Category: Film News

Posted on in Film News

UPDATE: ‘Big Hero 6’ Characters Might Be Coming To The MCU After Disney XD Series Was Cancelled Last Month

A new rumor from our pals over at The DisInsider is claiming that characters from Big Hero 6 is going to be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but aren’t exactly sure when and where they’ll be getting live-action counterparts. This would be their first entry into the world of live-action as they had a successful animated film and series from Disney.

We have exclusively learned that certain characters from Big Hero 6 will be making their live-action debut in the MCU. We’re not sure on who will be coming but we can at least expect Baymax and Hiro.

It’s unknown if they’ll first appear on a Disney+ series or in a feature film.

UPDATE: Variety is pouring cold water on yesterday’s Big Hero 6 rumor, as the trade has seemingly spoke with someone at Disney/Marvel Studios who denied the information and they also point out that Disney Animation Studios is still working on a Baymax! series for Disney+.

Despite recent reports, however, Hiro, Baymax and the rest of the “Big Hero 6” crew are not currently set to make their live-action debut within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Variety has confirmed with a source at the studio.

Disney also just concluded “Big Hero 6: The Series,” an animated spin-off show with much of the original voice cast from the feature. The final episode aired on Feb. 15 after running for three seasons on the Disney Channel and Disney XD. That might imply the “Big Hero 6” characters are shifting back to Marvel, but in Dec., Disney announced that Walt Disney Animation Studios was producing the TV series “Baymax!” for Disney Plus — suggesting Disney still sees value in further exploiting the animated feature. 

A different version of the same characters introduced by Marvel would inject the kind of consumer brand confusion that Disney has scrupulously avoided within its various divisions.

The tidbit comes after the Disney XD animated series was cancelled by Disney last month as first revealed by Entertainment Weekly.

Big Hero 6 The Series will not return for a fourth season, EW has learned exclusively.

We’ve seen animation characters make the jump to live-action recently with The Mandalorian as Star Wars animation characters such as Ashoka Tano and Bo-Katan appeared in Season 2. Ashoka Tano is now getting her own solo series on Disney+ and Bo-Katan will return for Season 3 of The Mandalorian.

I’m more interested to see if Marvel Studios will end up incorporating the fictional city San Fransokyo after previously establishing San Francisco in Ant-Man and Tokyo in Avengers: Endgame.

BIG HERO 6 – Robotics prodigy Hiro (Ryan Potter) lives in the city of San Fransokyo. Next to his older brother, Tadashi, Hiro’s closest companion is Baymax (Scott Adsit), a robot whose sole purpose is to take care of people. When a devastating turn of events throws Hiro into the middle of a dangerous plot, he transforms Baymax and his other friends, Go Go Tamago (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) and Fred (T.J. Miller) into a band of high-tech heroes.

SOURCE: THE DISINSIDER

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Guy Ritchie To Tackle WWII With Black Ops Flick ‘Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’ For Paramount

Deadline reports that Guy Ritchie had been hired by Paramount Pictures to write and direct a WWII movie, titled Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, based on a novel by Damien Lewis that focused on the formation of the first British black ops unit.

Previous drafts were penned by Arash Amel, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson.

When France fell to the Nazis in 1940, Churchill declared that Britain would resist the advance of the German army–alone if necessary. Churchill commanded the Special Operations Executive to secretly develop of a very special kind of military unit that would operate on their own initiative deep behind enemy lines. The units would be licensed to kill, fully deniable by the British government, and a ruthless force to meet the advancing Germans. The very first of these “butcher-and-bolt” units–the innocuously named Maid Honour Force–was led by Gus March-Phillipps, a wild British eccentric of high birth, and an aristocratic, handsome, and bloodthirsty young Danish warrior, Anders Lassen. Amped up on amphetamines, these assorted renegades and sociopaths undertook the very first of Churchill’s special operations–a top-secret, high-stakes mission to seize Nazi shipping in the far-distant port of Fernando Po, in West Africa.

It’ll be interesting to see if he ends up casting familiar actors such as Charlie Hunnam and Jason Statham.

Guy is a busy bee as he finished a thriller titled Wrath of Man that has yet to come out and is currently in production on his new spy movie formerly known as Five Eyes, both films starring Jason Statham. He had been announced to make an Aladdin sequel for Disney but that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon given all these projects he keeps attaching himself to.

At one time, Ritchie had been developing a remake of The Dirty Dozen but things eventually fell apart when Quentin Tarantino made his own WWII film with fighting men behind enemy lines with the Brad Pitt flick Inglourious Basterds. A project that was greatly inspired by movies like The Dirty Dozen.

When this war project will begin shooting is a little unclear but Guy has been moving quickly between the productions of Aladdin, The Gentlemen, Wrath of Man, and now with “Five Eyes.” I wouldn’t be shocked if this ended up being his next film to shoot.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Evangeline Lilly Confirms ‘Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania’ Will Begin Shooting This Summer

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania seemingly has a seasonal start date according to Evangeline Lilly. The Canadian actress has revealed in the comments section of a recent Instagram post they’re aiming to start shooting the sequel sometime in the summer.

Below is a screenshot of that interaction.

Lilly will be returning alongside director Peyton Reed and fellow cast members Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Newcomers include Kathryn Newton as the new Cassie Lang and Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors playing Kang The Conqueror, the latter is assumed to be the main villain of the picture.

There are multiple signals that filming will take place at Pinewood Studios UK, the British stages were previously used for Black Widow and Eternals.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, directed by Sam Raimi, is currently in production over at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England with cameras still rolling on Spider-Man 3 in Atlanta and Takia Waititi’s Thor: Love & Thunder just starting production last month at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, Australia.

Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 2 is reportedly aiming to start filming in the summer as well but will be shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. There is also evidence that Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel 2 will be shooting in the UK as well but given it’s November 2022 release date likely won’t begin shooting until September-October. James Gunn is busy with his HBO Max series Peacemaker but will eventually return to the Marvel family to shoot Guardians of The Galaxy 3, most likely in 2022.

Sadly, the Ant-Man & The Wasp sequel is without an official release date from Disney/Marvel.

SOURCE: EVANGELINE LILLY

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‘Fantastic Four’ Reportedly Doesn’t Even Have Screenwriters Let Alone A Script

Despite a dubious tabloid casting and production rumor that is making the rounds recently, Deadline’s Justin Kroll states on Twitter that the studio doesn’t even have a Fantastic Four script as Marvel Studios is only just starting to meet with screenwriters for the reboot from director Jon Watts (currently shooting Spider-Man 3 in Atlanta).

The film was only just announced to the public in December and the film’s director, Jon Watts, is still busy shooting Spider-Man 3. A rather large production that will still need to be edited and care given to the post-production process to be ready for it’s December 17th release date. With some basic logic/understanding on how movies are made the idea Fantastic Four is shooting anytime soon seems extremely ridiculous to present as sourced information, and with that busted the casting tidbit seems just as phony. You’d think fans and sites would have more common sense before spreading an obvious bunk rumor from notably unreliable tabloids.

I’m just as excited as everyone else to see what Marvel Studios and Jon Watts do with the Fantastic Four franchise but we’ll just have to be patient for real news on the project.

Watts will also deserve a bit of a breather after making a massive film like Spider-Man 3 during the pandemic Stateside and likely wouldn’t be interested in rushing into a second massive production without a little time to rest alongside the normal 5-6 months of prep needed for these MCU films.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Star Wars’ Actress Daisy Ridley Reacts To ‘Spider-Woman’ Fancast & Is Loving ‘WandaVision’ – “I Would Love To Play Spider-Woman”

A while back it was revealed that director Olivia Wilde was hired by Sony Pictures to develop a new Marvel film, which was reportedly going to be a Spider-Woman film. This could mean that Marvel and Sony could be working together again as the main version of the character is a S.W.O.R.D. Agent and originates outside of the Spider-Man comics, clearly allowed to be used by Marvel.

We still haven’t got clarity officially from Sony if it will indeed be Spider-Woman or if Marvel will be involved like with their Spider-Man movies. If they were working on it this would mean it would be automatically part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe while stuff like Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Kraven The Hunter are seemingly in Sony’s own spinoff universe. Morbius’ trailer hinting a direct connection with Spider-Man: Homecoming as it featured Michael Keaton’s Vulture.

There has been a growing call to have Star Wars alumni Daisy Ridley in the role of Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman. Her co-star Oscar Isaac recently joined the MCU nabbing the Marc Spector role for the upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight.

Sariah Wilson has now spoke with Ridley and dished about that conversations on Twitter when the subject of the fancasting for Marvel heroine Spider-Woman came-up. She didn’t seem to know about it but seemed game while curious if it was part of the MCU or some off-shoot.

Ridley also revealed she is watching Marvel’s WandaVision and is loving it.

This is hardly evidence that any real talks have actually happened or are currently taking place, but Wilson seemed to finally put Spider-Woman on Daisy’s radar after outcry from her fans to take the superhero role.

I’m still waiting on Sony Pictures to release more details on the Olivia Wilde film.

SOURCE: SARIAH WILSON

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Tom Hardy To Lead Netflix Action-Thriller ‘Havoc’ Directed By ‘The Raid’s Gareth Evans

It looks like Tom Hardy has found his next project as he’s taken the lead role in the Netflix film, Havoc, from writer/director Gareth Evans, the filmmaker has a new deal with the streaming giant and the action-thriller will be part of it.

The story is set after a drug deal gone wrong, when a bruised detective must fight his way through a criminal underworld to rescue a politician’s estranged son, while unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.

Evans is best known for The Raid and The Raid 2 along with his British crime series Gangs of London. He was also developing a Deathstroke film for DC Films and Warner Bros. at one time.

Tom has been known for taking various kinds of projects including The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Dunkirk, Mad Max: Fury Road, Venom, and this summer’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage. He was recently attached to star in the Vietnam War film The Things We Carried.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘The Flash’ Movie Taps Sasha Calle To Play Supergirl

The Flash movie is getting more superhero help as Deadline reports that actress Sash Calle has been cast in the role of Supergirl. The newcomer was selected over 400 potential candidates but impressed the studio and director Andy Muschietti.

A new Supergirl solo film had been in development stages at Warner Bros. before her addition to the Flash project, we have to assume that Sasha will likely lead that project if things finally come together on it. Screenwriter Oren Uziel (Mortal Kombat, 22 Jump Street, The Cloverfield Paradox) had been previously hired to write a script for Supergirl before development on the solo project froze.

The latest incarnation of Flash’s script was penned by Christina Hodson and will open the DCEU to their own Multiverse via Barry’s speed-force powers, taking cues from the Flashpoint story. There are already two Batman actors expected to appear with Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck teased in official concept art released over the summer.

The Flash will be shooting at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Watford, England with a release date set by Warner Bros. for November 4th, 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Edgar Wright To Direct New Faithful Version of Stephen King’s ‘The Running Man’ For Paramount

Deadline is reporting that Edgar Wright is set to direct a new/faithful version of Stephen King’s The Running Man for Paramount Pictures, taking more cues from the original King story than the 1987 film that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film took liberties with the source material to make it conform into a Schwarzenegger action pic.

Wright will co-write the story with Scott Pilgrim collaborator Michael Becall, who will ultimately write the script. The novel published under the faux name Richard Bachman had elements that weren’t used in the film including Ben’s sick daughter and how he signs up for the game show to pay her medical bills.

The Running Man is set within a dystopian future in which the poor are seen more by the government as worrisome rodents than actual human beings. The protagonist of The Running Man, Ben Richards, is quick to realize this as he watches his daughter, Cathy, grow more sick by the day and tread closer and closer to death. Desperate for money to pay Cathy’s medical bills, Ben enlists himself in a true reality style game show where the objective is to merely stay alive.

Given how well Wright handles action I’m sure it will be a substantial modern upgrade.

The original film version became a bit of a cult hit and one of the better Arnold flicks that aged reasonably well given it’s rocky production and a few problematic scenes.

THE RUNNING MAN – In the year 2019, America is a totalitarian state where the favorite television program is “The Running Man” — a game show in which prisoners must run to freedom to avoid a brutal death. Having been made a scapegoat by the government, an imprisoned Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has the opportunity to make it back to the outside again by being a contestant on the deadly show, although the twisted host, Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), has no intention of letting him escape.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Hugh Jackman’s Dystopian Sci-Fi Movie ‘Reminiscence’ Directed By ‘Westworld’s Lisa Joy Coming To Theaters & HBO Max On September 3rd

Today, Warner Bros. has announced that their upcoming sci-fi drama Reminiscence has landed a late summer release as it will drop on September 3rd in theaters and on HBO Max.

The project is part of WarnerMedia’s controversial day-and-date release model.

Directed by Westworld’s Lisa Joy, the film stars X-Men actor Hugh Jackman, who plays a private eye who deals in recapturing vivid cherished memories for clients. He becomes vexed by one of those clients played by Mission: Impossible’s Rebecca Ferguson. The setting takes place slightly in the future as Miami has been transformed by climate change as much of the city submerged underwater.

Other actors in the film include Thandie Newton and Cliff Curtis.

A trailer is likely just around the corner as we’ve seen a glimpse of footage from a recent HBO Max promo. I’m curious if Reminiscence will skew more in the realm of Inception.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

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Daisy Ridley Starring In Neil Burger’s Thriller ‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’ – Begins Shooting This Summer

Star Wars franchise alumni Daisy Ridley has secured a leading role in an upcoming thriller from director Neil Burger (Limitless), titled The Marsh King’s Daughter, which will see Ridley playing a woman that has to deal with her past as her violent father escapes from prison.

The project is a joint collaboration between Black Bear and STX.

Screenwriters Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith adapted the Karen Dionne novel for the screen.

Helena Pelletier has a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a business that fills her days. But she also has a secret: she is the product of an abduction. Her mother was kidnapped as a teenager by her father and kept in a remote cabin in the marshlands of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Helena, born two years after the abduction, loved her home in nature, and despite her father’s sometimes brutal behavior, she loved him, too…until she learned precisely how savage he could be. More than twenty years later, she has buried her past so soundly that even her husband doesn’t know the truth. But now her father has killed two guards, escaped from prison, and disappeared into the marsh. The police begin a manhunt, but Helena knows they don’t stand a chance. Knows that only one person has the skills to find the survivalist the world calls the Marsh King–because only one person was ever trained by him: his daughter. 

Filming is said to begin this summer after the project has been trying to get off the ground for years.

Daisy’s next film is Doug Liman’s sci-fi flick Chaos Walking, where she co-stars with Spider-Man actor Tom Holland.

SOURCE: DEADLINE