Category: News

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Taika Waititi May Indeed Direct Scarlett Johansson In Disney’s ‘Tower Of Terror’ Movie

Disney is looking to release a new horror-themed film “Haunted Mansion,” which is loosely based on the popular theme park attraction. That’s isn’t the only project on the horizon that is connected to the parks as there had been plans on making a “Tower of Terror” movie and there seems to be confirmations of sorts that it’s still in some sort of development at the studio.

In a recent profile of actress Scarlett Johansson, Variety briefly supports a previous report from The DisInsider that Waititi is attached to direct the horror pic for Disney as the two worked together on the WWII movie “Jojo Rabbit.” But Variety failed to give any new concrete details of when that is exactly going to happen. The ride is directly connected to the “Twilight Zone” series and would certainly be a neat way for Disney to keep making horror films.

Step uneasily inside the infamous Hollywood Tower Hotel and find a dusty lobby frozen in time. Even the subdued hotel staff seems strangely out of another era. Suddenly a television set springs to life and Rod Serling welcomes you on a journey into the Twilight Zone. He reveals that on a gloomy Halloween night in 1939, some hotel patrons were riding the elevator when a violent storm struck the building… and they were never seen again. The hotel closed down and has stood empty ever since.

There had been some assumptions that after the actress’ legal headaches with Disney over money tied to Marvel’s “Black Widow” that something like “Tower of Terror” might have soured on her. However, given that Waititi is attached it could delay things even further given how busy the filmmaker is these days with multiple films he’s already attached to including a “Star Wars” film, a remake of “Flash Gordon,” and a new sci-fi pic “Klara & The Sun.”

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News, News

Kathryn Newton & Dan Stevens Nab Roles In Radio Silence’s Mysterious Universal Monsters Film

Universal Pictures once attempted to give their Universal Monsters franchise it’s own cinematic universe, which spectacularly failed after Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy” ended up a flop leading to the studio to pivot. Instead, they decided on allowing various filmmakers and writers to play within the sandbox, however, without all these new projects needing to inhabit the same cinematic space. This has led to a few mysterious projects that include one from the directing team of Radio Silence who previous made “Ready Or Not” and the last two “Scream” movies. They’ve been gearing up to shoot their film and have added some interesting names to the call-sheet.

One of the latest additions to the untitled film is “Ant-Man 3” actress Kathryn Newton according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, given the secrecy surrounding the mysterious film it is unclear what her role will be. Newton, of course, isn’t a strange to the horror genre after the body-switching slasher comedy “Freaky” and will be seen in Zelda Williams’ “Lisa Frankenstein” that has a script penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno,” “Jennifer’s Body”).

Other actors assembled the for the upcoming horror project includes Dan Stevens (“The Guest,” “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire”), Melissa Barrera, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir, Kevin Durand, and Will Catlett.

We’re still unclear who or what the “monster” is going to be and how exactly it ties into the greater Universal Monsters mythology, but those details are likely to trickle-out eventually. It’s said the project was once called “Dracula’s Daughter” that involved kidnappers scooping up a bunch of youngsters with the Count’s daughter being in that group. But it’s unknown if that is still what is happening in this incarnation from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.

The untitled horror movie has been given a release date of April 19, 2024 by Universal.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Cast Adds Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci & Catharine O’Hara

Tim Burton‘s “Beetlejuice” came out a year before he revitalized the superhero genre with “Batman.” After a nearly three decade attempt to make a sequel, it is finally coming to fruition with “Beetlejuice 2.” Warner Bros. is about to being shooting the sequel soon in London and it comes after star Michael Keaton had recreantly returned to the Bruce Wayne/Batman role for “The Flash” film. Burton, who back in the director’s chair, is slowly assembling quite the interesting cast and the newest acquisition is no different.

Backing up previous rumblings online, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that actor Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things”) has indeed joined the cast alongside fellow new additions such as Jenna Ortega (“Scream 6”), Justin Theroux (“Leftovers”), and Monica Bellucci (“Spectre”). Returning cast members include Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catharine O’Hara is now confirmed to be reprising the role of Lydia’s mother from the original pic.

In the first movie, Beetlejuice was more of an adversary than his cartoon counterpart and with Bellucci said to be playing the ghost’s wife in the sequel it could quell some of the more icky aspects of the 1988 installment. Mainly, Beetlejuice trying to marry a minor and could see the sequel lean more into the mythology established in that aforementioned cartoon series that explored the Netherworld (Land of The Dead) in more depth.

A script for the sequel was penned by Al Gough and Miles Millar, who had recently worked with Burton on his popular Netflix series “Wednesday” that starred Ortega as the titular character in the “Addams Family” revival.

The studio recently gave “Beetlejuice 2” a prime release date of September 6, 2024.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘Street Fighter’: Legendary Secures Rights To Make Live-Action Film & TV Projects

Video game adaptations are having a bit of a moment with HBO‘s series The Last of Us doing extremely well and now heading into a second season. One video game property that is about to launch a brand new installment, Street Fighter, is getting brand new live-action projects. The Hollywood Reporter is revealing that Legendary has secured the rights to Street Fighter from publisher/owner Capcom to make live-action films and a television series with game company co-producing those future projects. Although, no creatives are named in the report or who is expected to direct the new movie.

Street Fighter first released back in 1987, but it wasn’t until it’s sequel, Street Fighter II and subsequent versions/sequels that the fevered fandom was created leading to a multitude of crossovers and merch. A tournament-based fighting game (less violent most competitors) that focuses on a global group of fighters that are sort either cohorts of heroic Japanese protagonist Ryu or the evil minions of M. Bison. The game was so popular it helped developers get backing for other arcade fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Tekken.

In 1994, the first live-action film “loosely” based on the game was released with a cast that consisted of Jean-Claude Van Damme as “American” soldier Guile, the late Raul Julia as the villainous dictator M. Bison, Ming-Na Wen as Chun-Li, Bryon Mann as Ryu, and Aussie pop-star Kylie Minogue as Cammy. While many fans have since embraced the campy nature of the production, it hardly had anything to do with the video game and felt more like it was trying copy the hit Hong Kong film Supercop that starred Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, but turning it into a kid-friendly version. That same year, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie was released in Japan but the anime took a darker R-rated tone than it’s live-action counterpart with violence/nudity and is considered the better of the two films. North America eventually got a PG-13 cut of the anime on home video in 1995.

To speak towards the game’s massive popularity in the 1990s, the year before the film’s release the characters showed up in the Jackie Chan film City Hunter with the actor portraying various characters including dressing in drag to play Chun-Li.

The less said of the 20th Century film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li from 2009 the better.

Legendary was behind the live-action Detective Pikachu movie and certainly did the Nintendo franchise justice as a sequel is in the works. So, after Capcom’s Hollywood experience with the Resident Evil franchise and the recent Monster Hunter film, you can’t really blame them to court a studio like Legendary behind bigger things. Other Legendary IP projects on the horizon include Dune: Part Two, a sequel to Godzilla vs Kong, Detective Pikachu 2, Gundam, Duke Nukem, The Toxic Avenger, HBO Max’s Dune: The Sisterhood, a Sin City series, and the Apple’ series Godzilla & The Titans.

SOURCE: THR

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‘John Wick’ Spinoff Movie ‘Ballerina’ Lands Cameo From ‘Nikita’ Star Anne Parillaud & Set Photo

This weekend sees the release of John Wick 4 and longtime director Chad Stahelski has talked about taking a much deserved hiatus from the action-packed franchise. Another film is horizon set directly in the John Wick universe with Ballerina. A spinoff feature film that will see Oscar-nominee Ana de Armas (Blonde) star in the lead after standout supporting roles in high-profile projects like No Time To Time, Blade Runner 2049, and The Gray Man.

One of the landmark films cited as inspiration for Ballerina is Luc Besson’s breakout European thriller La Femme Nikita that starred Anne Parillaud. It centers on a troubled young woman, Nikita, sentenced to lethal injection after a robbery with her street gang cohorts goes wrong leading to multiple deaths including her killing a police officer point blank with a handgun. When she wakes in a secret facility, it’s revealed that Nikita has been selected to become a government assassin. An American remake, Point of No Return, starring Bridget Fonda and Gabriel Byrne would be released in 1993.

Parillaud is now confirmed to appear in Ballerina joining a stellar group of veteran international actors playing various characters in the John Wick universe.

Last month, the French actress posted on her official Instagram account that her role would be simply a cameo and was shooting scenes in Prague. Parillaud has been listed on film’s IMDB page but this is now solid confirmation she is indeed in the spinoff as the actress hadn’t been mentioned in previous trade reports concerning the cast.

Ballerina will focus on Rooney, a young woman connected to the Ruska Roma (Wick’s homestead criminal syndicate) who uses her obtained deadly skills to get revenge when her family is killed by hitmen.

Len Wiseman (Die Hard 4, Underworld) directs from a script penned by Shay Hatten (John Wick 3, John Wick 4) and Oscar-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman). Other members of the supporting cast includes Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Gabriel Byrne (Point of No Return, The Usual Suspects), and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Due to the film being set during the six month gap between the events of John Wick 3 and John Wick 4 we’ll see the return of Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Anjelica Houston, and the late Lance Reddick in one of his final performances.

We can also share this nifty set photo from Ballerina with Reedus and de Armas.

Speaking of Luc Besson, The Ronin can confirm the spinoff was shot by French cinematographer Romain Lacourbas (The Witcher). The director of photography’s film credits include two action movies that were co-written and produced by Besson with Liam Neeson’s Taken 2 and Colombiana (a spiritual sequel to The Professional) that starred Zoe Saldaña.

Lionsgate hasn’t officially given Ballerina a release date but we’re hopeful that the studio gives the action pic a spot later this year, so they can capitalize on the goodwill of John Wick 4’s success. We’ll just have to wait a little longer before the studio makes an official announcement.

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‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Sequel Set For March 2024 & Cast Assembled For Apple’s ‘Godzilla & The Titans’ Series 

Adam Wingard is back to direct the follow-up to the kaiju box office hit Godzilla vs. Kong, as the untitled film is aiming to begin shooting sometime this year in Australia and Warner Bros. has now announced that it will be ready to hit theaters on March 15, 2024. Although, it’s unclear what the movie is about there had been suggestions it could be a remake of Son of Kong or at least take elements from it (including Kong’s son Kiko).

There are a bunch of things that Legendary could pursue in this next installment such as Hollow Earth being a replacement location for Skull Island and could mean more giant apes or creatures similar to Godzilla hidden there. One big sci-fi element that hasn’t wiggled its way into the Monsterverse franchise, as of yet, is the presence of aliens which had been part of the Godzilla franchise for ages. Humanoid or ape-looking aliens could be thrown into the mix to give human characters something else to do between the battle scenes/city destruction.

As the film side seems to be chugging along, the Apple series directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision) has found the first group of actors assembled for Godzilla & The Titans. A Godzilla spinoff that is said to focus on Monarch and take place after the events of the first film in Legendary’s franchise reboot. 

The Monsterverse series follows the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real. It will explore one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.

Deadline reports that the series has added Anna Sawai (Pachinko), Ren Watabe (461 Days of Bento), Kiersey Clemons (Hearts Beat Loud), Joe Tippett (Mare of Easttown), and Elisa Lasowski (Versailles) for the Monsterverse show and have shared character breakdowns. 

Watabe will portray ‘Kentaro,’ an intelligent, creative, and curious young man who has yet to find his own path. He will embark on a quest to learn more about his revered yet mysterious father and discover his own talents in the process. 

Clemons will portray ‘May,’ an American ex-pat with a roguish exterior that she uses to protect herself as well as others. Whether it be deciphering a code or finding the loophole, she is always three steps ahead of everyone around her.

Tippett will portray Tim, an office drone who dreams of secret agent adventure. His overconfidence gets him in trouble in the field, but he is determined not to fail his organization. 

Lasowski will portray ‘Duvall,’ an expert operative with unwavering confidence in herself and her skills. She also possesses a wry sense of humor, which she uses to guide her less field-oriented colleague.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Monarch series characters will end up crossing over into the films in the future. 

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‘4vibes Productions’ Confirmed For Marvel Studios, May Tease UK Shoot For ‘Fantastic Four’ Reboot

The Ronin has been on hiatus but is back to share an interesting tidbit about another new Disney Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) and also can confirm it’s indeed for Marvel Studios.

Titled 4vibes Productions, this “might be” the long-gestating Fantastic Four reboot that Marvel has been developing given the “4” aspect. Not only that, it looks like whatever the MCU project is it will be shot in the United Kingdom, which would suggest it’s a live-action project and would need studio space likely at Pinewood UK Studios or Longcross Studios.

At one time, director Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) was attached to the reboot before he bailed on the superhero project to focus on other film projects including a new Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew that will star Jude Law (Peter Pan & Wendy, Captain Marvel).

*Minor spoiler*

John Krasinski played a Multiverse version of Reed Richards alongside Patrick Stewart’s Professor Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange 2 but there aren’t any indications either of those actors will reprise those Marvel characters for the MCU’s main 616 universe moving forward.

There have been some indications from trades that a new director might be hired by the time D23 Expo 2022 takes place in September where Kevin Feige is expected to make all sorts of announcements. Perhaps, giving fans new information on things like Echo, Ironheart, Armor Wars, Captain America 4, Harkness, Daredevil, Nova, Thunderbolts, Wonder Man (we likely first caught wind of the project last September), Secret Wars, and their highly-anticipated X-Men reboot.

Bassam Tariq’s Blade reboot (confirmed for a shoot in Atlanta) and Shawn Levy’s Deadpool 3 (the R-rated sequel is confirmed to be a co-production with 20th Century Studios and could be potentially released by them) are expected to be the next films going into production in the near future as well, so there is some hope we’ll get casting/characters details soon.

We previously reported that Seasons 2 of Loki (confirmed by cinematographer Isaac Bauman) and Ms. Marvel (this might be announced in the coming months) will also be shooting in the United Kingdom. Most recently, things like Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, The Marvels, Ant-Man 3, and Secret Invasion have been shooting in/around the area. However, things had slowed down a little seemingly due to the pandemic.

Fantastic Four, Blade, and Deadpool 3 are without release dates but that is assumed to change soon.

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Florence Pugh & Austin Butler In Talks For Key Roles In Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part Two’

Director Denis Villeneuve is searching for three new cast members for his Dune sequel to fill important roles in the second half of his sci-fi-epic, splitting the first Frank Herbert novel into two parts. The studio seems to be zeroing in on young talent to appear in Dune: Part Two alongside Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya.

Deadline reports that American actor Austin Butler (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) is being eyed to play Paul’s evil Harkonnen rival, Feyd-Rautha, the dangerous pretty-boy nephew of Baron Harkonnen (played by Stellan Skarsgard). Butler recently worked with Quentin Tarantino playing a member of the Manson Family, Tex, in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and portrays the legendary Elvis Presley in an upcoming biopic co-starring with Tom Hanks.

The role of Feyd was originally played by musician Sting in David Lynch’s 1984 box office flop.

Earlier in the week, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that British actress Florence Pugh (Black Widow, Midsommar) was being courted to play Princess Irulan, the daughter of the Emperor, a role that would have importance in sequels. Chalamet and Pugh previously worked together on Little Women.

Dune: Part Two is set to be released on October 20, 2023, and had been hoping to begin shooting before the end of 20222.

SOURCE: THR & DEADLINE

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Steven Spielberg To Direct New Frank Bullitt Movie For Warner Bros.

While Steven Spielberg is getting for the Oscars, he’s already lining up a future film project at Amblin and Warner Bros. as the filmmaker is looking to direct a brand new film focusing on Steve McQueen’s iconic 1960s cop Frank Bullitt.

Deadline reports the project isn’t simply a reboot of the original film Bullitt but seemingly is a continuation with Spotlight screenwriter Josh Singer tackling the script, it also has the blessing of the McQueen family. Although, it’s not mentioned who will be taking over the role from McQueen.

A lot of people are rooting for Canadian actor Ryan Gosling after his role as the quiet but deadly getaway driver in Nicholas Winding Refn’s neo-noir film Drive, but I wouldn’t rule out an older seasoned veteran like Oscar-winner Brad Pitt (Ounce Upon A Time In Hollywood) being considered.

When the news broke, folks seemed to be puzzled that Spielberg would want to tackle an action-focused cop thriller. Despite his credits including things like Saving Private Ryan, Munich, four Indiana Jones installments, and Minority Report proving the director has the chops to handle the action side of things.

If you’re unfamiliar with the original film, check out the trailer and synopsis below.

Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal’s hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Metropolis’: Apple Announces Series Inspired By Fritz Lang’s Dystopian Sci-Fi Masterpiece Coming From Sam Esmail

Apple TV+ is still playing catch-up when it comes to compelling original content that gets viewership on the level of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, and other streaming platforms but has been seemingly focusing on quality over quantity. One example is their extremely popular sci-fi series Foundation based on the collection of novels from author Issac Asimov.

The streaming service is looking to adapt another sci-fi hallmark for an upcoming series, as Sam Esmail’s long-gestating television incarnation of Metropolis has finally found a home at Apple. They’ve given the project a series order with Esmail writing, producing, and will act as Metropolis’ showrunner. Apple made the announcement in a press release via Forbes.

It comes from Universal Studio Group’s UCP.

Based on Thea von Harbou’s 1925 novel, Metropolis was released in 1927 with legendary German director Fritz Lang putting together one of the most beloved pieces of cinema history. The landmark silent film helped inspire things like Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, and the Japanese anime/manga of the same name.

Metropolis presents a highly stylized futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia exists above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. When the privileged youth Freder (Gustav Fröhlich) discovers the grim scene under the city, he becomes intent on helping the workers. He befriends the rebellious teacher Maria (Brigitte Helm), but this puts him at odds with his authoritative father, leading to greater conflict.

It’s unclear if Esmail will attempt to modernize the visuals by taking an original route or attempt to incorporate designs from the original 1927 film.

SOURCE: FORBES