesn’t give us any hard plot details but has now given us two key locations the expensive Amazon project will explore within the Second Age of Middle-Earth.

Amazon had already confirmed that they would covering the island Kingdom of Numenor (Middle-Earth’s Atlantis) that eventually returns to the water after the inhabitants attempt a rebellion against the Elves/immortals sparked by the evil Sauron in his fair-form, a disciple of the original Dark Lord Morgoth. Sauron embeds himself into the court after being captured and basically destroys Numenor from within leading to a Morgoth cult that included human sacrifices and turning the rulers/population against the Elves. The Numenoreans eventually made their way to the mainland and led the forces against Sauron at the end of The Second Age leading to the new Dark Lord losing the Ring of Power in defeat.

The two other locations for the show mentioned in the synopsis include the Elvish Kingdom of Lindon and Misty Mountains, the latter being where the Dwarf Kingdom of Khazad-dûm aka Moria that was explored in The Fellowship of The Ring and briefly shown in The Hobbit films. The Kingdom of Lindon was a place that was essentially abandoned by those Elves before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings trilogy that took place in The Third Age.

Lindon included the Noldor and Sindar. The Noldor is the group of Elves that Celebrimbor belonged to, the Elvish Prince who helped forge the Eleven Rings of Power for Sauron in the Second Age and was seen in the Shadow of Mordor video games.

Here is that synopsis.

Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

These words about the Misty Mountains teasing the Mines of Moria which would suggest we’ll see those Durin Dwarves in the series (ancestors of Dwarves we’ve seen before in the Peter Jackson films), Lindon apparently had Dwarves among their population as well.

Filming is underway in Auckland, New Zealand.

The show’s massive cast includes actors Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, Lenny Henry, Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, Children of Men), Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Benjamin Walker (Heart of The Sea, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Arrow, Power), Simon Merrells, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Geoff Morrell, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, and Sara Zwangobani.

SOURCE: THE ONE RING & IGN

Posted on in Television News

‘Moon Knight’: May Calamawy Joins Oscar Isaac In Marvel Series Playing Undisclosed Role

We finally have a second cast member announced for Marvel’s Moon Knight series starring Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that actress May Calamawy has nabbed an unknown role in the show that will air on Disney+ in 2022 (we’re hearing spring/summer) and will begin shooting in March.

Moon Knight, aka Marc Spector, a mercenary who has numerous alter egos — cabbie Jake Lockley and millionaire playboy Steven Grant — in order to better fight the criminal underworld. But later he was established as being a conduit for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Most recently, the character was a consultant who dresses in all-white and goes by the name Mr. Knight. 

Kevin Feige recently revealed to Collider they hope to give Moon Knight six episodes running about 40-50 minutes per episode, similar to Loki and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier.

The directing team consists of Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab along with the indie duo of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead. 

Production on Moon Knight is said to begin this March in Budapest, Hungary under the working title Good Faith, a location that was used for their feature film Black Widow. Other filming locations had once included London and the United States. 

We are expecting a lot more casting announcements in the coming weeks as production is set to begin in two months.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Guy Ritchie Spy Thriller Adds ‘The Gentlemen’s Bugzy Malone & Cary Elwes – Begins Shooting Tomorrow In Qatar

Deadline is reporting that director Guy Ritchie will begin shooting his spy thriller formerly known as Five Eyes tomorrow in Doha, Qatar and has added two more cast members.

The story follows MI6 guns-and-steel agent (Statham) who is recruited by a global intelligence alliance to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapons technology that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with CIA high-tech expert, Fortune sets off on a globe-trotting mission where he will have to use all of his charm, ingenuity and stealth to track down and infiltrate billionaire arms broker.

Veteran actor Cary Ewles (The Princess Bride, Glory, Stranger Things, Saw) and rapper-turned-actor Bugzy Malone will join Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza. The British rapper had a supporting role one of Colin Farrell’s boxing proteges in The Gentlemen.

They’re said to also shoot the film in Antalya, Turkey.

The Fives Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, which was founded back in 1941. This should give you an idea of the nationalities of the other characters in the film.

The original plan was to film the spy flick in Europe but given multiple lockdowns and unpredictable spikes of COVID-19 shooting in the Middle-East might be more welcoming to a foreign film crew.

We first reported the production team would include cinematographer Alan Stewart (Aladdin, Wrath of Man, The Gentlemen) and production designer Martyn John (Wrath of Man) both have a previously working relationship with Ritchie.

A release date is currently unknown.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Devotion’: Korean War Film Starring Jonathan Majors Adds ‘John Wick’s Thomas Sadoksi & Others – Begins Shooting Next Month

We’ve been really interested in the upcoming Korean War film Devotion, directed by JD Dillard with Lovecraft Country‘s Jonathan Majors and Top Gun: Maverick‘s Glenn Powell in leading roles.

The aerial epic will chart the true story of U.S. Navy fighter pilots, Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner, two young men from different worlds. Initiated together into the VF-32 squadron, they are pushed to their limits flying a new design of fighter jet. But their friendship is tested when one of them is shot down behind enemy lines.

Deadline reports that the cast has added Thomas Sadoski from HBO’s Newsroom, Christina Jackson from HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, and singer Joe Jonas. Thomas might be best known out of the three for acting previously seen as the New Jersey cop Jimmy from the first two John Wick movies starring Keanu Reeves.

Filming is said to begin this February in Georgia.

Majors recently caught the attention of Marvel Studios landing the role of comic book villain Kang The Conqueror in Peyton Reed‘s Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, the Marvel Studios film is expected to begin shooting later this year in London.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘The Tomorrow War’: Amazon Reportedly Offering $200M To Buy Chris Pratt Sci-Fi Movie From Paramount

A report from Deadline is claiming that Amazon has now offered Skydance/Paramount a hefty $200 million to secure the rights to their upcoming sci-fi action film The Tomorrow War, which stars Guardians of The Galaxy and Jurassic World actor Chris Pratt.

Tonight, Amazon has aggressively offered $200M. The deal is still not done. Amazon recently bought Paramount’s Coming 2 America for $125M, which was set to debut during the year-end holiday corridor, and Skydance’s Without Remorse which was also set to get a theatrical release via Paramount this past autumn.

It was directed by The Lego Batman Movie‘s Chris McKay and we’re still waiting on more significant promotion materials from the film including a first-look trailer.

The film follows a man (played by Chris Pratt) who is drafted to fight a future war in which the fate of humanity relies on his ability to confront his past. 

As pointed out by Deadline, this wouldn’t be the first film that Amazon has picked up from either studio which should give them an edge on other suitors at major streaming services alongside the hefty offer. They’re quick to point that this has yet to be accepted or finalized.

In all likelihood they’re moving quickly on securing a deal quickly, so that Amazon can piece together promo materials for the upcoming Super Bowl, normally a place where studios spend a lot of money to promote upcoming films. However, given the uncertainty of release dates we might end up seeing more spending from the streaming side this year.

Pratt recently completed work on Jurassic World: Dominion for Universal Pictures, has seemingly started or about to begin work in Sydney on Marvel’s Thor: Love & Thunder directed by Taika Waititi, and is set to return again as Star-Lord for James Gunn‘s Guardians of The Galaxy 3.

SOURCE: DEADLINE