Today, it was announced via Twitter that Supernatural actor Jensen Ackles has landed the role of Soldier Boy in the third season of Amazon’s mature superhero series The Boys.
The Boys is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods, abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven”, and their formidable Vought backing.
Ackles made the announcement on the official account for the series in a cheeky video.
The news comes ahead of the Season 2 drop on Prime Video which will debut September 4th.
I’d totally recommend catching up with Season 1 before the new season drops if you haven’t already.
In a more intense, more desperate Season 2 of THE BOYS, Butcher, Hughie and the team reel from their losses in Season 1. On the run from the law, they struggle to fight back against the Superheroes. As Vought, the company that manages the heroes, cashes in on the panic over the threat of Supervillains, and a new hero, Stormfront, shakes up the company and challenges an already unstable Homelander.
Writer/director George Miller still seems keen to return to the world of Mad Max with multiple films in various stages of development and is expected to shoot his prequel titled Furiosa once he finishes up with his current project Three Thousand Years of Longing. While a younger actress will replace Charlize Theron in Furiosa there is a shot we might revisit Theron in the role at some point in the future.
George Miller has suggested on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via The Hollywood Reporter) that he has considered two options for her after Mad Max: Fury Road, one having her turn the Citadel into a utopia and the other taking cues from Joseph Campbell (inspired George Lucas’ Star Wars trilogies) with Furiosa becoming her own version of Immortan Joe.
MILLER: “I’ve often thought about it. There are two ways to go. One is utopian, which is not an interesting story, really. I’ve somehow imagined that the first thing she would do in line with that, is go up and release the water … it wasn’t withheld. … A New Deal, politically.”
“Campbell said that the usual story is that today’s hero becomes tomorrow’s tyrant. The hero is the agent of change. They basically relinquish self-interest in order for some common good. [Campbell] basically says … you love what you’ve built, or saved, too much. You become holdfast. You become the orthodoxy. You develop the dogma and basically then you have to protect it. That tends to be the rhythm of these things.”
“I think she’s too smart to fall into that trap. She’s already seen it with the Immortan Joe. I believe he went through the same process. He was probably a heroic character in his own time.”
It remains to be seen if we’ll see more of Tom Hardy or Charlize Theron in the future but Miller has said he wants to make a direct sequel to Fury Road that could allow both characters/actors to return. A script or treatment was seemingly written at some point but it’s unknown if it will ever go in front of cameras.
Two other locations we haven’t explored in the films such as Gas Town and The Bullet Farm could easily be the settings for a Max-centric sequel.
In a bold move by director Zack Snyder and Netflix, The Hollywood Reporter has learned that they have decided to replace scenes with stand-up comedian Chris D’Elia with fellow stand-up comedian Tig Notaro (Star Trek Discovery, Transparent, One Mississippi) in the action-horror film Army of The Dead via some unexpected reshoots.
Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.
Tig’s most recent film role was in Noah Hawley’s Lucy In The Sky.
Chris had been embroiled lately in controversy after multiple claims from underage girls that he was sexually harassing and grooming them for sex. This led to Netflix to end an upcoming prank show that Chris was developing with pal Bryan Cullen (Joker, Warrior, Mad TV). Cullen is being accused of full-out sexual assault.
This certainly sees both Zack Snyder and Netflix take a strong stance on sexual misconduct along with putting extra money into their production to have him removed/replaced.
The reshoots will likely lead to a delay in the film’s release on Netflix.
Army of The Dead is Snyder’s return to the horror genre after his debut film Dawn of The Dead, a remake of George A. Romero film that was written by James Gunn.
Deadline reports that Universal 1440 and Netflix are teaming up for a sequel to the Keanu Reeves samurai fantasy film 47 Ronin, inspired by the Japanese historical event from the 18th Century but added fantasy elements to it. The new film is said to be set 300 years in the future and will be set in the exotic world of cyberpunk adding science fiction elements to the fantasy/horror from the original.
Mulan actor Ron Yuan will be directing with an expectation that filming could begin in the first quarter of 2021.
It’s unknown if they’ll attempt to bring any original cast members to play new characters but it certainly allows them to hire a majority of Asian actors to lead the film.
47 RONIN – In feudal Japan, Lord Asano rules his province with fairness. However, jealous Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) fears that the shogun favors Asano over him and hatches a plot that ends with Asano’s ritual suicide. After Asano’s death, his samurai, led by Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), are forced to live as outcasts. Oishi wanders for several years but realizes that he must turn to Kai (Keanu Reeves), a mixed-blood warrior he once rejected, to help him and his ronin comrades take revenge on Lord Kira.
While we’re excited to see any footage from Legendary’s upcoming Dune movie, actor Timothee Chalamet has teased on Twitter that a trailer might be dropping this month.
Also, an in-depth interview with director Denis Villeneuve for the Shanghai International Film Festival made it’s way online recently via Secrets of Dune and he talked about finishing Dune on time during the pandemic while in Canada. Along with mentioning the casting of Timothee as Paul Atreides and Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho.
He also reveals the impact of Dune on his career and calling it his “dream project”.
You can watch that below.
They’re expected to do some additional filming in Budapest, Hungary soon.
The studio is splitting the first novel into two movies with the sequel expected to be titled Dune: Part Two and is currently being worked on by screenwriter Jon Spaihts.
Author Frank Herbert left the Denis and Legendary plenty of material to use as he wrote six rather hefty novels before son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson took over the franchise writing multiple installments in various points in the mythology.
A spinoff series in the works for HBO Max called Dune: The Sisterhood that will see Denis direct the pilot and produce the series.
Dune is set for release on December 18th, but there is a shot it could be delayed to 2021 like a majority of other 2020 films.
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.
The film stars Oscar nominee 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”).
Yesterday, we learned from Deadline that Lion director Garth Davis has been hired by Disney to direct their third Tron film with Jared Leto attached to star.
The outlet was quick to point out they’re still only in development stages.
Leto took to Twitter to confirm his involvement seemingly announcing that the film’s title is indeed Tron: Ares, before deleting the post and replacing it with another one without mentioning Ares.
I am so very excited and proud to confirm that YES – I will be starring in TRON.
We will work as hard as we possibly can to create something that I hope you all will love.
We have some very special ideas in store for you all…🤗
Also, Daniel Richtman got his hands on a casting grid for the film confirming the title Leto posted and mentions that Disney is interested in casting Mulan actress Liu Yifei in the lead female role. This doesn’t mean the actress is a lock but is a good sign they want to hire an Asian actress opposite Jared in the new film.
What doesn’t seem to be clear is if the film will be a direct sequel to Tron: Legacy or a soft-reboot as they don’t seem to be interested in having actors return such as Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and Cillian Murphy as they haven’t been mentioned since Leto’s involvement in 2017.
However, composers Daft Punk are being courted by Disney for a return after tackling the score for Legacy.
TRON: LEGACY – Sam (Garrett Hedlund), the son of famous video-game developer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), has been haunted for a long time by his father’s mysterious disappearance. A strange signal draws Sam to Flynn’s Arcade, and he is pulled into the same cyberworld in which his father, its creator, has been trapped for 20 years. With fearless warrior Quorra (Olivia Wilde), Kevin and Sam seek to escape from a universe that, while magnificent, is far more advanced and dangerous than Kevin had ever imagined.
Another blow to the entertainment industry is on the way.
On Monday, it was revealed that WarnerMedia would be moving forward with massive layoffs with the “first wave” said to be around 600 according to a report from THR.
The layoffs are being attributed to the damage inflicted by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The laid-off employees include Warner Bros. CFO Kim Williams, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution president Jeff Schlesinger and Ron Sanders, Warner Bros. president, Worldwide Theatrical Distribution & Home Entertainment and Executive Vice President, International Business Operations.
Yesterday, news hit that the comics side of the company would be taking a huge hit as well.
The Hollywood Reporter included a list of people at DC Comics publishing that are expected to go as well such as editor-in-chief Bob Harris, Hank Kanalz, Jonah Weiland, Bobbie Chase, Brian Cunningham, and Mark Doyle.
Among those said to be losing their positions are editor-in-chief Bob Harris, senior VP of publishing strategy and support services Hank Kanalz, VP of marketing and creative services Jonah Weiland, VP global publishing initiatives and digital strategy Bobbie Chase, senior story editor Brian Cunningham, and executive editor Mark Doyle, who oversaw the rollout of the Black Label graphic novels. Jim Lee remains the CCO.
They also point out that a “majority” of people at the DC Comics centric streaming service DC Universe will also see layoffs.
There had been plenty of signs recently that DC Universe was on borrowed time after their talk show The Daily DC was canceled and multiple shows moved to other WarnerMedia services slowly making the streaming service less relevant.
This news comes days before WarnerMedia’s big star-studded DC Fandome event on August 22nd is likely going to leave fans a little sour given the state DC Comics and DC Universe will be in.
We had previously seen a bunch of layoffs at 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox) because of some job redundancies post-merger with the Walt Disney Company, which regularly happens when media companies combine. Equally as sad but that was slightly more expected in the wake of the merger and was one of the reasons many Fox employees were quitting before the merger had even completed.
WarnerMedia recently launched HBO Max back on May 27th and seemingly hasn’t seen the growth they expected alongside the pandemic essentially stalling a majority of their various productions around the globe making.
I’m sure everyone is interested to see if AT&T/WarnerMedia will keep divisions after the cuts to staffing or instead attempt to sell them off. There had been reports that they were trying to offload Warner Bros. Interactive, their profitable video games division, but some have had the assumption that these layoffs may delay that sale.
During an in depth chat with Whos Nick, film concept artist TyRuben Ellingson talked about various projects he has worked on. Those credits include Star Wars, Avatar, Blade II, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Pacific Rim, and Elysium.
He reveals during their chat that before David Fincher was hired by 20th Century Fox to make Alien 3, James Cameron offered the job to a very young Guillermo del Toro. This taking place before the release of his first feature film Cronos in 1993.
ELLINGSON: “I left ILM to work with Guillermo del Toro on Mimic and Jim [Cameron] and Guillermo are friends. Because believe it or not, Jim offered Guillermo Alien 3 before Alien 3 became Alien 3 when Jim had some control over the franchise.”
He goes on to say that Guillermo del Toro ultimately turned it down to work on his own stuff like Mimic, which is getting a series reboot at Miramax TV.
There is a small shot that because of the timing between Cronos and Mimic, Ellingson may have been talking about Alien Resurrection as both that and Mimic released in 1997.
Deadline has word that up-and-coming actress Adria Arjona has been tapped for an undisclosed role in the untitled Cassian Andor series from Lucasfilm set within the Star Wars universe. Andor, a character from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a Rebellion spy and operates mostly in a very grey-area. The series is expected to play-up the spy aspect of the Rebels and Andor played by Diego Luna.
Arjona’s recent credits include Triple Frontier, Narcos, True Detective, Pacific Rim: Uprising, 6 Underground, and will be seeing alongside Jared Leto in Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff Morbius. She’ll be joining Luna, Alan Tudyk, Denise Gough, Genevieve O’Reilly, Stellan Skarsgard, and Kyle Soller.
Filming had been originally expected to begin this summer before the pandemic delayed multiple film and television productions.
A while ago there was an update of sorts from The DisInsider that Disney was still keen on a new Tron movie and a Disney music producer suggesting they’ve already reached out to Daft Punk to return to score the next film.
Well, Deadline is now reporting that the project has Lion director Garth Davis attached with Oscar-winner Jared Leto still involved taking the lead role.
The film’s script will be penned by Jesse Wigutow while there has been rumors of the film being a continuation. However, it previously was going to be a reboot of sorts when originally announced by the trades back in 2017.
It’s worth noting that even Deadline doesn’t say the film has been given the greenlight by Disney and is 100% that it will actually happen given that it is still only in development stages.
THE RONIN 