Author: Christopher Marc

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Dune’ Earns $41M Over The Weekend With ‘Dune: Part Two’ Announcement Incoming

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has finally been unleashed domestically after an international launch weeks prior and the dense sci-fi has achieved a big hurdle, making a solid amount of money at the domestic box office during the opening weekend.

According to Bloomberg, the film has earned an impressive $41 million domestically over the weekend, putting the film’s global cume to $223.2 million with Dune’s production being said to have cost $165 million.

It’s the best domestic opening for Warner Bros. since 2019’s Joker and has surpassed every other pandemic era film including things like Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984 (Wonder Woman 3 already in development), Godzilla Vs. Kong, Space Jam: Legacy, Mortal Kombat, and The Suicide Squad.

We already know that Dune: Part Two has been in development for the better part of two years with Villeneuve co-writing the script with Jon Spaihts, the latter exiting the HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood to focus on the sequel. A clear sign the project was a priority for Legendary.

Denis Villeneuve has talked up the potential of starting production in the fall of 2022, a director wouldn’t normally mention a start date for filming unless there was already prep in certain stages already.

WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff has all but said that they’re planning on moving forward, but as Variety points out it’s, apparently, Legendary’s call and the next installment could be announced very soon.

Why Legendary has yet to unveil plans for a sequel remains ambiguous, though an announcement could come shortly, according to insiders.

While they could stop at two movies, Villeneuve has considered the idea of pushing towards a trilogy by using Dune Messiah as the basis of the third movie.

“There is Dune’s second book, The Messiah of Dune, which could make an extraordinary film. I always saw that there could be a trilogy; after that, we’ll see. It’s years of work; I can’t think of going further than that.”

The second installment would allow for more casting additions with roles such as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, Princess Irulan, Shaddam IV The Padishah Emperor, and others. Since those characters are being saved and allowed for Dune to give newbies a crash course on the franchise’s deep mythology.

A late 2022 shoot likely means we won’t see Dune: Part Two released until 2023-2024.

SOURCE: BLOOMBERG

Posted on in News, Television News

David Chase In Talks For New ‘Sopranos’ Series At HBO Max & Wants To Do Another Prequel Movie

David Chase’s Sopranos previous film The Many Saints of Newark, left a lot to be desired as it felt like “Call-Back: The Movie” and for fans sort of simply rehashed stories told in the show rather than giving us something new.

Well, it’s starting to sound like Chase and WarnerMedia are inching closer to more Sopranos content in the near future. WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff spoke to Deadline revealing they are in active talks with David Chase about a new Sopranos-related series at HBO Max and that film’s poor box office wasn’t a huge factor.

“Yes, the box office was not quite as big, but back again to the demographics of whose going to theaters. On the other hand, you see Sopranos pop into the top 10 of the most viewed series on the service. It’s given it an entirely new life. We’re talking to David about a new series Sopranos related on HBO Max. It’s (the movie) literally lifted the Sopranos franchise in a new way, so you can’t measure it in and of itself in the box office,” Sarnoff revealed to Deadline.

Another movie could be on the way too.

Sopranos creator David Chase told Deadline that he’s interested in another prequel movie much like Many Saints of Newark.

It’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t attempt to flush-out young Tony, Johnny Boy, and Junior with this potential series, given the actors they’ve assembled it always felt like they were aiming to making stuff beyond The Many Saints of Newark. That’s unless they’ll attempt to go further back in time.

THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK – Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark, N.J., history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters start to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, whose influence over his nephew will help shape the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss, Tony Soprano.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

WarnerMedia’s Ann Sarnoff Alludes To ‘Dune: Part Two’ Moving Forward & Supports Hypothetical ‘The Matrix 5’

Dune is about to release domestically this week, the film is one part of the original Frank Herbert novel with director Denis Villeneuve promising that he’s been developing the second part, Dune: Part Two, for a potential late 2022 shoot.

Well, it sounds like WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff is all but confirming to Deadline that the second part is all but moving forward.

“Will we have a sequel to Dune? If you watch the movie you see how it ends. I think you pretty much know the answer to that,” Sarnoff told Deadline on the fate of the Dune sequel.

Villeneuve has also teased his desire to round-out a Dune trilogy by adapting the second book Dune Messiah, for Dune 3. However, it’s unclear if Legendary/WarnerMedia are committed to things beyond the HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood and Dune: Part Two.

DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Also, could we get The Matrix 5 from Lana Wachowski? It seems that WarnerMedia is open to that idea too.

“Anytime Lana (Wachowski) wants to make a movie, we’re all in,” Sarnoff said in response of more Matrix films beyond The Matrix Resurrections.

Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix Resurrections is easily part one of a potential new trilogy, but we’ll have to wait to see how audiences react to the new cyberpunk project. I wouldn’t be shocked if both The Matrix 5 and The Matrix 6 could be on the table, if Wachowski pushes for it and wants to continue on.

The next film releases in theaters and HBO Max on December 22.

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS – In a world of two realities—everyday life and what lies behind it—Thomas Anderson will have to choose to follow the white rabbit once more. Choice, while an illusion, is still the only way in or out of the Matrix, which is stronger, more secure and more dangerous than ever before.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Oppenheimer’: Emily Blunt In Talks To Join Christopher Nolan’s Atomic Bomb Movie

Christopher Nolan is reportedly zeroing in on the female lead for his new WWII film Oppenheimer, which focuses on J. Robert Oppenheimer’s creation of the atomic bomb that was unleashed upon Japan. Irish actor Cillian Murphy (Inception, Dunkirk, The Dark Knight Trilogy) is playing Oppenheimer.

Deadline reports that actress Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, Looper, Sicario) is now in talks to play Kitty Oppenheimer, the wife of Murphy’s character.

Blunt and Murphy recently co-starred together in the sci-fi horror flick A Quiet Place Part II.

J. Robert Oppenheimer’s development of the atomic bomb in the Manhattan Project ultimately led to the surrender of the Japanese after two atomic bombs were unleashed upon the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. military, killing countless civilians in an instant and even more than that slowly/painfully over time.

I’m extremely curious if Christopher Nolan will attempt to document the Pacific War and the Japanese side of the story along with the civilians that were essentially erased from the planet as part of a power move by the United States to end the bloody South Pacific campaign with an extreme show of force before having to invade the mainland of Japan. It was one of the darkest moments in human history.

Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema will reunite with Nolan after working on, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and Tenet along with Oscar-winning Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson (Tenet, Black Panther, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) joining the film too.

The project recently found a home at Universal Pictures (after a bidding war) with production said to begin in early 2022 and the studio recently committed to a 100-day theatrical release.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in News

Quentin Tarantino Teases Comedic Spaghetti Western Project That Features A German Sheriff

While Quentin Tarantino is busy writing his second book and trying to get his Bounty Law series made, a spinoff of hit film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, focusing on the Rick Dalton western show. He’s again musing about tackling Kill Bill 3, something he’s been talking about for ages but remains to be seen if it’ll actually be his final feature film (will retire after directing ten films).

While in Italy Tarantino is teasing a new idea.

“But first I want to make a comedy,” the filmmaker told Italian broadcaster Fabio Fazio (via Variety) that he’s got a comedy project he wants to do. However, it’s unclear if this is a project meant for film or television.

Speaking further with Rome Film Festival chief Antonio Monda, Quentin Tarantino teased about a Spaghetti Western (Italian-made western film) that sounds like that might have a role waiting for two-time Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained).

“It’s not like my next movie. It’s a piece of something else that I’m thinking about doing — and I’m not going to describe what it is. But part of this thing, there is supposed to be a Spaghetti Western in it. I’m looking forward to shooting that [thing] because it’s going to be really fun. Because I want to shoot it in the Spaghetti Western style where everybody’s speaking a different language.”

“The Mexican Bandido is an Italian; the hero is an American; the bad sheriff is a German; the Mexican saloon girl is Israeli. And everybody is speaking a different language. And you [the actors] just know: OK, when he’s finished talking then I can talk.”

It’s unclear if he’s referring to the Bounty Law project potentially covering Rick Dalton’s faux Spaghetti Western films from Once Upon A Time In Hollywood such as Nebraska Jim directed by Sergio Corbuuci and Kill Me Now Ringo, Said the Gringo.

Both got mock-up posters for the film’s release.

Corbucci is a very real Italian director who helmed Django, The Great Silence, Navajo Joe, Minnesota Clay (referenced with the salon in Django Unchained), The Mercenary, The Specialists, and Ringo & His Golden Pistol. A filmmaker that obviously influenced his love of the genre alongside Sergio Leone.

However, it’s been assumed that Bounty Law would be more like giving us episodes of the show rather than a continuation of Dalton’s acting career. This might suggest that this germ of an idea might be something completely different altogether.

SOURCE: ROME FILM FESTIVAL & RAI

Posted on in Film News, News

Disney Bumps ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Release Date From July 2022 To June 2023

A new slew of Disney dates have been updated including a heap of alterations for Marvel’s 2022-2023 lineup. Among the new dates sees Indiana Jones 5 being bumped from a date of July 29, 2022 to June 30, 2023 pushing the film nearing an entire year from it’s most recent spot.

This isn’t terribly surprising as Harrison Ford was injured on set and there had been already a handful of production delays before that making it harder and harder for Lucasfilm and director James Mangold to complete the fifth installment in time for a summer 2022 release, given the post-production process needed to be done once photography was finished.

Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth and Mangold co-wrote the script.

The rest of the cast consists of British actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fleabag), Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts 3, Casino Royale, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Another Round), German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Valkyrie, Blade II), Antonio Banderas (Desperado, Uncharted), Boyd Holbrook (The Predator, Narcos, Logan), Shaunette Renée Wilson (The Resident), and Toby Jones (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Captain America: The First Avenger).

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Film News, News

Marvel Studios Movie Lineup In 2022-2023 Get Adjusted Release Dates

Today, Disney has announced a wave of new adjustments to their upcoming film slates for Marvel Studios movies in 2022 and 2023. Two dates previously set for untitled Marvel projects on July 28 and October 6 have been removed from the schedule.

Below is what the new lineup looks like.

  • DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS – MAY 6, 2022 
  • THOR: LOVE & THUNDER – JULY 8, 2022
  • BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER – NOVEMBER 11, 2022 
  • THE MARVELS – FEBRUARY 17, 2023
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.3 – MAY 5, 2023
  • ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA – JULY 28, 2023
  • UNTITLED MARVEL STUDIOS MOVIE – NOVEMBER 10, 2023

There is a good shot that Bassam Tariq’s Blade reboot is taking that November spot in 2023 given that project seems further along than either Deadpool 3 (a director has yet to be announced) or Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four (reportedly doesn’t have a script).

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Batgirl’ Movie Adds ‘Bad Boys For Life’ Actor Jacob Scipio In Mystery Role

After Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah recently teased the inclusion of Batman in their upcoming HBO Max film in a Dutch interview, a new bit of casting news has been announce today.

Deadline reports that actor Jacob Scipio, likely best known as the villain of Bad Boys For Life has nabbed an unknown part in the DC Comics project. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah directed the Bad Boys sequel before getting involved with Marvel’s Ms. Marvel series at Disney+.

Scipio joins Leslie Grace (In The Heights), who plays the titular Batgirl and J.K. Simmons reprises the Justice League role of Barbara Gordon’s father, Jim Gordon. This element would suggest that Batgirl takes place directly within the DCEU, given Simmons’ return. However, if they end up using Michael Keaton’s Batman as her mentor, that could suggest that the cinematic universe is turning more into a hodgepodge of connective tissue.

Christina Hodson, who recently wrote The Flash movie (just wrapped filming over the weekend) is behind the pic’s script.

Sadly, Batgirl is firmly at HBO Max and likely won’t be getting a theatrical release just like their Latinx superhero film Blue Beetle. The optics aren’t great that DC Films/WarnerMedia is dumping diverse superhero projects on a streaming service instead of giving them a traditional theatrical run.

A release date hasn’t been named but we’ll likely get a good look at the project in 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Blade’ Director Bassam Tariq To Contribute As A Writer On The Marvel Reboot

We’ve been somewhat kept in the dark about Marvel Studios’ Blade reboot as the project is currently in development stages with two-time Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage, Moonlight, Green Book) attached to play a new MCU incarnation of vampire hunter, Eric Brooks. Trade reports suggested that filming could begin as early as next year.

The Ronin has learned that director Bassam Tariq is expected to be involved with the writing process alongside previously announced screenwriter Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen, Hunters), however, how much he’ll be contributing isn’t terribly clear at the moment.

Tariq wrote both the story and screenplay for his buzzed-about drama Mogul Mowgli starring Oscar-nominee Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, Venom, Sound of Metal).

It isn’t uncommon for Marvel directors to get involved with a script after a screenwriter has been hired, there are some recent examples with Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings), Sam Raimi (Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness), and Chloe Zhao (Eternals).

The filmmaker has already hinted to collaborative working environment with Ali and Osei-Kuffour, praising the two in interviews, including while speaking with IndieWire.

“What’s exciting about the film that we’re making is [there] hasn’t been a canon for Blade, as we’re reading through the comics and everything. Him being a daywalker is the one thing that’s been established, and you know we can’t deny what Wesley Snipes did, which was he basically got this whole ball rolling. A Black man created the superhero world that we’re in, that’s just the truth. For me to now be working with somebody as talented and a juggernaut as Mahershala Ali, and the writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour, I’m just so — I’m so honored to be working with real Black juggernauts and Black talent. For me to just be with them in this room and listen and learn as I build this out, it’s really an honor.”

Blade fans like myself are extremely curious what this new incarnation is going to look like and if they’ll ultimately bring in The Vampire Nation to the MCU with a mature franchise or water it down for a family-friendly audience. At the very least, continuing this idea they are this global entity while also have their own ancient texts and language.

Despite having most of the key players hired, Marvel Studios has yet to give Blade an official release date. Hopefully, they’ll announce one before the end of the year.

BLADE – A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race.

Posted on in Film News, News

Tom Holland Says They’re Treating ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ As “The End Of The Franchise”

Spider-Man: No Way Home will be swinging into theaters on December 17, but what the future holds for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man isn’t as crystal clear as it was before the hiccups between Sony Pictures and Disney/Marvel. At one point, an extension was nixed and Sony almost moved forward without the help of Marvel Studios.

Tom Holland was able to get the two studios back to the table and the third Spider-Man film was shot, thankfully still takes place within the MCU.

During a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tom Holland gives the impression that the end of the trilogy with Spider-Man: No Way Home, could ultimately be the end of the ride if new deals aren’t made.

“We were all treating [No Way Home] as the end of a franchise, let’s say. I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you’d be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the Homecoming trilogy. We would give it some time and try to build something different and tonally change the films. Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. But we were definitely treating [No Way Home] like it was coming to an end, and it felt like it.”

While there has been plenty of online fan speculation concerning the future of Spider-Man, Holland is currently without an official contract (despite an openness to return) as the actor said he completed it shooting No Way Home. Spider-Man 4 hasn’t been announced by either Sony Pictures or Marvel, alongside any future extension on their co-production deal.

Director Jon Watts is making a movie for Apple Studios that stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt, seemingly before he helps Disney/Marvel reboot the Fantastic Four (reportedly doesn’t have a script) for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This doesn’t leave much room for a return to tackle Spider-Man 4 anytime soon, Sony likely won’t wait too long before moving along with the solo films with or without Marvel/Watts.

Fans have simply assumed that Spider-Man: No Way Home will further connect the Sony Spider-Man Universe films to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, if Marvel parts ways with Sony that really doesn’t make much sense given Kevin Feige’s longstanding aversion to other people (even within the Marvel offices) tinkering with his cinematic space without his oversight.

What Sony does with their characters post-Marvel Studios is pretty much anyone’s guess with multiple solo movies on the horizon such as Jared Leto’s Morbius, Tom Hardy’s Venom 3, J.C. Chandor’s Kraven The Hunter led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Olivia Wilde’s untitled but assumed to be Spider-Woman movie.

One plausible scenario that was mentioned when Disney and Sony first walked away from a co-production extension, that Marvel/Sony would partner on Spider-Man 3, giving some finality to the MCU trilogy and then essentially let Sony do what they want with their characters. The Multiverse could easily place Holland’s Spider-Man outside of the main-canon Marvel Cinematic Universe allowing Sony to continue to use those actors, including Tom Holland finally being able to show up in Venom 3 or other spinoffs.

Tackling a version of the Sinister Six and pairing Peter Parker with Doctor Strange certainly feels like bucket list things for Marvel to do before saying goodbye to the character.

Until there is a real announcement of a further extension, we can’t really get too comfortable with the idea future Spider-Man movies will always take place within the Marvel’s established universe. Because Sony was already willing to chug along without them before, I don’t see how that changes if a deal isn’t reached.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY