Posted on in Film News, News

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

Posted on in News

‘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

Posted on in News

‘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.

Posted on in Film News

Keanu Reeves Still Laments Not Landing Wolverine Role In Original ‘X-Men’ Film

X-Men fans are excited that Aussie actor Hugh Jackman is returning to play Wolverine one more time with Deadpool 3 giving the actor a second chance to say goodbye after previously having a deeply emotion death scene in Logan. It also gives director Shawn Levy an excuse to give Fox’s Singerverse a proper send-off after the franchise previously ended with thud during the wake of Disney acquiring 21st Century Fox. Jackman landing the beloved mutant part in the late 1990s is of the more interesting Hollywood stories as the mostly unknown stage actor had some stiff competition but ultimately landed the part once Scottish Dougray Scott had to exit the superhero flick to focus on John Woo’s Mission: Impossible 2. One of those more notable contenders that was in the mix was Canadian actor Keanu Reeves after having starred in the wildly popular cyberpunk flick The Matrix.

Today, during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session to promote the upcoming release of John Wick 4, Reeves reaffirmed losing out to Jackman for the Wolverine role in the original X-Men films was something his still laments.

When directly asked by a fan were any roles he regrets turning down the actor said, “No…but I did always want to play Wolverine.”

It’s a little heartbreaking to hear that over 20 years later that Reeves still considers it the one that got away. Also, a bit ironic that Reeves didn’t get the part since X-Men shot in Toronto, a city where he grew up, and Fox decided to pick an Australian to play a Canadian character.

Reeves is now pushing 60 and just is too long in the tooth to be playing the main version of Wolverine in the MCU once the studio actually hard-reboots the X-Men franchise after Deadpool 3 releases. The actor has been keen to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe since and studio head Kevin Feige has reiterated they’ve been trying to find a role for him multiple times. It does feel like he’ll end up finding something other than Wolverine and we’ll just have to wait to see that is.

SOURCE: REDDIT AMA

Posted on in Film News

Nosferatu: Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Ralph Ineson Join Robert Eggers’ Vampire Flick

Filmmaker Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse) has been trying to get his vampire film Nosferatu off the ground for a while now and it’s now currently in production in Prague with the names of the cast tricklingly out slowly. A lovely bit of casting for the period horror film was just revealed by Deadline as Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train, Outlaw King, Tenet) has been tapped for an undisclosed part in the remake of the classic 1922 German silent film. He’s also set for a second Marvel Comics role with the Sony film Kraven The Hunter, after playing the MCU version of Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron. One his more interesting parts was playing John Lennon in the biopic Nowhere Boy and sort of got on everyone’s radar after the R-rated comic book flick Kick-Ass.

Yorkshire actor Ralph Ineson (The Green Knight, Game of Thrones) is also said to have a role making this the third project he’s worked with Eggers. Ineson had a major role in The Witch, playing the family’s patriarch that leads them from their established community to build a life in the middle of the forest. He also shows up in The Northman in a small cameo towards the film’s climax.

The pair join a cast that consists of Lily-Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgard, Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, and Simon McBurney.

In the town of Wisbourg, estate agent Mr. Knock is pleased to receive a commission from Count Orlok to find a house for him. He dispatches his young assistant, Hutter, to Orlok’s castle in the far off Carpathians. He tells Hutter to get him to buy the vacant house just opposite Hutter’s own. Hutter arrives at his destination safely and the Count is all too eager to buy the proposed property especially after he sees a photo of Hutter’s pretty young wife Ellen. Hutter soon realizes the evil he’s dealing with and is locked away while Orlok makes his way by ship to Wisbourg. As Orlok travels to Wisbourg, plague descends in his wake and the people of Wisbourg begin to sense the coming of evil. Hutter eventually escapes Orlok’s castle determined to return home as quickly as possible but exhausted and ill, finds himself in hospital. Hutter nonetheless arrives home the same day as Orlok and the townsfolk begin to panic over the increasing number of deaths.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Alien: Romulus’ Adds ‘Madame Web’ Actress Isabela Merced

The Alien franchise is in a really odd place these days as the theaterical IP is being mined for streaming with an Earthbound series coming from Noah Hawley and seventh feature film (not counting the the AVP installments) hailing from director Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe, The Evil Dead). The latter is ramping up production with casting in full-swing and we’ve finally got a second name attached to Alien: Romulus.

Another rising actress has been tapped for a lead role as Deadline reports that Isabela Merced (Sicario: Day of The Soldado, Madame Web, Sweet Girl) and will co-star alongside Cailee Spaeny (DEVS, Pacific Rim: Uprising). Merced isn’t a stranger to the horror genre as she was seen not too long ago in The Craft remake.

Production designer Naaman Marshall (Underwater, Mortal Kombat, Knock At The Cabin) and cinematographer Galo Olivares (Gretel & Hansel) are the main department heads on the sci-fi horror pic with more actors expected to be named in the coming weeks. We’re still waiting on concrete plot details for Alien: Romulus, where the film takes place within the Alien timeline, and when we can expect the film to drop on Hulu.

Álvarez helming the film was a bit of surprise given that current franchise producer Ridley Scott has long been trying to get a third prequel film, Alien: Awakening, off the ground as a follow-up to Alien: Covenant. At the end of that film, we saw David (Michael Fassbender) now in control of the ship along with the colonists that could be used for his xenomorph experiments. Daniels (Katherine Waterston) and Tennessee (Danny McBride) had survived their horrific ordeal as they’ve been placed back into hyper-sleep. However, it remains to be seen if we’ll ever see that third project come to fruition as Scott is getting ready to shoot his Gladiator sequel starring Oscar-nominated actor Paul Mescal (Aftersun) over the summer and will likely have more film projects to focus on beyond that as the filmmaker is very busy.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

‘Dune: The Sisterhood’ Series Loses Director, Lead Actor & Co-Showrunner As Spinoff Gets Creative Overhaul

While Dune: Part Two completed it’s principal photography last year, the HBO Max series spinoff Dune: The Sisterhood coming from Legendary Television isn’t having the same kind of smooth develop or production process. A prequel series that started filming back in November that focuses on the influential Bene Gesserit (a religious sect of women with powers that inspired the Jedi) with the Harkonnen Sisters being some of the lead characters as the story takes place 10,000 years before the events of the films.

Deadline reports that the show is seeing even more turbulence and this time in front and behind the camera. Director Johan Renck (The Last of Us, Chernobyl) that had been tasked to shoot the first two episodes has now left. One of the lead actors on the show, Shirley Henderson had been tapped to play Tula Harkonnen but has also exited and her role will now be recast with someone else. Lastly, like that wasn’t enough of a headache co-showrunner Diane Ademu-John left ahead of production making Alison Schapker the sole showrunner on the prequel series. This has led to a production hiatus as the show is said to be undergoing a creative overhaul as Schapker is busy undergoing rewrites and production attempts to find a new director (possibly to reshoot those first two episodes).

The rest of the Dune: The Sisterhood cast includes Emily Watson, Indira Varma, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, Chloe Lea, Travis Fimmel, Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, and Chris Mason.

Dune: The Sisterhood is told through the eyes of a mysterious order of women known as the Bene Gesserit. Given extraordinary abilities by their mastery of the body and the mind, the Bene Gesserit expertly weave through the feudal politics and intrigue of The Imperium, pursuing plans of their own that will ultimately lead them to the enigmatic planet Arrakis, known to its inhabitants as Dune. It will serve as a prequel to the films.

This doesn’t give off confidence about the show, however, HBO Max is trying to downplay the latest round of musical chairs on the project as they made their own official statement on the reporting, confirming elements of it. In that statement, HBO Max says that Renck’s exit was mutual but the report suggests that his footage might not ultimately end up being used in the final show as they now are seeking a new director.

“As Dune: The Sisterhood has entered a pre-scheduled hiatus, there are some creative changes being made to the production in an effort to create the best series possible and stay true to the source material,” an HBO Max spokesperson told Deadline in a statement. “Johan Renck has completed his work on the series and a new director will be brought on; through mutual agreement, Johan is moving on to pursue other projects. Additionally, Shirley Henderson will be exiting the series and will no longer be playing Tula Harkonnen.”

This isn’t the first time there have been hiccups. Dune: Part One screenwriter Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) and Dana Calvo (Narcos) had been previously tasked to write/showrun the spinoff streaming series only for Spaihts to exit himself as Legendary/Warner Bros. fast-tracked Dune: Part Two, which is now in the post-production stage as it’s set to be released on November 3, 2023. Calvo would also quietly leave with Ademu-John and Schapker picking up the reigns. Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve was announced to direct the pilot until Renck was brought on to replace him. So, as you might imagine more drama wasn’t all that shocking for anyone following this project.

We likely won’t have to wait too long for another director to be announced as Legendary/HBO Max are hellbent on getting this right.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Guillermo del Toro’s Next Stop-Motion Film ‘The Buried Giant’ Officially Lands At Netflix

On the hells of the critical success of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio with a Best Animated Feature Film nomination for next month’s Academy Awards ceremony, the genre filmmaker is looking to return to the world of stop-motion animation with another upcoming project titled The Buried Giant and based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro (Never Let Me Go). Previous reports had revealed del Toro is already working on a script with Dennis Kelly (Utopia, Matilda The Musical) and they’ll begin designing the film very soon with animation studio ShadowMachine reuniting with the director after working on Pinocchio.

Earlier in the week, it was officially announced by Netflix that The Buried Giant will indeed join the streaming service’s upcoming originals in development. The news was posted on the streamer’s official Twitter account (See Below).

In post-Arthurian Britain, the wars that once raged between the Saxons and the Britons have finally ceased. Axl and Beatrice, an elderly British couple, set off to visit their son, whom they haven’t seen in years. And, because a strange mist has caused mass amnesia throughout the land, they can scarcely remember anything about him. As they are joined on their journey by a Saxon warrior, his orphan charge, and an illustrious knight, Axl and Beatrice slowly begin to remember the dark and troubled past they all share.

It’s unclear how long we’ll have to wait before an official release date for The Buried Giant as stop-motion animation is time consuming process, but this news gives the impression that Netflix is very much invested in more animated films from del Toro. He’s also reportedly attached to helm a new version of live-action Frankenstein film for them as well.

SOURCE: NETFLIX

Posted on in Television News

Marvel’s ‘Wonder Man’ Series Adds Director Stella Meghie & ‘Mindhunter’ Actress Lauren Glazier

Marvel Studios has certainly been experimenting with genres and obscure characters when it comes to their Disney+ series with things like She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Ironheart, Agatha: Coven of Choas, and Echo. Another upcoming project that will test the waters of what Marvel fans are willing to watch is Wonder Man. The super-strong character has villainous origins as he was given superpowers by villain Baron Zemo to then battle The Avengers but eventually shook-off his villainous ways becoming an official member of team alongside folks like Dr. Hank McCoy aka Beast and is also a Hollywood movie star, which certainly would make things complicated.

There has been a decent update coming from Deadline as the outlet has revealed that Marvel Studios has tapped Canadian director Stella Meghie (Minx, Insecure) to work on multiple episodes on the Disney+ series alongside Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty). That’s not the only update for Wonder Man, as the same outlet also announced that Mindhunter actress Lauren Glazier has joined the cast that already includes Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Aquaman, Watchmen) as our protagonist Simon Williams and a returning Ben Kingsley reprising his Iron Man 3 role of Trevor Slattery, last seen in Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings.

It’s unknown if any of Wonder Man’s connections to Baron Zemo will actually happen in the live-action incarnations as Marvel Studios is well-known for taking liberties to the source material and the origins of their superheroes/villains. However, we’ll take any excuse to bring back Daniel Bruhl as the super-soldier hating baddie and giving us a chance to see more of Zemo’s dance moves.

We’re sure more casting announcements will be made in the near future. Stay tuned for more updates.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ Screenwriter Teasing Namor Will Appear In The Next Big Superhero Crossover Event?

It’s exciting to think we have two more Avengers installments on the way from Marvel Studios with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty being helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings). The filmmaker will be working with screenwriter Jeff Loveness on the sequel, who recently penned Ant-Man 3 and will tackle Jonathan Majors‘ Kang The Conqueror for the second time. During a recent interview with ComicBook, the writer revealed a character he’s extremely excited to get his hands on and it’s one we’ve already been introduced to.

“Namor, man. I’m excited to write Namor,” Loveness said when asked about what he was excited about moving forward as he continues to work within the MCU.

Although, not directly said this could easily be taken as a hint that Tenonch Huerta’s Namor might be a character that will show up in The Kang Dynasty, mainly, because a solo project hasn’t been announced and we’re still unsure if he’ll be appearing in Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four reboot (given Namor’s comic book connections to that superhero team) that is set to begin shooting sometime next year. An Avengers project would seemingly be larger enough to give some wiggle-room to allow for Namor to make a return after being introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

It’s also worth mentioning that while working on Rick & Morty, Loveness as a writer worked on the season five episode that introduced Mr. Nimbus. A character is a direct parody of Namor The Sub-Mariner but with a heightened level of sexuality and more silly/theatrical than his MCU counterpart.

While Namor was the antagonist of Wakanda Forever and had his own reasons to protect the world from finding his underwater kingdom by any means. In the comics, the character has been quite active in the superhero role as well joining the ranks of Marvel teams like The Avengers, The Defenders, The Illuminati, and The Invaders. So, it remains to be seen if Namor will actually show up, but, hopefully, if he does it’ll be to help boost his heroic/anti-hero persona and not double-down as being a villain.

Barring any more changes to the MCU slate by Disney, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is set to hit theaters on May 2, 2025.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK