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Natasha Liu Bordizzo To Play Sabine Wren In ‘Ahsoka’ Series

In December 2020, it was announced by Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy that they would be giving Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano her own live-action series on Disney+ and Dave Filoni would be writing alongside producing with Jon Favreau.

After making her long-awaited live-action debut in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka Tano’s story, written by Dave Filoni, will continue in a limited series starring Rosario Dawson and executive produced by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau.

Over the summer it was first revealed by THR that the Star Wars: Rebels character Sabine Wren would join the series.

Now, Dawson is leading a live-action Ahsoka spinoff for Disney+, with sources saying Lucasfilm is looking for an actress to star opposite Dawson as Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren.

Lucasfilm has now found their actress, as Deadline reports that Aussie actress Natasha Liu Bordizzo will play the live-action version of Sabrine Wren. The young actress co-starred with Rogue One’s Donnie Yen and Shang-Chi’s Michelle Yeoh in Netflix’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny back in 2016.

Hayden Christensen is also reportedly back for the upcoming Ahsoka series. The assumption here is that he’ll potentially play the force ghost incarnation of Anakin Skywalker as Ahsoka Tano’s appearance in The Mandalorian took place many years after the death of Darth Vader/Skywalker.

Ahsoka and Anakin have a long-established relationship in the animation side of Star Wars canon as she was the apprentice of Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars before Tano exited the Jedi Order. In Star Wars: Rebels, they were reunited as they came to blows as Skywalker had been transformed into the Sith Lord, Darth Vader.

The beloved Star Wars character was on a mission to find Grand Adrimal Thrawn in her episode of The Mandalorian, which suggests that we’ll be getting live-action incarnations of both Thrawn and Ezra Bridger. Although, actors have yet to be announced by Lucasfilm despite rumblings of certain actors being selected.

Filming isn’t expected to begin until next year which would suggest a 2023 debut on Disney+.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Marvel’s New ‘Blade’ Movie Adds Veteran Actor Delroy Lindo

Marvel Studios has been getting a string of character rights returned to the company. The rights deal expired as seen with Daredevil/Blade/Ghost Rider or in the case of X-Men/Fantastic Four, they had been absorbed into the Disney umbrella when they acquired 21st Century Fox.

In 2019, it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali would be replacing Wesley Snipes as the action-horror superhero Blade in a reboot film. It was later revealed by Marvel’s Kevin Feige that Ali had directly asked about playing Blade, despite them not having current plans for the character outside of ideas of doing a series at the now-disbanded Marvel Television.

Last week, it was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter that veteran character Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods, The Harder They Fall) has taken a mystery role in the film from director Bassam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli).

Days before the report, I mentioned on Twitter about Lindo joining the reboot.

Filming is said to begin the late summer but has yet to get an official release date and Marvel hasn’t confirmed if they’ll be pursuing an R-rating or not.

BLADE – A half-mortal, half-immortal is out to avenge his mother’s death and rid the world of vampires. The modern-day technologically advanced vampires he is going after are in search of his special blood type needed to summon an evil god who plays a key role in their plan to execute the human race.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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Live-Action ‘Blade Runner’ Series In The Works & Might Land 10-Episodes

There was some expectation that after Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 landmark sci-fi film Blade Runner, we’d get more live-action stories set in that fantastic universe but when Blade Runner 2049 didn’t light the box office on fire that seemed to be put on ice.

Director Denis Villeneuve had teased interest in returning to the franchise tackling a new story that wasn’t a direct sequel to 2049. Eventually, an anime series Blade Runner: Black Lotus from Japan was produced and recently debuted on WarnerMedia’s Adult Swim.

However, Ridley Scott has revealed a live-action Blade Runner series in the works at Alcon with the pilot written and is eyeing a 10-episode run. Scott mentioned this on BBC Radio 4’s Today this Monday.

“We’re already into having written the pilot for Blade Runner and the bible, so we’re already presenting Blade Runner as a TV show, which will probably be the first 10 hours.”

The original Blade Runner is loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electic Sheep? and was adapted by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. It’s considered one of the most visually striking films ever made.

We’re still in the dark about who is writing the pilot and if it’ll land at HBO Max or elsewhere. It’s also unknown if we’ll continue on Earth as Los Angeles has been the primary setting or if we’ll finally explore the multiple off-world colonies. One of the biggest mysteries of the franchise is what the off-colonies look like along with how Replicants are forced into labor and warfare.

I have to assume WarnerMedia would be involved given rights holders Alcon had Warner Bros. distribute Blade Runner 2049 and Black Lotus at Adult Swim. Ridley Scott’s sci-fi series Raised By Wolves debuted at HBO Max’s launch and had been one of their most popular originals, leading to a season two order.

BLADE RUNNER – Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by the police Boss (M. Emmet Walsh) to continue his old job as Replicant Hunter. His assignment: eliminate four escaped Replicants from the colonies who have returned to Earth. Before starting the job, Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation and he meets Rachel (Sean Young), a Replicant girl he falls in love with.

BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police Department, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who’s been missing for 30 years.

SOURCE: BBC

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Amazon Studios Nearing Deal To Turn Sci-Fi Video Game ‘Mass Effect’ Into A Series

Amazon Studios is behind a wave of high-profile fantasy series with Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time and a new take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth franchise with The Lord of The Rings (taking place in the Second Age before events of the two trilogies).

They are seemingly pivoting towards sci-fi shows based on video games after previous plans to turn Fallout into a show as well at Amazon from Westworld’s Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, another one is said to be on the horizon.

Deadline is now claiming the streamer is attempting to adapt the beloved sci-fi action video game series, Mass Effect, into a new television series. Amazon is reportedly “nearing a deal” but without mentioning potential showrunners or writers that would be adapting the project.

One of the company’s newest hopefuls in the arena is Mass Effect. Amazon Studios is nearing a deal to develop a series based on the best-selling sci-fi video game franchise from Electronic Arts.

A potential television series was teased over the summer by Mass Effect’s project director Mac Walters.

“It’s such an expansive world, and so many people I know in the TV and film industry have reached out to ask me when we’re going to do it and saying we’ve got to do it,” Walters told Business Insider.

In a technologically advanced future, an elite human soldier takes command of a prototype starship and works to defend the galaxy from danger.

At one time, a feature film based on Mass Effect had been in the works for ages, but for various reasons never came together. Legendary (Dune) got their hands on the film rights back in 2010. It’ll be interesting to see how they’ll attempt to adapt the universe or try to do something brand new set in that world.

The Halo series has been shooting for two years during the pandemic and will debut next year on Paramount+, setting the stage for more expensive shows based on popular video games. Other live-action projects on the horizon include The Last of Us at HBO and Assassin’s Creed at Netflix.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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‘Ant-Man 3’: Director Peyton Reed Announces Filming Has Wrapped

It’s official! Ant-Man 3, aka, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania has finally wrapped production and it was announced by director Peyton Reed on Twitter, who also added a piece of concept art from artist Mark James Hiblin.

“Principal photography on Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania is now complete! Can’t wait to show you all what we’ve been up to,” the filmmaker said in a Twitter post on Tuesday.

In the third installment in the Ant-Man franchise, we will see Jonathan Majors play the new big Marvel Cinematic Universal villain, Kang The Conqueror. A nastier and scarier incarnation of the variant was first seen in the Loki series earlier in the year.

Kang will be one of the first major threats from The Multiverse and could become just as big of a problem to the universe as Thanos. It’s unclear at this point if The Multiverse will be mixed together with the Quantum Realm, as the title would suggest.

We’ll have to wait and see if Marvel wants Ant-Man 4 or if the studio will decide to stop at three movies, pivoting their resources and energy into something else.

Other members of the cast include Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope, Kathryn Newton as the newest incarnation of Cassie Lang, Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet, and Bill Murray confirmed his involvement not too long ago, but his part is still a mystery.

A reminder that Ant-Man 3’s impressive crew is expected to consist of production designer Will Htay (No Time To Die, Rogue One, Solo, Andor), cinematographer Bill Pope (The Matrix Trilogy, Shang-Chi Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy, Alita: Battle Angel), second unit director Dan DeLeeuw (Eternals, Avengers: Endgame), and costume designer Sammy Sheldon Differ (Eternals, Jurassic World: Dominion, Ant-Man, X-Men: First Class, Hellboy II: The Golden Army).

It will debut in theaters on July 28, 2023, after Disney adjusted their Phase 4 schedule.

SOURCE: PEYTON REED

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Kevin Feige Reveals Scarlett Johansson Reteaming For “Top Secret Marvel Studios Project”

During an event where actress Scarlett Johansson received the American Cinematheque Award, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has revealed that the studio will reunite with Johansson for a top-secret project that won’t involve her character Natasha Romanoff, aka, Black Widow (via Deadline).

Johansson will also produce too after being an executive producer on Black Widow.

Among those in attendance to pay tribute to the two-time Oscar nominee was Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, who praised her for her “talent,” “vision”, intelligence and savvy, both as an actress and a producer, also teasing a “top secret Marvel Studios project” on which the studio is reteaming with the actress, which he said has nothing to do with her Black Widow character, Natasha Romanoff. Feige noted that Johansson, who became the first Marvel actor to exec produce one of the studio’s movies with Black Widow, will also serve on the upcoming project as a producer.

This comes after Johansson attempted to sue Disney after the company dismissed her calls for renegotiations when they dumped Black Widow on Disney+’s Priemer Access (streaming VOD option), which she believed would ding her bonus potential connected to box office returns by $50 million. Disney aggressively countered leading to a PR nightmare with a sexist response to the lawsuit but was ultimately resolved with a settlement.

It’ll be interesting to see what the mysterious project will be and what she’ll be doing on it outside of producing.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

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Former Superman Contender Jamie Dornan Has Met With Marvel Studios

Irish actor Jamie Dornan is getting a lot of awards buzz and critical praise for his lead role in the Kenneth Branagh family drama Belfast. His other credits include The Siege of Jadotville, A Private War, Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar, and the spy thriller Anthropoid.

The actor spoke in-depth with The New York Times about his career, focusing on the past and future. Concerning the latter, Dornan revealed that he has met with Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige about a mystery project/role.

Dornan is open about the movies he covets, and he has met with the Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige about donning a cape and tights. “I’m more ambitious than I’ve ever let on before,” Dornan said.

What that project or role could be is a bit of mystery but we know that Marvel Studios are likely aiming to find people to lead their X-Men and Fantastic Four reboots along with rumored projects like Nova, which could be seeking someone to play Richard Rider.

It isn’t like Jamie Dornan is new to the superhero world as he was one of the many actors that auditioned to play Superman in Man of Steel before Henry Cavill (who has mentioned a desire to play Captain Britain in the MCU) was ultimately selected.

What role do you think Dornan would be perfect for?

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES

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Denis Villeneuve Says Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen Will Be “A Very Important Character” In ‘Dune: Part Two’

Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune installment held back on introducing too many characters all at once, which likely helped make the film more accessible to a general audience by not showing too many faces all at once and splitting the first book into two parts (the David Lynch film becoming a bit of a bloated mess).

The filmmaker spoke with Empire about Dune in a spoiler-filled interview and explained the reasoning behind making the Spice Guild Navigators mysterious and not introducing “very important” characters like Feyd-Rathua Harkonnen.

“Definitely. That’s a choice that I personally brought on. There was enough characters that were introduced in this first part, and it will be more elegant to keep Feyd for [Dune: Part Two]. It will be definitely a very, very important character in the second part.”

Feyd is essentially Paul’s Harkonnen rival and the two eventually duel. His casting will be highly anticipated alongside new roles such as The Emperor, Princess Irulan, and Alia Atreides.

Villeneuve also clarified that the group seen in the film are simply Guild representatives, and not Navigators, who will be also saved for later. Another important group in the Dune mythology.

“They were Guild representatives. They were not Navigators. We don’t see the Navigators in this first part. That was the one of the challenges of this adaptation – I was trying to keep mystery alive as much as possible. We don’t show the Emperor, we don’t see the Spacing Guild Navigators. There’s a lot of characters that are mentioned or that are in the background that we don’t see right away. I tried to keep all the space-travelling as mysterious as possible, like almost bringing some kind of mysticism or sacred relationship with that part of the movie. Everything involving space is just evocated and very mysterious.”

Casting those key new characters will likely start soon with the studio eyeing a production start of July 18 and a release date of October 20, 2023.

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.

SOURCE: EMPIRE

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Tom Holland Teases ‘Spider-Man’ Retirement Before His 30s & Franchise Pivoting To Miles Morales

A new interview with Spider-Man: No Way Home actor Tom Holland sees the young actor tell GQ he isn’t terribly interested in playing Peter Parker into his 30s and teasing that the franchise should eventually pivot to Miles Morales, the black/Latino incarnation of the character that picks up the mantle in the comic books.

“Maybe it is time for me to move on. Maybe what’s best for Spider-Man is that they do a Miles Morales film. I have to take Peter Parker into account as well, because he is an important part of my life. If I’m playing Spider-Man after I’m 30, I’ve done something wrong,” Holland tells GQ about his future in the role.

With Holland at age 25, it sounds like Sony/Marvel has five more years. That’s if he ultimately nabs a new contract.

Miles Morales is already part of the Marvel zeitgeist as he led his own popular video game and the Oscar-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, sequels to both are on the way.

Franchise producer Amy Pascal is more optimistic about Holland’s future, “I’ve talked to him about doing, like, 100 more. I’m never going to make Spider-Man movies without him. Are you kidding me?”

It remains to be seen if Holland will make another trilogy let alone 100 more as it hasn’t been announced if the actor has signed a new contract extending his original deal.

Marvel Studios will be expanding the Spider-Man mythology with a prequel cartoon series Spider-Man: Freshman Year for Disney+ and is expected to focus on his early crime-fighting, along with his possible origin that wasn’t explored in the live-action films.

Spider-Man: No Way Home will be released on December 17 and how that film wraps up might indicate how Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will move forward.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero’s identity is revealed, bringing his Super Hero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerful villains who’ve ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse.

SOURCE: GQ

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Dangers Of The MCU Relying Too Heavily On Multiverse Gimmicks

Yesterday evening we saw Sony Pictures finally drop the second trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home as the pic focuses on Peter Parker having to deal with at least five villains from previous Spider-Man films with Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Electro, The Lizard, and Sandman seen in the last two incarnations of the franchise.

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero’s identity is revealed, bringing his Super Hero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerful villains who’ve ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse.

While the Multiverse can be a fun thing to explore, there are some landmines that Marvel Studios needs to avoid so audiences don’t get bored or exhausted by the new plot device that is expected to play a huge role in multiple films and television shows.

Story and character development shouldn’t take a backseat to Easter Egg hunts and cameos.

It’s hard to deny that the potential return of existing Marvel characters/actors has seemingly overshadowed projects like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse by focusing on cameos rather than the movie itself being able to stand on its own. Feeling like more of a marketing gimmick than doing something that serves a story, the Marvel Cinematic Universe allows for plenty of existing cameos without pulling from the Multiverse at all times.

Bringing back characters from the dead lessens the impact of those on-screen deaths.

The neverending merry-go-round of resurrecting fallen characters sort of downplays the sacrifices in previous projects. It would be a really bad idea to trot out endless versions of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff just so fans can see those actors back for fan-service reasons. Deaths become meaningless and the stakes of the universe vanish.

An example would be seeing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine showing up for a random fan-service cameo via the Multiverse which wrecks the excellent emotional send-off in Logan and would make it harder for the next Wolverine actor to be accepted.

The Multiverse becoming a plot device that will be abused just as quickly as if time-travel was the crux of an entire Phase of the MCU. Instead, letting them go and having other characters take up those mantles is sort of how it normally works in the comics and how we get multiple incarnations of those characters, to begin with.

Relying too much on nostalgia and not giving audiences new villains by recycling old ones can give the impression of a lack of ideas or imagination. While something like Loki is giving more new things by setting up a major character like Kang The Conqueror (will be fully introduced in Ant-Man 3) and the TVA. Establishing a new wing of the MCU and pushing things forward should always be the goal of these projects.

Not every superhero group or new wave of characters needs to be introduced via The Multiverse.

One problem that could develop story-wise is that instead of coming up with organic ways to introduce things like X-Men/Mutants, the Fantastic Four, Ka-Zar/Savage Land, Agents of Atlas, and Squadron Supreme in an existing MCU, they end up getting default Multiverse additions because Marvel gives up on explaining how these factions can exist in the same universe.

“Everything happens because of the Multiverse” will become dull very quickly.

Adapting alternative universes/settings like Earth X or 2099 for live-action in the future becomes less interesting or viable because the studio has already squeezed all the juice and goodwill out of the Multiverse at that point.