Tag: Bad Robot

Posted on in Film News

‘WandaVision’s Matt Shakman Becomes Third Director Hired For ‘Star Trek 4’; Paramount Aims For Spring 2022 Production Start

Paramount Pictures released Star Trek Beyond in 2016 and has been mulling over the next steps for Star Trek 4 for ages now. They’ve been churning-out multiple Star Trek series but for some reason just couldn’t settle with the right incarnation for the fourth installment, directors S.J. Clarkson (Jessica Jones) and Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) previously being attached to helm the sequel.

Deadline is now reporting a third candidate has stepped in, as Paramount has hired WandaVision director Matt Shakman to hopefully bring Star Trek 4 past the finish line after various hiccups uring the project’s development. The outlet adds that a new script has been penned by Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet with an aim to get cameras rolling by next spring.

This announcement would seemly nudge to us that Hawley has joined Clarkson by exiting.

J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot are returning to produce. It’s also assumed that we’ll see the return of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, and new addition Sofia Boutella as well.

An earlier incarnation was going to involve time-travel and allow Pine’s Captain Kirk interact with his father George Kirk, who was played by a young Chris Hemsworth before he was cast by Marvel for Thor. Apparently, contract negotiations fell apart leading to the project dissolving.

Quentin Tarantino and Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) had been developing their own film based on the gangster episode of the original series. However, that project doesn’t seem like it will be happening.

Star Trek 4 likely won’t be ready for release until spring or summer of 2023.

STAR TREK BEYOND – A surprise attack in outer space forces the Enterprise to crash-land on a mysterious world. The assault came from Krall (Idris Elba), a lizard-like dictator who derives his energy by sucking the life out of his victims. Krall needs an ancient and valuable artifact that’s aboard the badly damaged starship. Left stranded in a rugged wilderness, Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew must now battle a deadly alien race while trying to find a way off their hostile planet.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

UPDATE: J.J. Abrams-Produced Action Flick ‘Lou’ Starring Allison Janey & Jurnee Smollett Adds Cinematographer

The Ronin has learned that the latest action film from Netflix, Lou, has nabbed cinematographer Michael McDonough (I Am The Night, Fear The Walking Dead, Bosch, Pieces of Her). Bad Robot and J.J. Abrams are producing the film that stars Oscar-winner Allison Janey (Juno, Mom) and Jurnee Smollett (Birds of Prey, Lovecraft Country, Escape From Spiderhead) that is set to begin filming soon in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The story centers on a woman whose daughter is kidnapped, so she teams up with the mysterious older woman next door to pursue the kidnapper — a journey into the wilderness that will test their limits and expose dark and shocking secrets from their pasts.

It will be directed by German filmmaker Anna Foerster, who previously helmed Underworld: Blood Wars.

Foerster also worked on episodes of Outlander, Jessica Jones, Westworld (explains the Bad Robot connection), and Carnival Row. At one time, she was attached to direct a sequel to Duncan Jones’ sci-fi thriller Source Code. As a second unit director, working on big action projects such as The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 B.C., and the Charlize Theron pic Æon Flux.

Production is said to begin next week in Vancouver and wrap in late August. This comes after there were extensive delays due to the pandemic in 2020, but things are getting better allowing more productions to begin in various Canadian cities.

I’m sure we’ll be getting more casting announcements in the coming weeks.

Abrams and Bad Robot closed a development deal with WarnerMedia which already has them working on a new Superman film featuring a black incarnation of the iconic superhero and a Justice League Dark series at HBO Max, among other projects.

Netflix hasn’t given Lou an official release date.

Posted on in Film News

J.J. Abrams Says The ‘Portal’ Movie Is Being Actively Written For Warner Bros.

J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot recently signed a massive development deal with Warner Bros. which has led to a new Superman film that will focus on a black incarnation of the DC Comics hero and an HBO Max series version of the Justice League Dark.

It looks like Abrams is going to be indeed tackling a live-action film based on the video game Portal as he mentioned in an interview with IGN, that the project is being actively written for Warner Bros. and they have a script on the go.

ABRAMS:”We actually do have a script that’s being written for the Portal movie now at [Warner Bros.]. We’re really excited about the take and the pitch, so it feels like that thing’s finally on the rails.”

In Portal, the player controls the protagonist, Chell, from a first-person perspective as she is challenged to navigate through a series of test chambers using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, or portal gun, under the watchful supervision of the artificial intelligence GLaDOS.

A live-action short was directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg, the filmmaker is about to begin shooting Predator 5 next month in Calgary, Alberta.

SOURCE: IGN

Posted on in Film News

Marvel’s ‘Blade’ Reboot & WB’s Next ‘Superman’ Movie Courting The Same Directors

Disney and Warner Bros. are reportedly courting the same black filmmakers for their upcoming superhero projects as mentioned by The Hollywood Reporter. As both Blade and the next Superman film produced by J.J. Abrams are expected to be shot by experienced black directors. An exciting era of inclusion given the budgets expected for the two comic book movies.

Apparently, screenwriter Ta-Nehisi Coates’ black Superman project is expected to have a non-contemporary setting, which sounds similar to the studio’s original plans for Supergirl (1980s). However, it’s unclear when in the 1900s they’ll be aiming for. Instead, Supergirl will appear in The Flash movie (filming in the United Kingdom) played by actress Sasha Calle ushering her directly into the DCEU but the Superman movie doesn’t seem to be joining that corner of the cinematic universe.

The Superman film appears to be moving onto its own track and won’t be part of the universe, as of now. Sources tell THR that Coates is crafting a Kal-El in the vein of the original Superman comics and will have the protagonist hail from Krypton and come to Earth. While the story is currently being crafted and many details could change, one option under consideration is for the film to be a 20th century period piece.

THR is claiming that there is a group candidates that have been looked for both movies.

The names mentioned in the report are Steven Caple Jr. (Creed II), J.D. Dillard (Sleight, Sweetheart), Regina King (One Night In Miami, and Shaka King (Judas & The Black Messiah). It’s certainly an excellent group of contenders but it’s unclear if these names are simply suggestions by the outlet or actually in the running.

The former list can include Creed II’s Steven Caple Jr., J.D. Dillard, Regina King — who got raves for her drama One Night in Miami — and Shaka King, who is popular at Warners thanks to best picture Oscar nominee Judas and the Black Messiah. Some potential directors have met with both studios for both films, even as one agent said the process was “phenomenally early.” 

You might remember that Steven is currently busy with Paramount’s latest Transformers movie about to shoot over in Montreal and Dillard had been previously tasked to co-write a Star Wars project for Lucasfilm.

They also mentioned that Blade’s shoot was bumped from September 2021 to July 2022, giving folks over a full year to complete any outstanding projects before jumping to the MCU. Coates is said not to be delivering his script until mid-December suggesting both projects won’t be shooting until 2022.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Paramount Releasing Mystery ‘Star Trek’ Film In June 2023

Paramount Pictures announced a new slate of release dates today via Deadline and one of the projects mentioned included an untitled Star Trek film given a spot on June 9, 2023.

There had been multiple Star Trek film projects in the works over the years as the studio has been increasingly indecisive concerning the franchise and what to do next after Star Trek Beyond.

S.J. Clarkson had been hired to direct Star Trek 4 with talk of Chris Hemsworth returning to play Kirk’s father before it was scrapped after returning cast members couldn’t make a deal with the studio concerning salaries.

Quentin Tarantino and screenwriter Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) teamed-up for their own Star Trek film that was expected to be inspired by the gangster episode from the original series, however, it sounds like that one lost steam as well. It seemingly would have allowed the current cast to be part of the project.

Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo) was hired to write and direct his own Star Trek movie before Paramount pulled the plug, according to Hawley speaking to Deadline back in 2020. It was announced in December that Noah would be working with Ridley Scott on an Earthbound Alien streaming series for Disney.

HAWLEY: ” It doesn’t appear to be in my immediate future. I think when Emma [Watts] came in, she took a look at the franchise and wanted to go in a different direction with it. But you know, life is long, we were very close to production but in this business that doesn’t mean much. You got to get out of the gate to be in the race if you know what I mean.”

Last month, Deadline reported that Star Trek: Discovery writer Kalinda Vazquez was tasked by Paramount and producer J.J. Abrams to write an “original” Star Trek film. She’s also working with George R.R. Martin on HBO’s Roadmarks series.

I guess we’ll have to be patient to find out what this project is or if it’s just another incarnation that is going to get shelved before filming kicks-off.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell To Write ‘Zatanna’ Movie With J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Producing

Screenwriter and director Emerald Fennell is coming off a very successful year for her rape-revenge film Promising Young Woman as it landed an impressive five Oscar nominations, three for Fennell. Those include Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Director there is a good chance she’ll end up with multiple awards come April 25th.

Studios are already circling the talented filmmaker as Variety reports that Warner Bros. has tapped Fennell to write a DC Comics film focused on the heroine Zatanna for them with DC Films and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot producing it.

Zatanna, created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, is a magician and considered one of the most powerful sorcerers in the DC universe. Her magical abilities are genetic, as her dad Giovanni Zatara was also an alchemist.

There had been an expectation that the Zatanna character would be part of the Justice League Dark series on HBO Max that Abrams is also involved with. However, Variety states the feature film will this incarnations first appearance.

Abrams is also developing a “dark” Constantine reboot series for HBO Max.

It’s quite interesting to see DC Films recruiting from Oscar contenders.

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN – Nothing in Cassie’s life is what it appears to be — she’s wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she’s living a secret double life by night. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot To Produce ‘Superman’ Reboot With ‘Black Panther’s Ta-Nehisi Coates Penning The Script

Deadline has breaking news that Warner Bros. is looking to reboot their iconic Superman franchise with a script from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and producer J.J. Abrams via Bad Robot. Coates is best-known for his work on the fantastic modern run of Black Panther comics for Marvel.

Deadline has confirmed that author Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a Superman reboot feature for Warner Bros and DC, which J.J. Abrams is producing under his Bad Robot label.

Funny, it’s being called a “reboot” and Deadline mentions Henry Cavill, but if it’s a hard-reboot that would likely mean he’s not going to be in it. The addition of Coates would give the impression they might be going with a different take on the DC hero.

They point out that Coates is working with Ryan Coolger and Michael B. Jordan on the film Wrong Answer, the connection to Jordan is certainly interesting given rumblings he wanted to play a new version of Superman.

Could that Michael B. Jordan/Superman casting rumor come true?

Variety mentioned in a report last year that Jordan pitched a Superman project.

To help find a way to make Superman relevant to modern audiences, studio brass has been polling lots of high-profile talent. There have been discussions with J.J. Abrams, whose company Bad Robot recently signed a massive first-look deal with the studio, and there was a meeting with Michael B. Jordan earlier this year with the “Creed” star pitching Warners on a vision for the character. However, Jordan isn’t ready to commit to taking on the project since filming doesn’t seem likely to happen for several years and he has a full dance card of projects. Insiders think that a new Superman film is unlikely to hit screens before 2023, given that there’s no script and no director attached.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter has chimed-in and Warner Bros. are reportedly indeed looking to introduce a black Superman in the reboot. They certainly have options with Steel’s John Henry Irons, Val-Zod, and Calvin Ellis established in the comic books. Given Coates is writing the reboot and his history with Black Panther it’s hard to imagine this won’t have a black Superman.

According to sources, the project is being set up as a Black Superman story. This is something that the studio has been trying to wrap its head around for months, if not a year or two. Michael B. Jordan tried to develop a Black Superman project when he first arrived at the studio with his deal in 2019, but that did not go very far at the time, according to sources. It is possible that the studio could return to him to star down the line.

It’s worth mentioning Michael B. Jordan is producing a film for the studio based on the DC Comics hero Static Shock.

This news comes after Warner Bros. has been developing a new solo Supergirl film from The Cloverfield Paradox (produced by Abrams) screenwriter Oren Uziel and the studio recently hiring Sasha Calle in the role, making her big screen debut in The Flash.

It’ll be interesting to see if Henry Cavill ultimately comes back to the Superman role as the chances of that seem to be getting smaller with Supergirl entering the picture and this reboot from Bad Robot now in development.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

‘Constantine’ Getting Dark HBO Max Series Reboot From J.J. Abrams & Bad Robot

After it was previously announced that J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot would be working on a Justice League Dark series, there is word from Deadline that he’ll also be working on a new Constantine series reboot that will be written by Guy Bolton based on the occult DC Comics character. Bolton is said to be prepping to open a writers’ room next month.

The report stating the new version will skew darker than the previous series. Matt Ryan most recently played John after the Keanu Reeves film released back in 2005, they are reportedly seeking a diverse young actor to play the new version.

This is part of the overall deal that Bad Robot has with WarnerMedia. Abrams is also a producer on HBO’s Lovecraft Country and Westworld.

It’ll be interesting to see if this project will directly connect to that Justice League Dark show in development given that John Constantine is a key character on that team. Justice League Dark originally was put together as film for Guillermo del Toro before the studio attempted to give to other directors before deciding to turn it into a series instead.

CONSTANTINE – As a suicide survivor, demon hunter John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) has literally been to hell and back — and he knows that when he dies, he’s got a one-way ticket to Satan’s realm unless he can earn enough goodwill to climb God’s stairway to heaven. While helping policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) investigate her identical twin’s apparent suicide, Constantine becomes caught up in a supernatural plot involving both demonic and angelic forces. Based on the DC/Vertigo “Hellblazer” comics.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Paramount & J.J. Abrams Developing A True ‘Cloverfield’ Sequel With ‘Gotham PD’ Showrunner Joe Barton – Won’t Be Found Footage

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot is looking to make a true sequel to Matt Reeves’ 2008 film Cloverfield with Joe Barton being tapped to write the film’s script. Adding that the film won’t be found footage like the original.

Hopefully, the sequel has longer runtime.

Barton was recently hired to showrun and write the new HBO Max series Gotham PD, the DC Comics show would be a prequel to the upcoming The Batman movie, taking place within the first year of Bruce Wayne’s crime fighting. Joe replacing Terence Winter, who exited the project over “creative differences.”

Other Bad Robot films such as 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox had previously taken place within the same cinematic universe but were done retroactively as a marketing gimmick as they weren’t originally conceived as direct sequels.

Plot details aren’t mentioned in the report for the new film and given Bad Robot’s history they’ll keep those hidden in the mystery box for some time.

CLOVERFIELD – As a group of New Yorkers (Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman) enjoy a going-away party, little do they know that they will soon face the most terrifying night of their lives. A creature the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Using a handheld video camera, the friends record their struggle to survive as New York crumbles around them.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘Constantine’ Director Francis Lawrence Still Interested In Making A Sequel With Keanu Reeves – WB Seemingly Has Other Plans For Character

Last year, Constantine actor Keanu Reeves revealed to Variety he would be open to the idea of making a sequel and reprising the role of John Constantine.

REEVES: “I’ve always wanted to play John Constantine again. I just love that world too and I love that character. Yeah, I just had a blast playing that character.”

Director Francis Lawrence has now weighed-in while speaking with our pals over at Slash Film, revealing he has spoken with Keanu and producer/screenwriter Akiva Goldsman about the prospect of a sequel. However, mentioned that the character is out of their hands potentially referring to the Justice League Dark series being developed for HBO Max by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot.

LAWRENCE: “I think we all wanted to do it. It was successful enough. We wanted to make a responsible, more R-rated movie. By responsible, I mean we’d make a movie that wouldn’t cost quite as much as the original, which we thought was going to be PG-13. We worked on the sequel for a while. It was tricky to come up with where to take it. What I really liked about the first one was it was a really personal story, so I thought it’d be a mistake to get caught up in the supernatural gobblygook. The idea of a personal story was really interesting, and that was the hard thing to come across. We have been talking about it recently. It’s always stuck with all of us because we all love the movie, and especially realizing there’s a real cult following for this movie, it’d be fun to make. Keanu, Akiva, and I have actually talked about it. “

“Unfortunately, I don’t even remember who has it, but with all these shared universes that exist now, with Constantine being a part of Vertigo, which is a part of DC, people have plans for these shared universes. You know, possibly different Constantines and things like that. Right now, we don’t have that character available to us for TV or movies, which is a bummer. We all investigated it, but I think it’s kind of crazy when you have Keanu, who would love to do another Constantine, and us wanting to do another Constantine, and people are like, ‘Uh, no, we got other plans’. We’ll see what happens.”

We still don’t know if John Constantine will play a role in the new HBO Max series but that makes the most sense at the moment.

Due to Keanu’s recently career resurgence thanks to the John Wick franchise, there might be a reason for Warner Bors. to at least consider having him reprise the role whenever the character resurfaces.

CONSTANTINE – As a suicide survivor, demon hunter John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) has literally been to hell and back — and he knows that when he dies, he’s got a one-way ticket to Satan’s realm unless he can earn enough goodwill to climb God’s stairway to heaven. While helping policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) investigate her identical twin’s apparent suicide, Constantine becomes caught up in a supernatural plot involving both demonic and angelic forces. Based on the DC/Vertigo “Hellblazer” comics.

SOURCE: SLASH FILM