Category: News

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Argylle’: Apple Buying Matthew Vaughn’s New Spy Movie Starring Henry Cavill For $200M

A while back, Netflix made headlines when they spent an obscene amount of money to secure the global rights to Rian Johnson’s next two Knives Out sequels starring Daniel Craig. Well, it looks like Apple is jumping into the blockbuster game themselves as Deadline reports that they’ve spent $200 million to land Matthew Vaughn’s new spy project Argylle.

Argylle is based on the upcoming novel by Ellie Conway with a script from Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman, Pan).

It will star Henry Cavill (The Witcher, Man of Steel), Sam Rockwell (Iron Man 2, Moon, Seven Psychopaths, Three Billboards), Bryce Dallas Howard (Black Mirror, Jurassic World, Jurassic World: Dominion), Bryan Cranston (Godzilla, Breaking Bad), Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone, SCTV, Schitt’s Creek, John Cena (Bumblebee, F9: The Fast Saga), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained), and singer Dua Lipa making her acting debut.

While Apple is reportedly only buying the single installment, it’s been said that Vaughn expects the movie to be expanded into a trilogy.

In theory, Argylle could give Apple their own spy franchise as their director competitor Amazon is looking to acquire Bond production partner MGM Studios and will likely attempt to expand that franchise for streaming projects beyond the feature films.

The Ronin first revealed that the title for Matthew Vaughn’s next flick would be titled Argylle (originally we thought it was a working title) along with confirmations that the film’s production team would consist of cinematographer George Richmond (Fantastic Beasts 3, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Rocketman, Eddie The Eagle), production designer Daniel Taylor (Tetris), and costume designer Stephanie Collie (Layer Cake, Silent Night, Hellboy, Peaky Blinders).

Argylle is expected to be released sometime in 2022, but it’s unknown if Apple will pursue a traditional theatrical release or keep it as simply a Apple TV+ exclusive. The latter is assumed though.

Apple is also behind the big Napoleon Bonaparte historical epic Kitbag from director Ridley Scott film with a cast to include Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix and Jodie Comer. They’re working with Martin Scorsese on his upcoming thriller Killers of The Flower Moon, which will likely give Apple a strong awards contender.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Dune’: Jason Momoa Wants 4-To-6-Hour Extended Cut To Be Released; “I Don’t Want It To Be Trimmed”

We’ve been hearing a lot about extended or director’s cuts being championed recently. And it sounds like Dune has a much longer cut and actor Jason Momoa is getting behind the idea of releasing the four-to-six-hour incarnation allowing people to watch Denis Villeneuve’s longer version like a television.

Momoa’s comments were made during a chat with the New York Times and seemingly echoes how HBO Max released the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League.

“It was a cool movie. You know what they need to do? They need to make the four-to-six hour version of the first half. It’s like, ‘Let’s watch the four-to-five-hour movie like a TV show; I can choose when I want to watch the whole thing.’ I want to see Denis’s whole vision. I don’t want it to be trimmed,” Momoa told the New York Times about his interest of seeing the extended cut of Dune being released.

This idea of Dune being watched as a television show isn’t that far-fetched, as there was a miniseries adaptation by the Sci-Fi Channel and HBO Max/Legendary are developing a new streaming series, Dune: The Sisterhood.

Dune, part one of two installments covering the original novel by Frank Herbert, will be officially released in theaters and HBO Max on October 22.

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

Dune’s cast consists of Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES

Posted on in News, Television News

‘Werewolf By Night’ Project Rumor At Marvel Studios Resurfaces

Back in 2019, the folks over at Geeks Worldwide posted a rumor that Marvel Studios was looking at giving Jack Russell aka Werewolf By Night his own spinoff after appearing in an upcoming project. It’s now 2021, and it looks like there might be some new information that supports that original rumor.

The Ronin first revealed the Marvel Studios LLC Natural History Productions back in May and updated last month that the project would indeed be a Disney+ series aiming for a February 2022 production start in Atlanta.

It looks like the two separate tidbits of information were related as The Cosmic Circus, seemingly has acquired a production grid that links Werewolf By Night to Natural History, along with mentioning the working title Buzz Cut (previously attributed to James Gunn’s Guardians of The Galaxy projects by Production Weekly).

I guess we’ll have to wait for official confirmation but Kevin Smith did recently say that Marvel Studios had plans for the character alongside rumors of Russell showing up in Moon Knight.

Ethan Hawke might be a little older, but could an interesting Jack Russell if that’s his character in the Moon Knight series. Something that has yet to be made officially by Marvel or the folks working on the show.

Posted on in News

UPDATE: Bad Egg Productions Confirmed As Marvel Studios Project

As part of a group of LLCs that The Ronin first reported on back in May (when we couldn’t confirm if they were connected to Marvel), we’ve been able to confirm that Bad Egg Productions is indeed for a Marvel Studios project either streaming or for film. There is an assumption that Bad Egg could be referring to Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3, Mahershala Ali’s Blade or more of stretch might be an unannounced Thunderbolts project.

Deadpool 3 has screenwriters for the R-rated sequel while Blade is seemingly about to announce Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) as it’s director as he’s reportedly the studio’s front runner to helm the action-horror reboot.

UPDATE: A production grid has made it’s way to The Cosmic Circus, as the outlet claims after our own post that Bad Egg Productions is the upcoming Ironheart series and that the Disney+ show won’t shoot until April 2022.

Here is a rundown of other recent LLCs at Marvel Studios we’ve been able to uncover for a multitude of MCU projects that the studio has yet to formally announced by Kevin Feige or Disney. A new update from Feige is all but assured to announce what these new projects could be, officially.

  • MAGLEV TRAIN PRODUCTIONS (WAKANDA DISNEY+ SERIES)
  • ON YOUR MARK PRODUCTIONS
  • BAD EGG PRODUCTIONS
  • CANTINA PRODUCTIONS
  • BATTLE ANYONE PRODUCTIONS
  • ACID POP PRODUCTIONS 
  • NATURAL HISTORY PRODUCTIONS (DISNEY+ SERIES)
  • SPEYSIDE PRODUCTIONS 

Another LLC was picked-up by Murphy’s Multiverse, which is Richmond Street Productions that they claim might be connected to a Ghost Rider project. We can independently confirm the LLC is indeed at Marvel Studios but remains to be seen if it’s indeed Ghost Rider, there is a good chance it is.

Ionic Productions (Monica Rambeau, Wonder Man or Rogue?) and Old Guard Productions (Winter Guard or Red Guardian related?) are two more LLCs The Ronin has uncovered recently and we are still trying to confirm they are Marvel Studios projects. Stay tuned as we update in the future.

There is a likelihood these projects will shoot between 2022-2024. This list excludes Season 2 titles on Disney+ such as Loki, What If…?, and Ms. Marvel (The Ronin first reported on a second season).

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Renfield’: Nicholas Hoult To Lead Universal Monster Horror-Comedy From ‘Tomorrow War’ Director Chris McKay

Universal Pictures is trying to develop a bunch of various films within the Universal Monsters branding and an upcoming project is one focused on Dracula’s familiar Renfield. The project was developed from a story idea by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible) and has a script from Rick & Morty writer Ryan Ridley.

It was originally going to be directed by Dexter Fletcher (Eddie The Eagle, Rocketman) but has since been replaced with Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War).

McKay compared the film to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2 when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter giving us an idea of what to expect from the horror pic’s tone.

“Renfield is a story about Dracula’s assistant set in modern times, and it’s kind of a codependency success story. And it’s a comedy. It’s a horror movie. It’s an action movie. It’s about bad bosses. It’s written by Ryan Ridley, who worked on Rick and Morty, and it’s a really funny and emotional. It’s gonna be like a hard-R action movie, crazy-violent in an Evil Dead 2 kind of way. That’s gonna be fun,” the filmmaker revealed about his upcoming Renfield project at Universal Pictures. 

Deadline has now revealed that British actor Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class, Mad Max: Fury Road, Those Who Wish Me Dead) has been tapped to star just a week after landing the Searchlight thriller The Menu co-starring with Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes.

The film is said to be set during present day.

Universal is also developing a new Wolf Man film starring Ryan Gosling and a Dracula hybrid genre film from Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals), the latter might already have quietly started shooting.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘The Plane’: Gerard Butler & Mike Colter To Fight Off Pirates In Lionsgate Action Flick

Gerard Butler is continuing his relationship with Lionsgate and has signed-on to lead a new action pic titled The Plane, the film’s script was penned by Charles Cumming, JP Davis and Matt Cook. The film is based on Cumming’s novel.

Brodie Torrance (Butler), who, after a heroic job of successfully landing his storm-damaged aircraft in hostile territory, finds himself threatened by militant pirates who want to take the and its passengers hostage. As the world searches for the disappeared aircraft, Brodie must rise to the occasion and keep his passengers safe until help arrives.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Luke Cage actor Mike Colter has landed a role opposite Butler.

Colter will play Louis Gaspare, a cool-headed, ex-military man being extradited to Canada on charges of homicide when the plane crash lands on a dangerous remote island.

Jean-François Richet (Blood Father, Assault On Precinct 13, Mesrine) directs and is said to begin shooting later this month in Puerto Rico.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Hobbs & Shaw’ Producer Says Dwayne Johnson Decided Not Be Involved With Future Main ‘Fast & Furious’ Movies After Filming ‘Fate Of The Furious’

Last month, while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Dwayne Johnson announced that he wouldn’t be reprising the Hobbs role in the next two films, Fast & Furious 10 and Fast & Furious 11. This made waves because there had been expectations from fans that Hobbs would appear in the final two installments.

“I laughed and I laughed hard. I think everyone had a laugh at that. And I’ll leave it at that. And that I’ve wished them well. I wish them well on Fast 9. And I wish them the best of luck on Fast 10 and Fast 11 and the rest of the Fast & Furious movies they do that will be without me,” Johnson told THR and revealed he won’t be involved with the final two movies.

Dwayne Johnson’s producing partner Hiram Garcia (Jungle Cruise, Black Adam, Hobbs & Shaw) has reiterated this with Collider, and revealed that Johnson had decided about not returning after filming The Fate of The Furious. He also confirmed that a sequel to Hobbs & Shaw is in early development.

“After filming Fast 8 DJ made the clear decision to close the Fast & Furious chapter for all the evident reasons. He wished them all well and shifted our focus on to other story telling avenues. So while he will not be in F10 or F11, that won’t in any way interfere with our Hobbs plans. Obviously all these characters exist in the Fast universe and we love to see all aspects of that universe thrive and succeed. We just have specific plans for what we want to do with the Hobbs character and I think the fans are going to love it! We’re working to deliver something very unique and fresh and we know the studio is eager for us to get into it ASAP!,” the producer told Collider.

I’m sure many will remember that there seemed to be clashes of egos on the set of Fate of The Furious between Vin Diesel and Johnson, that seemed to be brushed-off as some wrestling promo thing. However, it’s possible that Johnson does have issues with working Diesel and simply doesn’t want to add to that tension.

It’ll be interesting to see when Johnson and Jason Statham will be able to make their sequel, director David Leitch (Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde) has indicated a willingness to return.

SOURCE: COLLIDER

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’: Brendan Fraser Nabs Role In Martin Scorsese’s Thriller

Actor Brendan Fraser has been having a bit of a carer resurgence taking roles in Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move and Darren Aronofsky’s drama The Whale, but the actor has nabbed another high-profile project working with a legendary director.

Deadline reports that Brendan Fraser will play lawyer WS Hamilton in Martin Scorsese’s new thriller Killers of The Flower Moon, joining a cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro.

Based on David Grann’s best-selling book, the Apple Original Film adaptation takes place in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts a string of brutal murders of Osage Nation Native Americans, which came to be known as the Reign of Terror. The Osage Nation, who were the richest people per capita in the world, were killed one by one after oil was discovered on their land. As the death toll rose, the newly-created FBI took up the case and unraveled a chilling conspiracy and one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.

DiCaprio will play Ernest Burkhart, the nephew if powerful rancher played by Robert De Niro and the husband of Lily Gladstone’s Mollie. Plemons took over DiCaprio’s former role of FBI Agent Tom White.

Filming had been taking place in Oklahoma.

Martin Scorsese has made a push to hire a large group of Native American actors, many unknown to Hollywood/audiences but the project has been controversial having a non-Native filmmaker making a film that chronicles the pain and brutal string of murders of a community he isn’t a member of.

Killers of The Flower Moon won’t be the first time the director has explored foreign cultures and historical events with previous pictures such as the Japan-set Silence and Tibet-set Kundun.

A release date has yet to be announced by Apple, but it’s assumed it could be ready for awards consideration in the fall. However, this will likely be depend on how much visual effects will be involved and how quickly they’ll be able to have a cut ready to go.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘The Gray Man’: Russo Brothers Have Wrapped On Netflix’s Most Expensive Original Film To Date

Netflix and The Russo Brothers are teaming to bring the streaming service’s most expensive original film with a feature adaptation of The Gray Man, a spy thriller that is said to have a budget of over $200 million.

To those who lurk in the shadows, he’s known as the Gray Man. He is a legend in the covert realm, moving silently from job to job, accomplishing the impossible and then fading away. And he always hits his target. Always. But there are forces more lethal than Gentry in the world. Forces like money. And power. And there are men who hold these as the only currency worth fighting for. And in their eyes, Gentry has just outlived his usefulness. But Court Gentry is going to prove that, for him, there’s no gray area between killing for a living and killing to stay alive…

The impressive cast consists of Ryan Gosling (The Nice Guys, Drive, Blade Runner 2049), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer, Captain America 1-3, Avengers 1-4), Ana De Armas (No Time To Die, Blade Runner 2049, Knives Out), Wagner Moura (Narcos), Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Rege-Jean Page (Bridgerton, Dungeons & Dragons), Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo), Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage), Julia Butters (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Eme Ikwuakor (Inhumans, Moonfall) and Scott Haze (Venom, Jurassic World: Dominion, Minari).

The sibling filmmakers have announced over the weekend that they have wrapped on the film.

It’s been said that Netflix hopes The Gray Man will be the first of multiple installments as they see it has potential to become their own Mission: Impossible or James Bond franchise. However, we’ll have to see if spending all that money was worth it as many of the original films from Netflix make for flashy trailers but never really live up to the hype and tend to lack the quality of studio blockbusters.

Netflix brass recently told Deadline they have zero plans to make a follow-up to Michael Bay’s 6 Underground starring Ryan Reynolds, something I’m sure they believed would become a massive success for them too.

They’re likely crossing their fingers that Red Notice starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds (another pricey action film) will also become a franchise player for them as well.

SOURCE: THE RUSSO BROTHERS

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UPDATE: On Your Mark Productions Confirmed As Marvel Studios Project

The Ronin first reported on a batch of LLCs that were expected to be for upcoming Marvel projects (film, television, and animated), one of those production companies was called On Your Mark Productions and we’ve been now able to confirm it’s indeed a Marvel Studios thing. It’s unknown of it’s for film or television though.

Fans have speculated the LLC could be referring to Johnny Blaze aka Ghost Rider, given the title could be a nod to racing as the character is known for speeding around on a motorcycle.

We can’t verify if that is the character but people have been talking-up a new Ghost Rider project coming for a while now.

Rumors of a new Ghost Rider project has been circulating online for ages going to back when Marvel Studios/Kevin Feige killed Gabriel Luna’s Ghost Rider series at Hulu (spinoff of Agents of SHIELD) when Marvel Television projects were slowing tossed away. Folks had assumed that Marvel had future plans or wanted to reboot with the Johnny Blaze incarnation.

The Direct was one of the outlets talking-up development of a new Ghost Rider project.

Actor Norman Reedus (Blade II, The Walking Dead) has been campaigning for the role with a large amount of fan support behind that effort. However, I’ve been personally rooting for Keanu Reeves (John Wick., The Matrix), who was one of the original contenders to play Wolverine and has his own motorcycle company Arch Motorcycles.

Nicolas Cage previously played the role in two motion pictures.

Adding Ghost Rider to the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be yet one more step towards the studio moving in on a version of Midnight Sons, as Mahershala Ali’s Blade and Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight are already coming as the horror/supernatural corner of the MCU grows.

Here is a rundown of other recent LLCs at Marvel Studios.

  • MAGLEV TRAIN PRODUCTIONS (WAKANDA DISNEY+ SERIES)
  • ON YOUR MARK PRODUCTIONS (GHOST RIDER?)
  • CANTINA PRODUCTIONS (NOVA?)
  • BATTLE ANYONE PRODUCTIONS
  • ACID POP PRODUCTIONS 
  • NATURAL HISTORY PRODUCTIONS (DISNEY+ SERIES)
  • SPEYSIDE PRODUCTIONS 

Two other ones we’re still waiting to confirm include Ionic Productions and Bad Egg Productions.