Movie theaters around the globe are trying to recover from the last couple of months but it looks like they could be closing again in multiple countries sooner than expected. The United Kingdom and Canada are currently seeing spikes of new cases of Coronavirus that has led to new restrictions along with promises from governments that a second national shutdown isn’t off the table if things don’t improve.
New cases in the United Kingdom could hit as high as 50,000 per day by mid-October, which would be more than the United States is currently seeing as September 20th numbers were 34,586. The UK’s numbers on Monday were reportedly 4,368, a steady increase going the wrong way as the numbers have been doubling every seven days. The idea is to prevent 200+ deaths per day.
France also hit 13,000 new cases on Saturday and 10,569 on Sunday.
Not the direction you want to see when there are predictions of a massive second wave in the fall and winter.
The film industry has seemingly shrugged off the lackluster domestic returns thinking that international box office numbers will keep studios afloat. However, if places like the UK, Europe, and Canada shut down theaters again a massive movie like No Time To Die might lose a lot of money and end up hurting Hollywood’s recovery.
The United Kingdom is also trying bounce-back concerning film production with large studio films such as The Batman, Fantastic Beasts 3, and Mission: Impossible 7-8 said to be currently filming. A shutdown could see those shoots placed on pause again if the government suddenly decides it’s not a good idea while the country is seeing significant COVID-19 spikes. Robert Pattinson had reportedly tested positive for Coronavirus despite the strict safety precautions promoted ahead of the production resuming in London.
Other projects expected to shoot in the United Kingdom soon include Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness (Longcross Studios), Ant-Man 3 (Pinewood Studios UK), The Flash (Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden), and Marvel’s Moon Knight series. Some of these shoots could see hiccups in the pre-production/prep stages if not massive filming delays if there is a prolonged shutdown.
Dwayne Johnson and his family tested positive for COVID-19, he’s already back on the set of Netflix’s Red Notice in Atlanta, Georgia. Filming on The Falcon & The Winter Soldier has also resumed in Atlanta as well with expectations that Loki and other shows will begin there soon.
It seems extremely irresponsible on the part of studios to chug along like nothing is wrong given that the state of Georgia with a population of 3.7 million has more new cases of COVID-19 than the entire country of Canada that has a population of 37.4 million, the latter on the cusp of greenlighting a second shutdown that could see productions in Toronto, Montreal, and even Vancouver stop entirely again. Not to mention, pulling down theater ticket sales as Canadian box office dollars are included in the domestic cumes.
We’ll have to see the numbers can be turned around without national shutdowns but it doesn’t seem like it can be avoided at this point.
HBO’s Watchmen did extremely well at the Primetime Emmy Awards this year which saw it win an impressive 11 Emmys including for Best Limited Series.
The key prizes were that Regina King won Best Actress In A Limited Series or Movie and her co-star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II landing Supporting Actor In A Limited Series or Movie. Along with Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson winning for Best Writing In A Limited Series or Movie. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross also won for Best Score which has them now inching the pair closer to earn an EGOT.
Other awards the show earned included Sci-Fi/Fantasy Costumes, Cinematographer (Limited Series), Casting (Limited Series), Single-Camera Picture Editing (Limited Series), Sound Mixing (Limited Series), and Sound Editing (Limited Series).
Damon Lindelof has been adamant about not returning for a second season which may end up not end up moving forward at all without him, but only time will tell.
I loved the series and it was extremely prescient despite the unwarranted backlash for the infusion of race and politics, I mean, Alan Moore did the exact thing with his original graphic novel.
WATCHMEN – From Damon Lindelof and set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, this drama series embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel of the same name while attempting to break new ground of its own. The cast includes Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Jean Smart, Tim Blake Nelson, Louis Gossett Jr., Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Hong Chau, Andrew Howard, Tom Mison, Frances Fisher, Jacob Ming-Trent, Sara Vickers, Dylan Schombing, and James Wolk.
A Serious Man actor Fred Melamed and That 70’s Show’s Debra Jo Rupp have been officially confirmed for supporting roles in the upcoming Marvel Studios show WandaVision.
The the two seasoned character actors can be seen in the black and white segment in the brand new trailer. Comedic actress Kathyrn Hahn is also sprinkled throughout the footage.
Welcome to WandaVision. Coming soon to Disney+. Marvel Studios’ captivating new series “WandaVision” stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, and marks the first series from Marvel Studios streaming exclusively on Disney+. The series is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.
WandaVision is expected to begin airing in December on Disney+.
There had been mystery surrounding what Marv Films project director Jon S. Baird (Filth, Stan & Ollie) had been attached to direct after trade reports linked to an unknown project. In July it was reported by the Daily Mail that Jon would be directing a live-action Tetris movie with British actor Taron Egerton (Kingsman 1-2, Eddie The Eagle, Rocketman) set to play video game entrepreneur Henk Rogers.
The Ronin can now confirm the Daily Mail’s reporting that Baird is indeed attached to direct with Matthew Vaughn producing and add that film and could begin shooting this fall/winter in the United Kingdom under the working title of Falling Blocks.
This version seems to be heading more in the period drama direction as it’ll take place in the 1980s during The Cold War.
Russian video game developer Alexey Pajitnov created the hit Tetris, which was popularized by the Nintendo Gameboy but was embroiled in a legal battle to secure the intellectual rights.
Taron had been previously in talks to take the leading role of Seymour in the remake of genre musical Little Shop of Horrors for Warner Bros. and director Greg Berlanti. I’m not sure what this means for Taron’s involvement with Little Shop of Horrors, which had landed tax incentives to shoot in the state of California.
Tetris aka Falling Blocks could end up landing a release date sometime in 2021.
Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series of novels are considered some of the best examples of the science fiction genre and is getting a series adaptation at Apple TV+ that will begin airing in 2021.
Check out the upcoming show’s teaser trailer below.
Based on the award-winning novels by Isaac Asimov, Foundation chronicles a band of exiles on their monumental journey to save humanity and rebuild civilization amid the fall of the Galactic Empire
Before there was a show, director Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day) attempted to make a feature film version for Sony Pictures that ultimately didn’t come together.
Production designer Oliver Scholl has posted a bunch of Foundation concept artwork on his website that was created between 2010-2011.
Scholl’s credits as a production designer include Venom, Edge of Tomorrow, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Independence Day, Godzilla 1998, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Suicide Squad. He also worked in the art department on sci-fi films such as Stargate, Mission To Mars, Titan A.E., and A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
The artwork certainly has a scale that we’re not really used to from Roland and does have an Avatar feel to it.
Artwork by Manuel Plank, James Clyne, Steve Burg, The Aaron Sims Company, with the help of Michael Meier, Oliver Scholl
Carrie Coon (Fargo, Gone Girl) recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter to promote her drama The Nest co-starring with Jude Law (Captain Marvel). The topic switched over to her work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe voicing The Children of Thanos villain Proxima Midnight, who was a motion-capture character.
When asked if she would be able to return the MCU with another live-action role, Carrie gave the impression that could indeed happen and possibly has been part of discussions when she originally took the role.
THR: When you agreed to play Proxima Midnight in Infinity War, was there an understanding that it wouldn’t rule you out from appearing as another character in human form at some point? I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants to see you back in the MCU.
COON: “Oh, thank you. That’s very kind. Yes, that is certainly the kind of conversation that an agent would engage in when looking into committing to those jobs. Yes, they want some verbal assurances that the possibility for additional work is not completely off the table. So, yeah, absolutely. It’s like, you know, being on Chicago Fire. You get killed and then you can’t come back for another year. You want to make sure that we have job security, so we’re always asking that question. Absolutely.”
Having actors return for a second MCU wouldn’t be crazy thing to happen as actress Gemma Chan played Kree villain Dr. Minerva in Captain Marvel only to take a leading role in Chloe Zhao’s Eternals as Sersi.
I’d love to see Carrie considered for the role of S.W.O.R.D.’s Abigail Brand.
Carrie recently worked with Ant-Man actor Paul Rudd, Captain Marvel’s Mckenna Grace, and Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Bokeem Woodbine in Sony’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
It looks like Boba Fett’s return is now confirmed for The Mandalorian!
The credit and listing comes from a portal from Temuera Morrison’s New Zealand agency Robert Bruce Agency that links to a CV on Showcast (the latter spotted by Making Star Wars) where it clearly states his role is Boba Fett on the series. This is more official than a random website since his own agency is putting this CV together on his behalf.
This would confirm The Hollywood Reporter‘s original report from May that Morrison was playing Boba Fett.
Given Morrison’s age there is an expectation this could be a voice over role given that Boba Fett wouldn’t be pushing 60 as the timeline of the series takes place five years after the events of Star Wars: Return of The Jedi. That is unless they attempt to de-age the actor digitally.
People have suggested he would be playing Rex from Clone Wars and Rebels because he would be the right age, but this listing says the role is specifically Fett.
In May, it was reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Justified actor Timothy Olyphant joined the series and Slash Film mentioned that he filmed scenes in the Boba Fett armor suggesting the role could be playing Cobb Vanth. Some people believed this was the character approaching Fennec Shand on Tatooine at the end of The Gunslinger.
Our sources have confirmed to us that Olyphant filmed scenes wearing Boba Fett’s Mandalorian armor for the upcoming second season of The Mandalorian.
Vanth is the self-appointed sheriff of the Tatooine-based settlement Freetown. He wears a mysterious set of Mandalorian armor that was acquired from Jawas who scavenged the wreckage of Jabba the Hutt’s sail barge shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi.
The second season will begin airing on Disney+ starting October 30th.
Eagle-eyed fans also spotted the Boba Fett armor on the back of Mando’s speeder in the trailer.
The Mandalorian and the Child continue their journey, facing enemies and rallying allies as they make their way through a dangerous galaxy in the tumultuous era after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.
Ms. Marvel has finally landed a group of directors!
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Oscar-winning short director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Saving Face, A Girl In The River: The Price of Forgiveness), and Meera Menon (The Walking Dead, The Punisher, Titans) will helm episodes of Marvel Studios’ new superhero series Ms. Marvel.
The Direct first reported that Bad Boys For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were in the mix for the Marvel Studios show.
The series will follow Pakistani-American teenager Kamala Khan living in New Jersey as she navigates newly acquired superpowers. She happens to be part of The Inhumans in the comic books and there have been plenty of speculation this could lead to a reboot of that wave of characters after a disastrous series run on ABC.
Kamala recently got a boost in the realm of pop-culture thanks to the new video game Marvel’s Avengers, which has her as a playable character and part of the game’s story.
This is excellent news as it seems like Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, and She-Hulk are all getting ready to go soon in Atlanta.
Hopefully, they’ll be able to announce who has been cast as Kamala very soon.
There is a good chance that we could see Kamala Khan join the ranks of Avengers/Young Avengers along with possibly making her big screen debut in stuff like Captain Marvel 2, given how attached the character is to Carol Danvers in the comics.
Yesterday, Deadline reported that Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany (Perry Mason, Destroyer, Orphan Black) had landed the Marvel Studios role of Jennifer Walters for the upcoming superhero comedy series She-Hulk that will be exclusively on Disney+, airing possibly in 2022 given the VFX involved.
The Emmy winning actress had previously tested for major roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, so Tat had been on Disney’s radar for quite some time now.
Jennifer is a defense attorney and cousin of Bruce Banner, who transforms into the superheroine She-Hulk after a blood transfusion from Bruce gives her superpowers of her own.
The series is expected to skew more comedic given that Jessica Gao (Rick & Morty) is the head writer and they’ve seemingly hired Kat Coiro (The Mick, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) to direct multiple episodes. It’s also said that Mark Ruffalo may reprise the Bruce Banner/Professor Hulk role for the show to help connect Jennifer to the greater MCU.
Kevin Feige has confirmed that these new Disney+ characters would most certainly make the jump to the feature films and She-Hulk has the potential to become their next big crossover characters given that is how she was utilized in the comics books.
Here is a rundown of just some of the film projects I think she makes the most sense for.
SPIDER-MAN 3: There have been plenty of team-ups over the years in Marvel Comics and planting seeds for upcoming projects has always been something Marvel Studios has always been keen on doing.
Spider-Man 3 is a strong candidate to introduce the regular human version of Jennifer Walters before the She-Hulk series.
At the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Quentin Beck aka Mysterio’s death was spun as murder at the hands of Spidey by J. Jonah Jameson and he also outed his secret identity as Peter Parker. Plenty of fans have suggested that Peter Parker if caught by authorities would be in great need of a defense attorney. A noble profession that doesn’t only fall on the shoulders of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil in Marvel Comics but also Walters, who happens to specialize in superpowered cases.
Interestingly enough, Jennifer has a connection to J. Jonah Jameson as she married J. Jonah Jameson’s son John Jameson aka Man-Wolf.
A nifty connection to the Spider-Man franchise is that Tatiana just happened to co-star in the Boston bombing drama Stronger alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, who played Quentin Beck aka Mysterio.
It is worth noting that according to production grids (take with a grain of salt) making the rounds online both Spider-Man 3 and She-Hulk shoots are expected to overlap at some point next year in Atlanta, Georgia. This potential shooting schedule could theoretically allow Tatiana shoot scenes as Walters due to the proximity to each other, but this is only speculation.
Potentially seeing Jennifer seriously injured during the events of Spider-Man 3 via a villain trying to kill Peter Parker just might be a reason to lead to her cousin Bruce Banner to give her the blood transfusion that not only saves her life but gives her superpowers. A perfect way to help establish her origin outside of the Disney+ series and also connect her to the MCU beyond Banner.
There is also the possibility that Spider-Man 3 sees Parker simply on the run from authorities with the help of parental figures Happy Hogan and Nick Fury being tracked down by the film’s villains.
I don’t see the entire film being a courtroom drama, do you? But if Peter needs a lawyer, Jennifer could be easily suggested by Bruce or Happy.
FANTASTIC FOUR: After the merger between Disney and 21st Century Fox, Marvel Studios finally got full rights to use both the X-Men and characters connected to the Fantastic Four.
She-Hulk happens to be an official member of the team.
While there have been hints that there is quiet development on the MCU reboot of the franchise (via Slove Everything Productions LLC), neither a director nor screenwriter has been officially announced by the studio.
Ant-Man 3 will include Avengers villain Kang The Conqueror played by Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors, who happens to be a villainous ancestor of Reed Richards from the future. Nothing says at the moment that Marvel Studios will carry over that tiny family connection from the comics with the MCU version of Kang but it is worth considering.
I’m also extremely hopeful that the Fantastic Four franchise will be an excellent excuse for Kevin Feige to take a second crack at The Inhumans, as Crystal was a member of the team. The introduction of Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel in her own Disney+ series, who is part of The Inhumans, would certainly open the door for the studio to explore those other characters in more accurate way than the sub-par ABC series.
Marvel Studios is expected to make some announcement soon if they are indeed gearing up to shoot Fantastic Four within the next two years or so.
SECRET WARS AKA AVENGERS 5: The Fantastic Four wasn’t the only big-league superhero team that Jennifer joined as she was part of the Mighty Avengers and could easily be involved with the Secret Wars lineup given she was included in the original comic book run.
The Russo Brothers have teased an interest to tackle the Secret Wars as a follow-up to their box office smashing Marvel film Avengers: Endgame. I’m sure if Secret Wars does materialize they’ll want to wait for the Eternals, Fantastic Four, and X-Men to be well established beforehand so they’re not spending all their time on character introductions.
Romance hasn’t been a huge part of the MCU but Eternals is expected to change that slightly and could allow She-Hulk’s love life to be explored in the series and films.
In more recent comics, Thor and Jennifer are in a relationship that could be used for future films.
She-Hulk has also has had romantic encounters with Hercules and Eros of Titan aka Starfox the womanizing brother of Thanos both are expected to be part of the Eternals franchise the two just happen to be fellow members of The Avengers. Gemma Chan’s Sersi and Kit Harington’s Black Knight are likely also going to join the Avengers ranks just like their comic book counterparts.
A-FORCE: Marvel actresses approached Kevin Feige on the set of Avengers: Endgame to pitch him an all-female superhero film which most have suggested could be a live-action version of A-Force. A feature film that could easily see characters like She-Hulk among those ranks.
I also wouldn’t rule-out cameos in stuff like Thor: Love & Thunder, Ant-Man 3, and Captain Marvel 2 to help establish Jennifer’s relationships with Hope (a surrogate for Janet), Valkyrie, and Danvers leading up to an A-Force film.
There is a lot of crossover potential with a character like She-Hulk and I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of her in the future beyond this Disney+ series.
The Ronin has been able to confirm that production designer Jennifer Spence has been hired for the Resident Evil reboot film, which is based on the classic Capcom zombie horror video games.
Jennifer’s extensive horror credits include Lights Out, Insidious: Chapter 2, Insidious: Chapter 3, Paranormal Activity 2, The Lords of Salem, Paranormal Activity 3, Paranormal Activity 4, Rob Zombie’s Lords of Salem, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun, and most recently The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.
She also worked on DC Comics film Shazam! as well.
They’ve also added art director Tony Ianni, who does extensive work on the sci-fi series The Expanse as art director and now as the show’s production designer.
Some character tidbits that leaked suggested that the new film will focus mostly on iconic characters from the video game franchise rather than continuing the Alice story from the Paul W.S. Anderson films that starred Milla Jovovich.
There is a live-action Netflix series in development as well.
Filming is expected to begin in/around the Toronto area on October 13th and complete by December 19th.
THE RONIN 