Category: News

Posted on in Film News, News

Chad Stahelski Not Looking To Resurrect John Wick For A “Cash-Grab” But Has Notebooks Filled With Ideas For Another Five Movies

Sometimes franchises stall or simply end. The popular “John Wick” movies are certainly in a very odd place with “John Wick 4” seemingly killing off our skilled protagonist (that taking place off-screen) and while the head of Lionsgate keeps telling the public they’re working on “John Wick 5” it doesn’t seem like that is happening anytime soon, potentially at all.

Director Chad Stahelski, who tackled all four installments, recently spoke with Inverse detailing that the ambiguity of the death of John was done on purpose and ties back to the mythology/fairytale angle they had been aiming for with the franchise.

“We just rationalize that any Greek hero like Odysseus or anybody else over a long enough timeline, every story’s a tragedy. The hero always dies. You just don’t know when. And we also know if you’re a bad guy, you do bad things, bad things happen to you. That’s just the way it goes. So, we always had that hard, hardboiled sensibility. And we got done with 3, and we kind of knew when we were doing the press tour, we’re like, ‘Fuck. We didn’t really end it. We didn’t stick the landing.’ And we had a couple of ideas. And Keanu and I put some things together, and that’s how we built No. 4: ‘OK, this is the swan song.'”

Keanu Reeves ist John Wick: Alter schützt vor Kugeln nicht

Still, it’s not like Chad and Keanu are saying a fifth installment or more is completely off the table. Stahelski brings up Reeves being game for another one alongside having notebooks full of ideas for another five films (maybe an exaggeration) but waiting for the right “idea” that clicks to get the two of them back. Rather than simply doing another installment because they want to make money from it.

“I have notebooks and notebooks of shit behind me, John Wicks 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. We have ideas for days. We just don’t have the story locked. I have no interest in doing the cash grab of bringing John Wick back for something. Is he a character I like? Of course. And if I did a couple of John Wick movies, great. Keanu would do one again in a second if we had a good story. We leave that open-ended. I know that the studio would love us to say we have another one.”

I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if they had killed John Wick, the myth. Allowing John, the man, to potentially live a peaceful life somewhere else away from the grip of The High Table and retribution for all the killing he’s been doing. However, if they did another installment something would have to drag him back What exactly that could be is indeed a head-scratcher.

John Wick 4's Donnie Yen wants to spin-off Caine

The filmmaker also commented on Lionsgate’s interest in spinoffs like next summer’s “Ballerina” starring Ana de Armas as Rooney, taking place between the events of “John Wick 3” and “John Wick 4” with Reeves set to appear in the action pic. The end of the recent film indicated that they could do another untitled spinoff featuring Donnie Yen’s Caine and Rina Sawayama’s Akira, with the latter seeking revenge for the death of her father in Osaka.

“Keanu and I are always interested in that, but we leave it hanging out there a little bit to figure out if we have something that we’d want to watch. Second, we have a studio that’s very enthusiastic and not just financially motivated, but they’re just interested in seeing what we could do with it. So, they’ve been super cool of us this year about branching off. I know the term is ‘spin-offs’ or ‘ancillaries’ or whatever you want to call it. Keanu and I both went back, and we all said, ‘Look, we have ideas for the John Wick world, other characters that aren’t John Wick-centric. Would you guys be interested in exploring that?’ And they were super cool, and they said, ‘Yes, we’d be very interested in that.’ Characters that weren’t in any of the movies that had fallen to the sidelines because they just didn’t fit in our storylines, and some existing characters that we’d like to see other things.”

Giving everyone involved some breathing room is likely a good idea creatively. Keanu Reeves likely wants to do other things and Stahelski is attached to helm multiple other films such as Lionsgate’s reboot of “Highlander” that has Henry Cavill attached alongside his samurai pic “Ghost of Tsushima” (based on the video game) for Sony Pictures. Perhaps, they’ll reunite for more “John Wick” movies but it does sound like they’re also open to the idea of simply moving on as well.

SOURCE: INVERSE

Posted on in Film News, News, Television News

Live-Action ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Project Officially In Development At Anonymous Content

With the release of a massive update to the video game “Cyberpunk 2077” from developers alongside the “Phantom Liberty,” the new expansion story. It looks like there is now some renewed interest in adapting further incarnations into other forms of media after the Netflix anime series “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.”

Today, the video game developers CD Projekt Red (“The Witcher”) have announced they have partnered with Anonymous Content (“True Detective,” “Spotlight”) to put together a “live-action project.” The press release stops short of revealing if they’re aiming for it to be aired on TV/streaming or will head to the big screen. But does mention they’ll now be seeking a screenwriter, which could indicate the desire to do a feature film within this mature cyberpunk universe. Also, stating it’ll be a “brand-new story,” likely means they won’t be adapting existing plots for this project.

CD PROJEKT RED Partners With Anonymous Content to Develop Live-Action Project

“The new project is at an early development stage and has currently commenced searching for a screenwriter to tell a brand-new story set in the world of ‘Cyberpunk 2077,'” the developers said in their official press release. “Anonymous Content’s AC Studios will serve as the studio on the project. The project will be developed in close collaboration with the ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ creative team.”

In “Cyberpunk 2077,” users play as V, as they attempt to navigate the seedy world of Night City and the newly explored Dogtown. A near-future fictionalized dangerous cyberpunk world filled with corporate espionage, gangs, advanced weapons, robotics/cyborgs, and cybernetic body enhancements. Taking all the best elements from sci-fi properties like “Dredd,” “Ghost In The Shell,” “Elysium,” and “Akira.”

John Wick 4's Director Used An Unusual Method To Cast Rina Sawayama

I think of I’m getting sick of Hollywood’s version of cyberpunk mostly revolving around white characters when a huge aspect of the sci-fi sub-genre is steeped within the aesthetics and culture of Japan. It would be really smart on the part of AC Studios to consider hiring an actor of Asian descent to play the project’s protagonist. One person who jumps out to us is singer and “John Wick 4” breakout Rina Sawayama.

Given CD Prokect Red’s working relationship with Netflix for “The Witcher” and “Edgerunners” I don’t think it would shock anyone if Netflix got their mits on “Cyberpunk.” Interestingly enough, both action stars Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba are already featured as supporting in-game characters. Hopefully, they end up getting involved and reprising their “Cyberpunk” roles in this new project given how quickly fans have embraced their involvement. Having those two attached, the famous faces of the game could get a lot of eyeballs and it does a lot of the heavy lifting to convince fans to support it.

SOURCE: CD PROJEKT RED

Posted on in Film News, News

Robert Rodriguez Would Love To Revisit ‘Desperado’ Franchise But Worries About Glorifying Gun Violence

Director Robert Rodriguez has been keeping himself extremely busy over the last decade with his kid films on Netflix such as the recently released “Spy Kids” reboot “Spy Kids: Armageddon,” tackling the “Star Wars” universe with “The Mandalorian” and his own spinoff series “The Book of Boba Fett,” the Ben Affleck thriller “Hypnotic,” and had worked with James Cameron by helming his ambitious cyberpunk adventure pic “Alita: Battle Angel,” a live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series.

During a recent chat with The Wrap, Rodriguez states that he would be interested in returning to his El franchise, which consists of “El Mariachi,” “Desperado,” and “Once Upon A Time In Mexico.” That action-packed trilogy focused on a gun-toting Mexican folk hero, a former musician, going up drug cartels and corrupt military leaders. However, the director is a bit uncomfortable with the idea of glorifying gun violence given the current climate of shootings and other real-life violence connected to the cartels.

Rod-Tino Tuesday: Once Upon A Time In Mexico – Couch Cruisin'

“I would love to revisit the ‘Desperado’ series. I thought it was way ahead of its time. It’s really hard to do today, for me, anything with guns. Gun violence has gotten out of control. Even those are those are very tongue-in-cheek and kind of fun. It’s just hard to do. There’s always some terrible shooting and you just go, I don’t know if I can responsibly do anything with guns. I really love those films, they are so fun. They’re like ‘Spy Kids’ for grownups, with guitar cases that fired missiles and gadgets galore. It was still made by a kid. Still, the glorification of it would be hard for me to pull off responsibly.”

There is certainly some shared DNA between those fun shoot-em-up films and the four “John Wick” movies from Chad Stahelski, they both make a point to establish they’re not set in a grounded cinematic universe. Something that “Once Upon A Time In Mexico” fully leans into as it comes off more like an action film mixed with a fairytale with over-the-top characters and ridiculous plot points. Not unlike his two extremely violent “Machete” films that are glorious love letters to the exploitation genre.

Speaking of Machete, we’re still waiting on Rodriguez to round out his trilogy with “Machete In Space.”

There was also a brief update/comment on the status of the “Battle Angel” sequel. While there haven’t been any formal announcements from Disney/20th Century Studios concerning “Alita 2,” Rodriguez reiterates that he’s still been keeping in contact with Cameron about the potential sequel and is hopeful that the studio is willing to make it as post-acquisition 20th Century is making more of their own movies again.

“Yeah, Jim and I always talk about how we’d love to do another ‘Alita.’ That studio [20th Century] was bought by another studio [Disney]. They’re starting to make movies now. But that for a while 20th Century wasn’t making any of their movies. I think now you’re seeing a few rolling out. We would love to.”

Previously, there had been some indications that deals or ideas had been thrown around behind the scenes as “Alita: Battle Angel” ended on a cliffhanger revealing Edward Norton as Nova, the next big villain Alita would have to face. Originally, when Cameron was attached to direct the plan was to shoot and release a trilogy of films. The global box office take of $405 million on a budget of $170 million wasn’t exactly on the scale of “Avatar” but seemingly was still enough for the studio to consider at least making one more installment given the mostly positive reception from audiences that did end up seeing it.

Then again, it’s hard to ignore all of the would-be film projects Rodriguez has developed over the years that simply never crossed the finish line such as “Barbarella,” “Red Sonja,” “Fire & Ice,” “Escape From New York,” a revival of the animated anthology film “Heavy Metal” spearheaded by Tim Miller/David Fincher, and his live-action “Jetsons” movie. We’ll simply have to be patient to see what he does next.

SOURCE: THE WRAP

Posted on in Film News, News

Studio Ghibli Producer Indicates Hayao Miyazaki Already Developing Next Movie, No Retirement In Sight

At the Toronto International Film Festival during the screening of “The Boy & The Heron,” it was revealed by Studio Ghibli VP Junichi Nishioka that iconic anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki wasn’t ready to retire and was mulling around their offices kicking around ideas for what could be next for him. Well, it looks like those ideas have morphed into the development of his next potential feature film.

French outlet Liberation (via GamesRadar) was able to speak with Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki, who seemingly confirmed (translation pending) that Miyazaki has moved on from those idea sessions to actively developing his next untitled feature film.

“[Hayao Miyazaki] thinks about this new project every day, I can no longer stop him, I have given up on that. I’m no longer trying to dissuade him, even if it might be a bad film. In life, only work enchants him,”

“We spoke again earlier today,” Toshio Suzuki continued. “He started talking about this new project, so I’m not stopping him anymore. As long as he works I will not retire. He is 82 years old, I think he will continue until he is 90 years old and I’ll be going along with him for the ride.”

Suzuki stopped short of explaining the details of that “new project” but given the semi-autobiographical angle of his latest release, it’s possible Miyazaki could be considering more introspective storytelling or exploring more elements from his past.

“The Boy & The Heron” will be making its North American debut on December 8.

A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.

SOURCE: LIBERATION

Posted on in Film News, News, Trailers

‘Silent Night’ Trailer: Legendary Action Director John Woo Returns With Blood-Soaked Revenge Pic This December

John Woo is arguably one of the most influential action directors of the 1980s and 1990s, he basically helped make Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat an international action star while also ushering in gun-fu, essentially an action sub-genre where gunplay is just as visually stunning as any martial arts fight. Those action pics such as “The Killer” and “Hard-Boiled” eventually caught the attention of Hollywood leading to him making “Face-Off,” “Broken Arrow,” “Harget Target,” “Paycheck,” and “Windtalkers.” The filmmaker is making his grand return to Hollywood after 20 years thanks to Thunder Road and Lionsgate, the folks behind the “John Wick” franchise.

Woo is very much back to the genre he helped popularize over 40 years ago with Lionsgate’s “Silent Night” starring Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman (“The Suicide Squad”) playing a grief-stricken father who is looking to get bloody revenge during the holiday season after the death of his son. The kicker and main gimmick of the film, our protagonist doesn’t speak. The film’s tagline is “Action Speaks Louder Than Words” and the trailer they dropped yesterday (See below) very much indicates that’s the case.

Here is the official logline of “Silent Night” via Lionsgate:

“From legendary director John Woo and the producer of ‘John Wick’ comes this gritty revenge tale of a tormented father (Joel Kinnaman) who witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang’s crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life’s mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son’s death.”

Other cast members include Scott Mescudi, Harold Torres, and Cataline Sandino Moreno.

Another Hollywood project on the horizon for Woo is a Western remake of his iconic Hong Kong pic, “The Killer.”

“Silent Night” will be blasting into theaters on December 1 and you can watch that new trailer below.

SOURCE: LIONSGATE

Posted on in Film News, News

Blumhouse Hopeful ‘Spawn’ Will Come Out In 2025 & Still Keen To Make A ‘Friday The 13th’ Movie

Blumhouse is obviously one of the bigger names in studio-made horror films and it doesn’t sound like they’re in any mood to end that string of success. What’s interesting are some of the various IP they’ve been trying to secure over the years such as their long-gestating live-action remake of the Image Comics character “Spawn.” A government assassin that becomes a soldier in Hell’s army, aka, a Hellspawn after a brutal execution at the hands of his black ops handlers. His last request is to return to Earth to see his wife one last time only to become a violent protector that goes up against the mob, crooked cops, fellow assassins, and even angelic killers working on behalf of Heaven to eliminate the latest incarnation of the Hellspawn.

At one point, comic book creator and rights holder Todd McFarlane was hoping to make his feature film debut as a director on the remake he had been personally developing internally with the aim to have Jamie Foxx in the role of Al Simmons/Spawn and Jeremy Renner as the persistent/logical police detective Twitch. Of course, since then, both actors have had their medical issues/recoveries, and remains to be seen if they’ll ultimately end up doing the film.

However, Jason Blum, the head of the studio, suggested a release window to ComicBook for the project that suggests they might finally be gearing up to get cameras rolling sometime next year and potentially have the remake in theaters by 2025.

“2025 is when Spawn is going to come out. I stand by that,” Blum said of the status of their “Spawn” remake.

While that determination to get the movie made and in theaters by 2025 is certainly ambitious, we still don’t know if they’ll be going for a more faithful comic book adaptation (minus the villains and supporting characters they’ve lost the rights to) or will go the low-budget horror film route that McFarlane originally intended. Since the project has undergone various rewrites. Also, we’re still not entirely sure who is actually going to direct it. There have been signs more recently that McFarlane could step aside from that role, but it’s not exactly official if that is happening.

“Spawn” isn’t the only existing project Blumhouse wants to get their hands on as they’ve previously been open in interviews about gunning for the rights to make a new “Friday The 13th” feature film. The rights issues seemingly have been settled as A24 is currently developing a prequel series titled “Crystal Lake” with the aim to mostly focus on Pamela Voorhees, the original killer of the franchise and mother of Jason.

While speaking with Inverse, Blumhouse’s Ryan Turek is still hopeful after tacking a new “Halloween” trilogy their desire is to get the ability to make new “Friday The 13th” movies. In which the studio would very much consider a proud feather in their cap if they can actually secure the rights and get the machete slashing again.

“Jason [Blum] and I are definitely in agreement that ‘Friday The 13th’ is the thing we would love to get our hands on. I really want to go back to the basics. You don’t need too many ingredients for a Friday the 13th film. You need summer camp, you need campers, and you need Jason Vorhees in a mask. Listen, I’ve gone on the record saying ‘Halloween’ is the ultimate slasher film for me. That’s my favorite slasher film of all time. But ‘Friday The 13th’ as a franchise is one that I just bow down to. I just love everything about it. And if we were able to live in both worlds, like we do with ‘Halloween,’ then to be able to live at Crystal Lake for a while would be so incredible.”

We’ll have to wait and see if Blumhouse is able to get either project off the ground. Although, given Blumhouse’s reputation of persistence it wouldn’t be that wild of a situation if they did end up getting their hands on Jason Vorhees. A studio that is mainly focused on the horror franchise’s legacy might have better intentions than a studio only looking to squeeze money out of it, which I’m sure horror fans would get behind. Then again, there had been mixed reactions to how they’ve handled their trio of “Halloween” installments and predictable groans concerning their recent release, “The Exorcist: Believer.”

SOURCE: INVERSE & COMICBOOK

Posted on in Film News, News

SPECULATION: Rumor Taylor Swift Is Playing Dazzler In ‘Deadpool 3’ Heating Up?

A while back there had been a rumor online that singer and sometimes-actress Taylor Swift (“Cats,” “Amsterdam”) could be potentially showing up in “Deadpool 3” in the role of mutant pop star Alison Blaire, aka, Dazzler (Swift keeps getting connected to the character). A lesser-known mutant in the “X-Men” comics but one tailor-made for Swift, pun intended.

Interestingly enough, Swift was spotted this weekend at the Kansas City Chiefs game (See video below) by sports reporter Dianna Russini alongside friend Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman, and “Deadpool 3” director Shawn Levy. While this, of course, could all be a coincidence as this group of people is linked via Ryan/Blake. Still, it does seem to help fuel those earlier rumblings given that a lot of people involved with “Deadpool 3” are hanging out with Swift in public.

Most fans might not be aware but in the original pilot for the 1990s “X-Men” cartoon, Dazzler was supposed to be one of the main team members in the 1989 episode “Pryde of The X-Men” before the revamped Jim Lee era team was used years later for the main series. A live-action version of Dazzler briefly appeared in “Dark Phoenix,” the final main “X-Men” installment in the Singerverse before Marvel Studios took over the rights post-acquisition. The mutant role had been played by Halston Sage (“The Orville’) but it’s been unclear if we’d ever see the character again.

Swift’s biggest acting role to date was in Universal’s disastrous theatrical take on the musical “Cats” which saw the singer transformed into an unsettling cat-creature with the help of some extremely sketchy CGI that set off the uncanny valley. However, considering the rumor mill has already suggested an OVERLOAD of Foxverse cameos such as Jennifer Garner’s Elektra (One of the less annoying cameos that has been confirmed by trades) and the possible return of many many many more of these Fox-era superheroes. It might actually be nice to see something new in the mix too like a new actor playing a version of Dazzler.

It’s also worth noting that Celine Dion appeared in “Deadpool 2” to sing the introduction song, establishing the idea of landing a big-name singer for these films.

Folks might remember the time Taylor borrowed the Deadpool suit from Reynolds for a Halloween party leading to some snaps of her wearing it. Circling back to that friendship Swift has with Ryan’s wife, Blake Lively.

Marvel Studios’s Kevin Feige once mused he was a big fan of Dazzler, according to Fandango’s Erik Davis.

Currently, the “Deadpool 3” production that was taking place in/around London is on hiatus until the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved with the AMPTP as the union that represents 160,000 actors is seeking a fair deal for its membership.

SOURCE: DIANNA RUSSINI

Posted on in Film News, News

Gareth Edwards Clarifies Involvement In ‘Rogue One’ Reshoots, Shot Darth Vader Action Sequence

Director Gareth Edwards is finally back with a new feature film, “The Creator,” after the haphazard production of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” While on the press tour for the futuristic film about artificial intelligence, Edwards is trying to clear the record about what exactly did or didn’t happen during the filming and subsequent reshoots for the “Star Wars” film. Tony Gilroy famously was brought on to help with the extensive reshoot, and ultimately, led to him landing the chance to flesh out Rebellion spy Cassian Andor’s backstory with the acclaimed Disney+ series “Andor.” When Gilroy was brought on there had been rumblings that Edwards was replaced completely and stopped working on the film, according to the director that just isn’t true.

Speaking with the KCRW’s The Business Podcast (via GamesRadar), the British filmmaker denied speculation/rumors that he had been thrown off “Rogue One” by Lucasfilm. Countering that narrative by stating it was a collaborative situation until the “last minute” and hammering home that point by revealing the last thing they had shot was the Darth Vader hallway action sequence, which Edwards says he shot himself.

“The stuff that’s out there on the internet about what happened on that film… there’s so much inaccuracy about the whole thing, and Tony [Gilroy] came in and he did a lot of great work for sure, no doubt about it. But we all worked together till the entire last minute of that movie…”

 “The very last thing that we filmed in the pickup shoot was the Darth Vader corridor scene,” Edwards added. “I did all of that stuff.”

After watching “The Creator,” a film with a lot of over-the-top violence with a focus on the visuals, it’s hard to argue with the man.

If you don’t remember the final events of the billion-dollar hit, the sequence in question saw Darth Vader being let loose on a group of Rebel soldiers/crew members as the Sith Lord is trying to get the Death Star plans back before they ultimately reach Princess Leia and directly into the start of “A New Hope,” the first film in the original trilogy. Some corners of the internet tried to push the idea that Dave Filoni (Only known for shooting animated scenes at this point in his career) had secretly directed the scene, not the case.

The action scene got such a segment of the “Star Wars” fandom pumped, and a handful of fans (alongside some blogs) began a small online campaign for Lucasfilm to make a solo Vader project simply based on that scene alone (Not exactly a great basis for a spinoff but okay). With that in mind, we did see prequel actor Hayden Christensen reprise the role of Anakin Skywalker in both “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (playing Anakin and Vader) and having some cameo scenes in the new series “Ahsoka” as well. Perhaps, the reaction to that sequence helped convince the studio to at least bring back Anakin/Vader? It’s a strong possibility given that it does seem that Lucasfilm does use internal polling to figure out what characters they should bring back or which ones could make the jump to live-action/canon.

“The Creator” is out in theaters and we recommend you check it out on the biggest screen available to you.

SOURCE: THE BUSINESS PODCAST

Posted on in Film News, News

‘X-Men’ Reboot: Marvel Studios Reportedly To Hear Pitches From Writers Soon

With “Deadpool 3” (Hugh Jackman finally in the Wolverine suit) expected to resume production once the SAG-AFTRA strike is resolved, it looks like Marvel Studios is aiming to get their “X-Men” reboot going as well with the WGA strike ended we’re now expected to see various writers meet with the studio and figure out how exactly to tackle mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the events of “Deadpool 3” (expected to deal with the Foxverse/Singerverse).

Without naming any screenwriting contenders or what the film could possibly be about, Deadline has given us the first real hint that development on the reboot is in the works. Stating that Marvel will be taking pitch meetings for writers this fall with the tease of a potential announcement by early 2024 of who they’ve selected.

Keep in mind, that nearly all Marvel films go through multiple drafts and rounds of writers. So, in theory, whoever ends up getting announced first might not be the person working on the shooting draft or final version of the script.

What the mutant lineup ends up looking like is unknown and if the upcoming animated series “X-Men ’97” (a continuation of the Fox Kids series from the 1990s) will have a direct connection to it. Previously, the “What-If…?” animated series gave us Captain Peggy Carter, who got her live-action debut in “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.”

Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson, aka, Deadpool is expected to make the major leap into the main MCU as previously announced when Disney acquired the X-Men rights after gobbling up 21st Century Fox. However, it isn’t clear if anyone from the previous “Deadpool” movies or the upcoming one will be making the jump with him. Marvel Studios is now in a unique position to get comic-accurate versions of their characters on the big screen by erasing all the mistakes of the Singerverse as director Bryan Singer and producer Simon Kinberg took plenty of liberties with the characters to the point some of them didn’t match with their comic book counterparts in any real way other than their powers.

Starting fresh with a brand-new cast of actors seems like the best plan of attack here.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News, Trailers

‘Argylle’ Trailer: Matthew Vaughn Returns This February With A Twisted Star-Studded Take On The Spy Genre

It looks like the cat is finally out of the bag. The writer Elly Conway is indeed a fictional character and didn’t actually write the new spy film “Argylle” from director Matthew Vaughn (“Layer Cake”) as Universal Pictures and Apple Studios have released the first-look trailer for the upcoming action-comedy revealing the film’s main twist. What Conway (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) writes in her series of spy novels has an odd way of actually happening in the real world which has now caught the attention of various good and bad folks within the spy community including Sam Rockwell‘s Aiden.

Also revealed in the trailer is that the characters played by Henry Cavill and John Cena are actually from her books, and remains to be seen if they’ll ultimately be making the jump to reality. Changes are good though. “Argylle” seems to mix adventure, supernatural, and comedic elements something alien to Vaughn’s second film, “Stardust.” But with a bit of “Romancing The Stone” and “Knight & Day” thrown into the blender.

Another wild tidbit is that the new film hilariously features the real-life cat of Vaughn’s supermodel wife, Claudia Schiffer.

Here is the official logline of the film via Universal:

The greater the spy, the bigger the lie. From the twisted mind of Matthew Vaughn (“Kingsman” franchise, “Kick-Ass”) comes “Argylle” a razor-witted, reality-bending, globe-encircling spy thriller. Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World” franchise) is Elly Conway, the reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels, whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books—which center on secret agent Argylle and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate—begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Accompanied by Aiden (Oscar® winner Sam Rockwell), a cat-allergic spy, Elly (carrying Alfie in her backpack) races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur. The top-flight ensemble cast features Henry Cavill (“The Witcher”), John Cena (“Fast X”), Oscar® winner Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”), Grammy-winning pop superstar Dua Lipa (“Barbie”), Emmy winner and Oscar® nominee Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Emmy winner and comedy icon Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”), Sofia Boutella (“Kingsman: The Secret Service”), and the legendary Samuel L. Jackson. Alfie is played by Chip, the real-life cat of supermodel Claudia Vaughn (née Schiffer). Argylle is directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, from a screenplay by Jason Fuchs (“Wonder Woman”).

There’s been chatter about the film potentially becoming a franchise starter for Apple and could lead to multiple installments given the main crux of the film is that Elly can predict various missions and their outcomes. Also, the staggering $200 million Apple reportedly paid to secure the film. Perhaps, she ends up choosing a side or an organization by the end of the film.

“Argylle” will be heading to theaters on February 2 and you can watch that new trailer below.

SOURCE: UNIVERSAL/APPLE