Category: Television News

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FX Samurai Limited Series ‘Shōgun’ Casts Hiroyuki Sanada & Cosmo Jarvis In Lead Roles – Begins Shooting This Summer

The FX limited series Shōgun is finally moving into production after there had been plans to shoot back in 2018 but for various reasons it got delayed. It’s based on the James Clavell novel by that was developed into a television miniseries that aired in 1980.

Shōgun’s two male lead characters are Yoshii Toranaga and John Blackthorne. Yoshii is a powerful daimyo from a feared lineage, isolated and outnumbered by his enemies in Osaka Castle and John is an English pilot trying to fight a trade route the Pacific islands. FX has reportedly secure actors for the lead roles as Deadline says the network has hired legendary Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada and British actor Cosmo Jarvis.

The Samurai series was written by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo.

Shōgun is set in feudal Japan. It charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne (Jarvis), a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga (Sanada), a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties who must prove her value and allegiance.

Filming is said to begin sometime this summer.

Sanada’s western credits include Rush Hour 3, The Last Samurai, Mortal Kombat, Westworld, Avengers: Endgame, Life, The Wolverine, Sunshine, 47 Ronin, Speed Racer, and Army of The Dead.

This won’t be the samurai series remake in the works as Entertainment One is developing a show based on the classic the iconic Akira Kurosawa masterpiece Yojimbo from Bryan Cogman, who worked on HBO’s Game of Thrones and Amazon’s new Lord of The Rings series.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Lucasfilm Pumping The Breaks On Their ‘Rangers of The New Republic’ Series?

Back in December, Lucasfilm’s Kathy Kennedy announced that a new Star Wars series, titled Rangers of The New Republic, would be part of a lineup of new shows for Disney+ adding that it would take place within the timeline of The Mandalorian with Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni set to executive produce. We had heard that Favreau was going to be the showrunner on the project but it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be in front of cameras anytime soon.

A small tidbit briefly mentioned in a new Variety write-up highlighting Dave Filoni’s new title as Executive Creative Director (as listed on the Lucasfilm website), suggests that the series currently isn’t in “active development.” This could mean the duo aren’t actively writing or planning-out the newly announced show which isn’t shocking with three other big Star Wars projects on their plate currently.

It’s worth mentioning they didn’t say the project isn’t happening or has been cancelled.

There had been some theories that after Gina Carano was fired by the studio back in February that the show might be in peril as it was said to focus on Carano’s Cara Dune (unconfirmed by Lucasfilm), the second season of The Mandalorian did seemingly attempt to prime audiences for this new series. However, Lucasfilm doesn’t strike me as the sentimental type of company after replacing a handful of directors instead of cancelling projects entirely and would end an entire show over a single actor.

Then again, they temporarily killed films that would center on Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett only to give them Disney+ shows instead.

This doesn’t mean Rangers of The New Republic can’t be retooled later or isn’t going to be made entirely, but likely since The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Season 3 of the The Mandalorian are going to be priorities for Favreau and Filoni, there is a good chance that they’re just a little busy at the moment with three other shows to make time for this fourth project. Personally, I believe they could push forward with a recast/new character alongside adding Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Captain Carson Teva and Bill Burr’s Migs Mayfeld to the lineup. Until Lucasfilm says they’re not making it we should assume it’s happening at a later date.

The Book of Boba Fett is the next big Star Wars series to debut on Disney+ in December with Andor and Obi-Wan Kenobi currently shooting.

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‘Dune’ Actress Rebecca Ferguson To Star In Sci-Fi Series ‘Wool’ For Apple TV+

Today, it was announced that Apple TV+ and AMC Studios are teaming on a series adaptation of the Hugh Howey sci-fi dystopian trilogy of novels that focuses on a community of survivors living underground in a ruined world, titled Wool, and they have selected British actress Rebecca Ferguson to play the lead role of Juliette with Graham Yost (Band of Brothers) writing and Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Games) directing.

Rebecca is best known for her role in the Mission: Impossible franchise and will be next seen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune remake in the role of Lady Jessica this October. Legendary is already developing a second Dune film to focus on the second half of the first novel and would allow Rebecca to reprise her part in the sci-fi epic. The studio is also working on an HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood, but there hasn’t been any word on casting for that series.

Ferguson recently shot Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible 7 during the pandemic and is assumed to return for the production of Mission: Impossible 8 later this year.

Some of the other Apple TV+ shows I’m anticipating is the Isaac Asimov adaptation Foundation alongside the WWII series Masters of The Air from producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Below is the official press release from Apple.

Apple TV+ today announced a series order for “Wool,” a world building drama series based on Hugh Howey’s New York Times bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels that will star Rebecca Ferguson (“Dune,” “Mission: Impossible” films), who will also serve as executive producer. “Wool” will be written by Emmy-nominated screenwriter Graham Yost (“Band of Brothers,” “Justified”) and directed by Academy Award nominee Morten Tyldum (“Defending Jacob,” “The Imitation Game”).

“Wool” is a set in a ruined and toxic future where a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Ferguson will star as ‘Juliette,’ an independent and hardworking engineer.

The series is executive produced by Ferguson, Yost and Tyldum, alongside author Hugh Howey. Remi Aubuchon, Nina Jack and Ingrid Escajeda will also serve as executive producers on the drama, produced by AMC Studios.

SOURCE: APPLE

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‘Wheel of Time’: Amazon Has Officially Greenlit Season 2 As Season 1 Wraps Filming

Amazon has multiple high-profile series as they’re still shooting the Second Age era Lord of The Rings series in Auckland, New Zealand and they’ve just announced that Season 1 of Wheel of Time has completed production in the Czech Republic.

Adding to that news they’ve officially greenlit a Season 2 of Wheel of Time, which is based on the Robert Jordan series of novels.

The cast consists of Rosamund Pike, Josha Stradowski, Madeleine Madden, Marcus Rutherford, Barney Harris, Zoë Robins, Daniel Henney, Álvaro Morte, Hammed Animashaun, Johann Myers, Priyanka Bose, Taylor Napier and Emmanuel Imani.

Below is the official press release from Amazon.

As Season 1 wraps production in the Czech Republic, Amazon Studios today announced it has greenlit a second season of the upcoming fantasy series The Wheel of Time, based on Robert Jordan’s series of best-selling novels. Both seasons, co-produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television, will exclusively stream on Amazon Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

The Wheel of Time is one of the most popular and enduring fantasy series of all-time, with over 90 million books sold. Set in a sprawling, epic world where magic exists and only certain women are allowed to access it, the story follows Moiraine, a member of the incredibly powerful all-female organization called the Aes Sedai, as she arrives in the small town of Two Rivers. There, she embarks on a dangerous, world-spanning journey with five young men and women, one of whom is prophesied to be the Dragon Reborn, who will either save or destroy humanity.   
 
Based on Robert Jordan’s best-selling fantasy novels, which have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide, The Wheel of Time was adapted for television by executive producer/showrunner Rafe Judkins (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Hemlock Grove). Larry Mondragon and Rick Selvage of Red Eagle Entertainment (Winter Dragon), Ted Field and Mike Weber of Radar Pictures (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Winter Dragon), Darren Lemke (Shazam!, Goosebumps, Winter Dragon), Marigo Kehoe and Uta Briesewitz will also serve as executive producers, with Briesewitz set to direct the first two episodes. Rosamund Pike will serve as Producer and Harriet McDougal and Brandon Sanderson as consulting producers. The Wheel of Time is co-produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television.
 

SOURCE: AMAZON

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Comedic Actor Jon Bass May Have Joined Marvel’s ‘She-Hulk’ Series

The Ronin is hearing that Miracle Workers and Baywatch actor Jon Bass may have landed an undisclosed role in Marvel’s She-Hulk series, which is currently filming in Atlanta, Georgia. Bass is likely best known for his comedic roles but it’s unclear how large the part could be given that Maslany’s Jennifer Walters is a defense lawyer and is expected to be interacting with multiple characters on the show.

Interestingly enough, Jon’s TBS anthology comedy series Miracle Workers shoots in Atlanta, Georgia and you can see a promotional video the show did for Made In Georgia below. One of the show’s writers happens to be Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania screenwriter Jeff Loveness, which is potentially noteworthy as well.

Jennifer is the cousin of Avengers member Dr. Bruce Banner aka Hulk and after a blood transfusion from Bruce is granted her own Hulk powers becoming She-Hulk. The series officially will see the return of Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky aka Abomination, Mark Ruffalo back as Banner, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Amelia, and Ginger Gonzaga.

The 10-episode series will be directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia with Emmy-winner Jessica Gao (Rick & Morty) set as head writer.

She-Hulk’s crew consists of production designer Elena Albanese (Lovecraft Country), costume designer Ann Foley (Godzilla Vs. Kong, Altered Carbon), and stunt coordinator Monique Ganderton (Loki, Avengers: Endgame).

Marvel Studios hasn’t announced when She-Hulk will debut but given the visual effects involved likely won’t drop until later in 2022.

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‘Loki’: Jonathan Majors Expected To Indeed Appear In The Disney+ Series

Back in December, Senior Entertainment Reporter Brandon Katz of the Observer dropped a juicy rumor on the Post Cred Podcast that Jonathan Majors (Da 5 Bloods, Lovecraft Country), who had been recently cast as Kang The Conqueror in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, was going to be showing-up first in Tom Hiddleston’s Loki series in June.

Well, The Ronin has recently come across similar information independently of Katz/Observer, which would bolster his original claim that we’ll see Jonathan’s MCU introduction in the Disney+ show before the release of Ant-Man 3. However, the size or scope of the appearance has yet to be determined but given the character’s connection to the Time Variance Agency, it could have plot importance to future MCU projects beyond the Ant-Man sequel set to shoot this summer at Pinewood Studios UK.

KC Walsh from Geeks Worldwide also backed up Brandon’s claim back in December.

Last month, Katz outlined in a piece for the Observer how Kang could be introduced in Loki.

The visually-striking show is said to help establish some of the ground rules of The Multiverse, which will be explored again in future releases such as Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness and possibly even more. I personally hope that Marvel Studios doesn’t overuse the Multiverse too much as the sci-fi narrative tool could become a storytelling crutch similar to time-travel.

It’s head writer is Michael Waldron (Doctor Strange 2, Rick & Morty) with Kate Herron (Sex Education) directing the episodes as production took place in Atlanta, Georgia.

Loki will debut June 9 on Disney+ with subsequent episodes dropping regularly on Wednesdays.

LOKI – Picking up immediately after Loki steals the Tesseract (again), he finds himself called before the Time Variance Authority, a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space, forced to answer for his crimes against the timeline and given a choice: face deletion from reality or assist in catching an even greater threat.

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RUMOR: ‘Moon Knight’ Might Shoot Scenes In Jordan

Marvel’s Moon Knight is filming in Budapest, Hungary with a spotting of Ethan Hawke but we’re hearing that won’t be the only filming location. We’ve been able to previously confirm that a portion will be shot in the London era and there seems to be a third location for the new Disney+ series.

While The Ronin can’t confirm this at the moment, there is talk that Marvel is looking to shoot scenes or exterior landscapes in Jordan. The gorgeous country has been previously used on Oscar Isaac films Dune and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This might seem like a difficult thing to pull-off during the pandemic, however, Ms. Marvel recently shot some stuff in Thailand and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier returned to Prague to finish-up filming too. On the film side, San Francisco was recently a filming location for Shang-Chi and is going to be used again for Ant-Man & Wasp: Quantumania.

Moon Knight, aka Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac), a mercenary who has numerous alter egos — cabbie Jake Lockley and millionaire playboy Steven Grant — in order to better fight the criminal underworld. But later he was established as being a conduit for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Most recently, the character was a consultant who dresses in all-white and goes by the name Mr. Knight. 

There have already been some exciting teases of the show’s action sequences with some lovely training sequences with Oscar Isaac kicking some ass. Marvel isn’t messing around as we were able to confirm that they hired No Time To Die stunt coordinator Olivier Schneider, signaling that they might be aiming for some high-quality action.

The directing team consists of Mohamed Diab, Justin Benson, and Aaron Moorhead with Jeremy Slater and Beau DeMayo writing on the show.

Kevin Feige previously told Collider that Moon Knight will be getting 6-episodes and is expected to debut on Disney+ in 2022.

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Marvel’s ‘She-Hulk’ Adds ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Stunt Coordinator & ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’ Costume Designer

The Ronin can confirm that Canadian stunt coordinator Monique Ganderton is indeed currently working on Marvel’s She-Hulk series that is actively shooting in Atlanta with Emmy-winner Tatiana Malsany (Orphan Black) starring as Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk. Monique isn’t new to the world of Marvel Studios with credits such as Loki, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Infinity War, and Thor: Ragnarok.

In the comics, Jennifer Walters is a defense lawyer, who is given Hulk powers after she needs a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner. It’ll be interesting to see how she’ll get her powers in the MCU incarnation and how closely they’ll be sticking to comic book lore as this will be the first time we’re getting a live-action She-Hulk.

UPDATE: Monique Ganderton has now confirmed her involvement on She-Hulk on her Instagram bio backing up our confirmation from May.

It’s assumed that Ganderton will be doing the motion-capture/stunt work for She-Hulk given that she already filled a similar role for the Avengers villain Proxima Midnight (voiced by Carrie Coons) and seemingly played a motion-capture character for the Loki series as well.

We can also confirm that Godzilla Vs. Kong costume designer Ann Foley is officially working on the Marvel show as well. Ann’s credits include Netflix’s Altered Carbon, ABC’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Sony’s Masters of The Universe remake (seemingly stuck in limbo).

The 10-episode series will be directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia.

Joining Tatiana in the Disney+ show will be Mark Ruffalo officially returning to play Jennifer’s cousin Bruce Banner aka Hulk, Tim Roth is finally back as Incredible Hulk villain Emil Blonsky aka Abomination, Renee Elise Goldsberry as Amelia, and Ginger Gonzaga.

Recently, we were able to confirm that Lovecraft Country production designer is Elena Albanese hard at work on the Disney+ series too.

Considering that Jennifer has a strong comic book connection to the Fantastic Four, I’m curious if the series will plant the seeds to her involvement with Marvel’s reboot directed by Jon Watts as She-Hulk at one time had become a member of the team. Watts is currently busy finishing-up Spider-Man: No Way Home due in theaters on December 17.

Given the extensive visual effects involved with bringing She-Hulk, Hulk, and Abomination to life it’s expected that She-Hulk won’t debut until later in 2022.

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Marvel Hires Thomas Bezucha & Ali Selim To Direct Skrull Series ‘Secret Invasion’

Marvel Studio is assembling a very solid cast for their Secret Invasion series that will be led by Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos with new additions such as Oscar-winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, Hot Fuzz, The Crown), four-time Emmy nominee Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones, Solo: A Star Wars Story), and Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night In Miami, Peaky Blinders) said to be playing a villain.

We finally know who will be directing as The Hollywood Reporter reveals that the studio has chosen Thomas Bezhucha (Let Him Go) and Ali Selim (The Looming Tower) to direct the event show that is going to explore a version of the Skrull invasion plot from the comic books. Multiple heroes are revealed to be the shape-shifting aliens as they were slowly replaced to allow the Skrulls to secure positions of power all over Earth.

Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels will feature three generations of female superheroes and could have ties to the series.

Filming is said to begin this fall in the United Kingdom with a 2022 debut being eyed.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘Lord of The Rings’: Amazon Announces ‘The Witcher’s Charlotte Brandstrom Will Direct Two Episodes

Today, Amazon has announced a third director has joined their Lord of The Rings series that has a massive budget of $465 million for Season 1 (five season commitment) and is still shooting down in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s massive budget revealed by trade reports.

The streamer dropped in an officially press release that Swedish-French television director Charlotte Brandstrom (The Witcher, The Man In The High Castle) has joined the fantasy series loosely based on the work of author J.R.R. Tolkien and taking place within the Second Age of Middle-Earth. The era that saw the rise of Sauron after the banishment of the first Dark Lord, Morgorth, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, the creation of the Rings of Power, and Sauron’s ultimate defeat (for a time).

She’ll direct two episodes alongside J.A. Bayona and Wayne Che Yip.

Continuing on the work of Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona and British Chinese Director Wayne Che Yip, Brändström joins the international ensemble cast, currently filming in New Zealand, to direct two episodes. Brändström is an International Emmy Award®-nominee for Julie, chevalier de Maupin. She has also directed over 30 feature films, mini-series, and movies-of-the-week including episodes of The Man in the High Castle, Outlander, The Witcher and the upcoming series Jupiter’s Legacy.

Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-Earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

The show’s massive cast includes actors Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, Lenny Henry, Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, Children of Men), Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Benjamin Walker (Heart of The Sea, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Arrow, Power), Simon Merrells, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Geoff Morrell, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, and Sara Zwangobani.

Episodes are expected to begin airing on Prime Video in 2022 and we’re hearing they’ll continue to use Auckland for the production of subsequent seasons.

SOURCE: AMAZON