Category: Television News

Posted on in Television News

‘Midsommar’s Jack Reynor Takes Lead Role In Amazon Cyberpunk Series ‘The Peripheral’ From Lisa Joy & Jonathan Nolan

Westworld showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan are developing a series adaptation of William Gibson’s science fiction novel The Peripheral for Amazon. It was created by Scott B. Smith and will be showrun by Greg Plageman.

There is news of another casting addition to The Peripheral as Deadline reports that Irish actor Jack Reynor has taken a lead role of in the show. He’ll be playing Burton, the Marine brother of Chloe Grace Moretz’s Flynne.

The book centers on Flynne (Moretz) and her brother Burton (Reynor). In the novel, Burton, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps’ elite Haptic Recon force, is hired for a security job which takes place in what he thinks is cyberspace. When Flynne temporarily takes his place, she witnesses something that might have been murder.

Jack Reynor is likely best known from Transformers: Age of Extinction, Ben Wheatley’s action comedy Free Fire, and Ari Aster’s horror flick Midsommar.

If you’re not aware, author William Gibson is one of the fathers of the cyberpunk genre. His first novel, Neuromancer, was published in 1984 and became popular in the wake of the release of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. That film was based on the work of legendary science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, another famous author connected to the creation of cyberpunk. At one point, Gibson attempted to write a screenplay for an early incarnation of Alien 3 that never got made but was eventually turned into graphic novel by Dark Horse Comics.

Lisa Joy is making her feature film debut with the Hugh Jackman sci-fi thriller Reminiscence for Warner Bros. and Jonathan Nolan is an accomplished Hollywood screenwriter. Jonathan writing scripts for his brother, Christopher Nolan, those projects include The Prestige, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar. The pair are producing via their production company Kilter Films which is also working on a series based on the post-Apocalypse video game franchise Fallout.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

EXCLUSIVE: James Gunn’s ‘Peacemaker’ Series Adds ‘Eastbound & Down’ Director Jody Hill

The Ronin has learned that director Jody Hill will be working on the HBO Max original series Peacemaker starring John Cena as the titular DC Comics character. The show is a direct spinoff of James Gunn’s upcoming Suicide Squad sequel.

As the original press release from WarnerMedia states, Gunn will write all eight episodes of Peacemaker but won’t be directing all them leading to the hiring of Jody Hill.

Oh f*ck, it’s Peacemaker! HBO Max is set to explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, the master of weapons from the highly anticipated upcoming The Suicide Squad film, in the new Max Original action-adventure-comedy series Peacemaker. HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order of eight episodes for the first season of the show. John Cena will reprise his role from The Suicide Squad movie to star in the series, and the film’s acclaimed writer/director James Gunn will write all eight episodes of Peacemaker and will direct multiple episodes, including the first.

Hill is best known for his collaborations with comedian Danny McBride. His credits include Eastbound & Down, Observe & Report, The Foot Fist Way, Vice Principles, The Legacy of A Deer Hunter, and The Righteous Gems.

UPDATE: James Gunn has now confirmed our original reporting via Twitter.

https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1413947006423293958

Judging by their previous work it’s hard to ignore that Jody and James share a similar sense of humor. I guess we’ll have to keep our fingers-crossed that Danny McBride appears on the show and Jody ends up pitching his own DC Comics series or film.

Production on Peacemaker is already underway in Vancouver.

It’s cast also consists of Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn, Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon, Annie Chang as Sophie Song, Christopher Heyerdahl as Captain Locke, Nhut Le as Judomaster, Steve Agee as John Economos, Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, and Chris Conrad as Adrian Chase aka Vigilante.

The Suicide Squad is coming to HBO Max and theaters on August 6, 2021.

Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.

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‘The Last of Us’ Series From HBO Expected To Shoot In Calgary

The Ronin can confirm that HBO is indeed planning to shoot The Last of Us series in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Based on the popular video game from Naughty Dog it was recently announced the main leads will be played by Game of Thrones alum Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.

Filming is said to be taking place from early July and finish early June of 2022 (confirming info previously shared by Knight Edge Media).

It’s possible they could pause filming within that year to allow Pedro Pascal to leave to shoot for his Disney+ series The Mandalorian in California. When The Mandalorian Season 3 is actually filming hasn’t been confirmed but during the fall/winter would make a lot of sense as I wouldn’t recommend HBO film scenes for The Last of Us outside during an Alberta winter. There had been some confusion previously when the Season 3 shoot got mixed up with The Book of Boba Fett. Pedro’s busy schedule could explain why Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to begin filming next month in Los Angeles.

The Last of Us series is being developed by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.

Twenty years after a fungal infection obliterated most of the U.S. population and turned the victims into infected monstrosities, Joel is tasked with escorting Ellie to the Fireflies to help reverse engineer a cure. However, this isnt easy for either of them, since Joel has been left almost permanently bitter after the death of his daughter, and Ellie is distrusting of him.

Alberta would be sort of the perfect place for rugged and wild terrain for the show.

UPDATE: We’ve also learned that 20th Century Studios’ Predator 5 aka Skulls is said to be finishing pre-production tomorrow and likely will begin shooting sometime in April-May. Oddly enough, there hasn’t been any actual cast announcements concerning the film that is being directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) but they seem to be deep in the casting process.

Dan posted this today on Twitter.

The Canadian province was previously used for Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

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Sebastian Stan Would Only Play Luke Skywalker If Mark Hamill Called Him Personally About Sharing The Iconic ‘Star Wars’ Role

In Season 2 of The Mandalorian, Mark Hamill reprises the Luke Skywalker in an action-focused cameo. That scene had a de-aged version of Mark Hamill and used good amount of CGI to accomplish. If there was ever a Luke Skywalker series or if the Jedi had a bigger role in the future for other shows that might become too expensive for Lucasfilm to do on a regular basis. A more cost effective move would be hiring another actor.

We’ve seen for ages that Marvel actor Sebastian Stan would make a good Luke Skywalker because he is the spitting image of Hamill. This led to Mark Hamill informally giving his approval on social medial.

Stan was recently on Good Morning America promoting his Disney+ series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and was asked about the possibility of playing Skywalker in the future.

STAN: “If Mark Hamill called me, personally, to tell me he feels inclined to share this role with me, then I will believe it. Until then, I won’t believe it.”

UPDATE: Mark Hamill has responded on Twitter and downplays what his endorsement/blessing would do for Sebastian Stan landing the part.

We still don’t know if Lucasfilm has plans for Luke Skywalker beyond the cameo in The Mandalorian but since Stan is already in the Disney+ family there is a possibility they could at least ask him about it. While Kevin Feige confirmed there are ideas for a second season of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, there doesn’t seem to be a commitment for multiple seasons at this point and that might have to do with Captain American 4 being on the table as a follow-up to the series.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series is already opening the door for a new Luke Skywalker actor as the the project is expected to have a young version of him as we’ll see the return of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru with the setting taking place 10 years after Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith.

SOURCE: GOOD MORNING AMERICA

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‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Officially Adds Kumail Nanjiani, Sung Kang, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Benny Safdie, Rupert Friend, Joel Edgerton & Others

Today, Lucasfilm has announced a batch of new additions to the cast of Obi-Wan Kenobi with Kumail Nanjiani, Sung Kang, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Benny Safdie, Rupert Friend, Joel Edgerton, Moses Ingram, Bonnie Piesse, and Simone Kessell. They’ll join the previously announced cast of Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and Indira Varma.

The story begins 10 years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where Kenobi faced his greatest defeat, the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Bonnie and Joel will be reprising their prequel roles of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, these casting announcements would confirm that the limited series will add a young Luke Skywalker. This makes perfect sense as the limited series is set 10 years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of The Sith, also years before Star Wars: A New Hope and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Ewan McGregor has sort of hinted that we could see Ben Kenobi off-world and it’s been officially announced that Hayden will be returning to the role of Darth Vader, so the series will likely have an Imperial angle.

Ewan has confirmed the filming will take place in Los Angeles sometime in spring with Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian) directing. The press release includes an update of an April production start.

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‘Game of Thrones’ Author George R.R. Martin Signs Five-Year Deal With HBO – Are We Looking At Endless Spinoff Series?

Author George R.R. Martin has been involved with a heap of series lately and most of them are connected to his string of fantasy novels that were adapted by HBO into the international hit Game of Thrones. There are currently at least five live-action spinoffs in the works that includes House of The Dragon, a prequel series based on the novel Fire & Blood that will debut in 2022.

There have been previous reports that Martin’s Knight of The Seven Kingdoms will be turned a series, titled Tales of Dunk & Egg, along with three other projects in development such as Sea Snake aka The 9 Voyages, Flea Bottom (slum in King’s Landing), and 10,000 Ships.

George R.R. Martin isn’t stopping there as The Hollywood Reporter has learned the author has signed a huge five-year deal with HBO, that means he’ll be working with them to develop a multitude of new shows and potentially films as well.

Sources say Martin’s contract spans five years and is worth mid-eight figures.

Outside of the Game of Thrones stuff, George R.R. Martin is also developing HBO series based on other people’s work such as Nnedi Okorafor’s post-apocalyptic novel Who Fears Death and Roger Zelazy’s sci-fi fantasy novel Roadmarks.

I’ll be curious to see if they’ll attempt to create some original concept as well.

A handful of other Game of Thrones spinoff shows had been in development before this recent wave that will never see the light of day and it’s possible some stuff that has been announced won’t get past the pilot stage like their White Walker origin series. The Long Night aka Bloodmoon starred Australian actress Naomi Watts but the project from writer Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass) and the pilot was directed by S.J. Clarkson (Jessica Jones) didn’t earn a series order from HBO.

HBO isn’t the only place adapting George R.R. Martin’s work as Peacock is making a new series based on his Wild Cards franchise. Feature films are also on the table as well with Gore Verbinski directing a film version of Sandkings for Netflix and Paul W.S. Anderson directing a movie based on the fantasy short stories In The Lost Lands.

I’m not sure how he’s going to have the time to keep writing new books when he’s executive producing dozens of projects and potentially creating blueprints for them alongside showrunners.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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Marvel’s ‘M.O.D.O.K.’ Series Adds Jon Hamm, Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Fillion & Bill Hader To The Voice Cast

Today, it was revealed at WonderCon@Home’s Q&A for the upcoming animated Marvel series M.O.D.O.K. that they’ve added some big names to the voice cast. Those new names include Jon Hamm as Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Whoopi Goldberg as the villain Poundcakes, Nathan Fillion getting a second crack at Wonder Man, and lastly Bill Hader will be doing double duty voicing both The Leader and Angar The Screamer.

They’ll be joining a well-rounded main cast that consists of Patton Oswalt, Melissa Fumero, Aimee Garcia, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ben Schwartz, Beck Bennett, Jon Daly, and Sam Richardson.

The series will debut May 21, 2021 on Hulu.

In “Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K.,” the megalomaniacal supervillain M.O.D.O.K. has long pursued his dream of one day conquering the world. But after years of setbacks and failures fighting the Earth’s mightiest heroes, M.O.D.O.K. has run his evil organization A.I.M. into the ground. Ousted as A.I.M.’s leader, while also dealing with his crumbling marriage and family life, the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing is set to confront his greatest challenge yet!

You can check out the full panel below along with a special cameo and nifty clip.

SOURCE: WONDERCON@HOME

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‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’ Adds ‘Vikings’ & ‘Game of Thrones’ Actor Laurence O’Fuarain In The Lead Role of Fjall

It looks like Jodie Turner-Smith (Without Remorse) will have some company in Netflix’s prequel/spinoff series The Witcher: Blood Origin. A new casting report from Deadline states that Irish actor Laurence O’Fuarain has been placed in the leading role of Fjall.

They also provided a character breakdown.

Born into a clan of warriors sworn to protect a King, Fjall carries a deep scar within, the death of a loved one who fell in battle trying to save him. A scar that won’t let him settle, or make peace with himself or the world around him. In his quest for redemption, Fjall will find himself fighting beside the most unlikely of allies as he carves a path of vengeance across a continent in turmoil.

The main series is currently in it’s second season and is led by Henry Cavill as the iconic Witcher character Geralt of Rivia. Blood Origin has six episodes and takes place 1,200 years in the past.

Set 1,200 years before the world of The Witcher, Blood Origin will tell the story of the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal ‘conjunction of the spheres’, when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Alexander Siddig Joins Charlie Hunnam In Apple’s Gangster Series ‘Shantaram’ – From ‘Punisher’ Showrunner Steven Lightfoot

Apple is developing a series adaption of the novel Stantaram by author Gregory David Roberts, the story focuses on escaped Australian prison now living in India and getting himself embedded into the criminal underworld.

The series is being written and showrun by Steven Lightfoot, likely best known for his work on the two seasons of the Netflix series The Punisher starring Jon Bernthal as the Marvel Comics vigilante Frank Castle. British actor Charlie Hunnam is set to play the show’s protagonist, Lin, the escape convict.

A new casting report from Deadline has revealed that Star Trek and Game of Thrones alum Alexander Siddig will be playing Lin’s father figure and Bombay underworld kingpin, Khader Khan.

Shot across two continents, Shantaram tells the story of Lin (Hunnam), a man on the run from an Australian prison looking to get lost in the teeming city of Bombay. Cut off from family and friends by distance and fate, he finds a new life in the slums, bars and underworld of India.

Hunnam’s more recent acting credits include Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen and the Netflix thriller Triple Frontier.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Lord of The Rings’: Wayne Yip Officially Directing 4 Episodes

Filming is still happening in New Zealand on Amazon’s Lord of The Rings series and the streamer has just announced a new director.

Today, it was revealed by Amazon that British director Wayne Yip will be directing four episodes and also nabbed an executive producer credit. Yip joins fellow director J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), J.A. directed the first two episodes of the fantasy series.

Wayne’s massive amount of credits include Utopia, Doctor Who, Hunters, Misfits, Preacher, and Doom Patrol. The director recently working on Amazon’s The Wheel of Time, another large fantasy world from author Robert Jordan and likely had a lot to do with his hiring for The Lord of The Rings.

They’ve committed to at least five seasons which means Amazon is going to be spending a heap of money on this show. Considering they’ll be covering the The Second Age they have multiple events to cover including the fall of the ancient kingdom of Númenor, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth take on the Atlantis myth. Along with Sauron manipulating various kingdoms in the wake of The Dark Lord Morgoth’s banishment.

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.

SOURCE: AMAZON