Category: Film News

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Elizabeth Olsen Suggests She’ll Begin Shooting ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Next Month

Not too long ago Marvel Studios executive vice president Victoria Alonso confirmed that WandaVision has finished filming which now allows Elizabeth Olsen to move on to her next big Marvel project, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. While franchise star Benedict Cumberbatch had previously suggested that he would begin filming this month it was a little less clear when Olsen would begin shooting her scenes as the film’s co-lead.

Elizabeth has revealed to travel outlet CN Traveller that she’ll be in England over the holidays either shooting/prepping for the sequel.

OLSEN: “I did a really strange deep-dive into how an American could legally live in the UK and I saw that there’s a retirement visa once you reach 54. I feel as if British people work to live – they don’t live to work, unlike in LA and New York. I am moving back soon to film the sequel to Dr Strange, so I’ll be there for Christmas, just outside London. Even given the current circumstances, it will be a nice trip.”

I’ve previously confirmed that filming will be mainly taking place at Longcross Studios in Surrey under the working title Stellar Vortex. Secondary filming locations were supposed to include Norway and New York City at one point. Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi has stepped in to direct after Scott Derrickson exited over creative differences with the studio. Hopefully, we’ll start getting some more casting news if they’re really undergoing filming soon.

Doctor Strange 2’s cast also is confirmed to include Benedict Wong as Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Karl Mordo. Newcomer Xochitl Gomez has reportedly joined the film in undisclosed role that many believe could be Young Avengers/Ultimates member America Chavez aka Miss America.

The United Kingdom is currently in their second lockdown which allows for film and television production, but further restrictions are now expected to go beyond December. We’ll have to wait and see if the government drops the hammer on productions in the coming weeks/months.

The Loki and WandaVision series are said to lead directly into films like Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

WandaVision’s debut on Disney+ has been delayed to January 15th, 2021 and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness is expected to release on March 25th, 2022.

SOURCE: CN TRAVELLER

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Zoe Saldana and Jennifer Garner Join Fellow Marvel Alumni Ryan Reynolds In Sci-Fi Flick ‘The Adam Project’ – Adds ‘X-Men’ Franchise 2nd Unit Director

Today, Netflix officially announced that actresses Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek, Guardians of The Galaxy) and Jennifer Garner (Daredevil, Elektra, Peppermint, The Kingdom) have been added to the cast of Shawn Levy’s sci-fi action film The Adam Project, which is said to include time travelling.

The ladies join fellow Marvel alumni Ryan Reynolds as filming began this week in Vancouver and is expected to complete in early March.

The Ronin can confirm that the Brian Smrz will act as the second unit director on The Adam Project and will be overseeing the film’s action sequences. Brian’s credits include X-Men 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Iron Man 3, Terminator Genisys, The Predator, Rise of The Planet of The Apes, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

There is word that production designer Claude Pare (IT, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Spider-Man: Far From Home) may have joined the crew as well.

This might suggest the film will skew more in the action realm.

Reynolds has been working closely with Netflix lately with their pricey action films 6 Underground and Red Notice. He previously worked with director Shawn Levy on 20th Century Studios’ Free Guy that had been bumped from a December release to sometime in 2021.

FREE GUY – A bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, decides to become the hero of his own story…one he rewrites himself. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way…before it is too late.

Netflix has yet to announce a release date for The Adam Project but late 2021 or early 2022 is a good bet.

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Margot Robbie Is Curious To See The Ayer Cut of ‘Suicide Squad’

On the heels of Zack Snyder’s Justice League coming to HBO Max as an extended miniseries there have been multiple calls from fans for Warner Bros. to release the original cut of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. The director has confirmed there was plenty of tinkering and many scenes removed from the theatrical cut.

Harley Quinn actress Margot Robbie has now revealed on The Happy Sad Confused podcast that while she never saw this cut of the film she would like to.

ROBBIE: “I never saw the Ayer Cut. I know we shot a lot of stuff that didn’t make it into the movie. I would be very curious myself.”

Earlier this month, David Ayer took to Twitter to debunk a rumor that the Ayer Cut was coming to HBO Max replying with “not true”. There really hasn’t been any official signs that it is coming anytime soon.

Robbie has since moved on as Harley Quinn with Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey and James Gunn’s The Suicide Sqaud set to be released on August 6th, 2021. It’s possible we could see more of her as the character that’s if Harley survives the Suicide Squad sequel.

SOURCE: HAPPY SAD CONFUSED PODCAST

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Will The Long Delayed ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Finally Begin Filming In August?

Development on a fifth and possibly final Indiana Jones film starring Harrison Ford has been in the works for five years at Lucasfilm. The project has been delayed for ages now after a string of release dates went from July 19th, 2019 to July 10th, 2020 to July 9th, 2021 to the most recent date being July 29th, 2022.

You might remember that Steven Spielberg exited the film and Lucasfilm eventually hired Logan director James Mangold. It’s expected that Mangold is working on the script after screenwriters David Koepp (Jurassic Park) and Jonathan Kasdan (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Willow series) have moved on.

It’s possible that they might finally inching closer towards filming. A new production grid for the untitled Indiana Jones 5 is making the rounds online and one of the places it landed yesterday was Daniel Richtman’s Patreon page.

However, we have to note there were at least two other production grids that suggested that filming would begin in 2019 and 2020 that never actually happened due to script issues. I wouldn’t be terribly quick to say this is lock without confirmation from the studio and casting begins but could give some insight when Lucasfilm hopes to get filming started next year.

They’ll also have to contend with lingering COVID-19 that won’t be entirely gone in the summer of 2021 (even with a vaccine in circulation) and potentially risking the heath of the nearly 80 year old Harrison Ford. Disney and Lucasfilm taking another mulligan until 2022 wouldn’t be the most shocking development.

Back in February, Ford himself told CBS Sunday Morning that they would begin shooting this year and those plans didn’t come together.

FORD: “Trying not to look silly, running around in tight pants and high boots… I’ll give you a more appropriate answer considering that I’m gonna start doing Indiana Jones in about two months. I’m always delighted to come back to these characters. When we have the opportunity to make another, it’s because people have enjoyed them, I feel obliged to make sure that our efforts are as ambitious as they were when we started.“

Last we heard from Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, Indiana Jones 5 is indeed a continuation.

KENNEDY: “Oh, Harrison Ford will be involved, yeah. It’s not a reboot, it’s a continuation…He can’t wait he absolutely is.”

In the past, Harrison Ford has debunked the talk of Chris Pratt (mixing him up with Chris Pine) taking over the role in a reboot stating to the Today Show the character is expected to die with him.

FORD: “Nobody is going to be Indiana Jones, don’t you get it? I’m Indiana Jones. When I’m gone, he’s gone. It’s easy. This is a hell of a way to tell Chris Pine this. I’m sorry, man.”

Back in 2016, screenwriter David Koepp revealed to Collider that franchise creator George Lucas wouldn’t be part of the story/script process.

It’s unclear if we’ll be seeing supporting characters like Wan Li aka Short Round or Henry Jones III aka Mutt appear in the final installment. I’d personally like to see them attempt to develop a new protege character and place Indy in the Henry Jones Sr. role as seen in The Last Crusade.

SOURCE: DANIEL RICHTMAN/PRODUCTION WEEKLY

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Jason Blum Optimistic About Marvel Studios Tackling Horror With ‘Blade’ Reboot – “Never Bet Against Marvel”

Another nifty quote from horror guru Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions during his interview with Inverse is his take on Marvel Studios finally tackling horror with their Blade reboot and the Doctor Strange sequel (originally announced as a scary film back at SDCC 2019), asking if Jason believes Marvel can make scary movies.

BLUM: “I’m of two minds. I would never bet against Marvel. They have a relatively good track record — that’s a joke, they have one of the best track records ever, right? I also think it’s a challenge to do horror at big budgets, but if anyone can do it, it’s Marvel.”

Inverse seems to be unaware that the scary/horror side of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness might be getting trimmed potentially due to the Multiverse aspect (likely making this more like an event film), something that was likely part of the reason director Scott Derrickson exited and was replaced with Spider-Man’s Sam Raimi.

However, it’s worth mentioning that Blade would most likely skew more in horror realm since the lead character is a vampire hunter and vampire hybrid himself. I think we’re all still curious how the action and violence will influence the film’s rating, given the original three movies are R-rated and given how the MPAA feels about blood/gore having tame vampires in your Blade film would certainly rub fans the wrong way.

When acquiring 21st Century Fox, former Disney CEO Bob Iger said they were open to the idea of keeping Deadpool R-rated which was seemingly echoed by studio heads Alan Horn and Kevin Feige. Blade is certainly a character that could be an experiment being produced by Marvel Studios then possibly released by 20th Century Studios under a Marvel Max or Marvel Knights banner, as not to confuse parents with the Disney side of the MCU.

It’s worth mentioning that Kevin Feige previously produced Blade Trinity (New Line Cinema) and Punisher: War Zone (Lionsgate) for Marvel, both R-rated films but the latter used the Marvel Knights banner.

There are certainly characters that should be set aside for their own mature films.

Marvel is reportedly now seeking black screenwriters to tackle Blade’s script which should tell you how in the development process they are at the moment. The project was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 with two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Alita: Battle Angel) playing Eric Brooks in the reboot. Ali revealed recently he met with the studio years ago after the release of the Netflix series Luke Cage to see if he could nab the Blade role.

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.

SOURCE: INVERSE

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Producer Jason Blum Promises ‘Spawn’ Remake Will Be “Very Edgy” Compared To The Original Movie

It’s been ages since we’ve had any real update concerning Blumhouse’s new remake of the Image Comics character Spawn, the feature film coming from comic book creator Todd Todd McFarlane who originally planned on writing and directing.

Producer Jason Blum gave a brief update to Inverse stating they’re still working on the story and will be making a much more edgy version compared the original live-action film released back in 1997.

BLUM: “It’s gonna be very different, it’s gonna be very edgy. What excited me about it is that Spawn is kind of the last great unexploited comic. So that seemed like an amazing opportunity. It’s taken longer than I hoped it would have to get the story right, but we’re still working on it.”

The version of Spawn seen in both the comics and the excellent HBO animated series as considered “edgy”. If you’re unfamiliar with Spawn, Al Simmons is a government assassin that murdered by his handlers then sent to hell. There he is given a chance to return to Earth to see his wife Wanda one more time if he leads hell’s army as the Hellspawn. As the Hellspawn, he decides to rebuff the offer and becomes a violent crime fighter going after mobsters, assassins, crooked cops, and a pedophile serial killer named Billy Kincaid.

From some of the comments made by Todd McFarlane he was going to attempt something that vastly deviated from his original version of Spawn which, to me, sounded like it would turn off a lot of fans of the franchise. Seemingly focusing on Twitch’s perspective and making Spawn more of a boogeyman figure. A concept that sounded like it was based on securing a smaller than normal budget so that Todd could keep creative control and direct.

The character made waves because at the time there weren’t too many popular African-American superheroes at the level of Spawn, the character and merchandise was everywhere before the ridiculous feature film make him a bit of a joke. A slight issue with the rights to Spawn is that Todd and Blumhouse can’t use franchise characters like mob boss Tony Twist (due to civil suit), Angela (sold to Marvel by creator Neil Gaiman), and Chapel (owned by Rob Liefeld via Youngblood).

Spawn got a little bit of a cultural revival recently thanks to joining the DLC character lineup of Mortal Kombat 11, voiced by Keith David, who played Spawn on the HBO series.

At one time, Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained, Baby Driver, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Miami Vice) was announced to play Al Simmons aka Spawn with Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker, The Avengers) to play an incarnation of Detective Maximilian “Twitch” Williams. Both are currently busy with Marvel Cinematic Universe projects as Foxx will be playing a version of villain Electro in Jon Watt’s Spider-Man 3 and Renner is reprising the Clint Barton role in a Hawkeye series for Disney+.

They had once planned on shooting the Spawn in Toronto, but it remains to be seen if they’ll stick with that location if cameras ever start rolling on the remake. Makeup and special effects artist Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead, Watchmen, Preacher) was also expected to work on the film, something I first reported in the summer of 2018.

SOURCE: INVERSE

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Paramount In Talks With ‘Creed 2’ Director Steven Caple Jr. For Next ‘Transformers’ Film Penned By ‘Kenobi’ Writer

After months of searching Paramount Pictures and Hasbro Studios has found a director for their next Transformers film. Deadline reports that Creed 2 director Steven Caple Jr. has been tapped by the studio for the upcoming blockbuster gig that will see him tackle a new film in the newly soft-reboot of the franchise that started with Bumblebee.

They point out that negotiations haven’t begun with the director.

This will be based on the script that screenwriter Joby Harold (Kenobi, Army of The Dead) developed.

This news would likely explain why Steven wasn’t being considered for Creed 3 with star Michael B. Jordan mulling over making his directorial debut on the Rocky spinoff sequel.

Hasbro Studios is also behind G.I. Joe Origins: Snake Eyes and a new Power Rangers film.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Four-Time Oscar Nominee Saoirse Ronan Would Like A Crack At Playing A ‘Bond’ Villain

With Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond coming to end in April, there are plenty interested to see who will end up playing the new 007 after producers confirmed they haven’t even started searching for a new actor despite rumors.

What’s always equally nice hearing is who wants to nab a Bond villain role playing opposite to the iconic MI6 Agent. Irish actress and four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn, Little Women, Atonement, Lady Bird) has thrown her hat in the ring to play a Bond villain if the opportunity ever came her way while speaking with MTV News.

RONAN: “I would love to do a Bond. What I really want to is like, I want to play a villain in a Bond film or something like that. That’d be incredible but I’d love to do something really fucking big.”

It also sounds like she’d love to be involved with a large blockbuster in general.

At one point, during the development of Skyfall, there was consideration to have a leading female villain with Craig’s current wife Rachel Weisz (Black Widow, The Favourite) reportedly wanted for the part in one of the early incarnations. Oddly enough, while producers have been open to giving female characters a larger presence in MI6 they still haven’t recently made the main big-bad a female which isn’t a little crazy given all the female villains that occupied the franchise.

It’s also worth noting that Ronan has previously doubled with the spy genre with her Joe Wright-directed thriller Hanna co-starring with Eric Bana and Cate Blanchette.

When Bond 26 will begin shooting or casting is unclear but No Time To Die co-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge is said to be currently working on the script.

No Time To Die is expected to drop on April 2nd, 2021 barring anymore release hiccups.

NO TIME TO DIE – Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. 

SOURCE: MTV NEWS

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Sly Stallone Officially Joins James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ In Mystery Role

Today, Sly Stallone has announced via Instagram that he’ll be part of the cast of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad in an undisclosed role. Which could be voice work for a CGI character like King Shark, villain Starro is another option, or possibly he’s just doing some ADR for whatever the cameo is.

STALLONE: “I’m on my way to do a little work with a great director, James Gunn, on Suicide Squad 2 and I think it’s going to be a spectacular effort. I saw it and it’s unbelievable so I’m very proud to be included but I can’t tell you anything more about it because you’ll have to wait and see but it will be well worth the wait.”

Stallone last weekend wrapped on his superhero film Samaritan in Atlanta and his statement here would suggest that he’s only just joined the film after watching it which could suggest he’s recording some post/voice work for the film. It’s worth mentioning that James Gunn is currently in Canada quarantining and would suggest Sly will be interacting with the director via Zoom/Skype further supporting the idea it’s voice recording.

This news shouldn’t be confused with the Peacemaker series aka Scriptures that doesn’t begin to shoot until January of next year in Vancouver.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHlVfoypWmF/

The Suicide Squad is set to be released on August 6th, 2021 barring any studio hiccups.

SOURCE: SLY STALLONE

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Zazie Beetz Reunites With ‘Deadpool 2’ Director By Joining The Cast of Brad Pitt’s ‘Bullet Train’

Deadline reports that Joker actress Zazie Beetz has joined the cast of Sony’s Bullet Train, an action film about assassins set on a Japanese bullet train. She’ll be reunited with Deadpool 2 director David Leitch and actor Brad Pitt who played the Vanisher in a brief cameo.

Bullet Train’s cast also includes Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Andrew Koji.

Zazie also worked with Brian Tyree Henry on the FX series Atlanta.

Filming is said to be taking place in Los Angeles, California.

SOURCE: DEADLINE