Tag: Chadwick Boseman

Posted on in Film News

Warner Bros. Rejected ‘L.A. Confidential’ Sequel Set In 1970s Starring Chadwick Boseman Alongside Original Cast

1997’s neo-noir film L.A. Confidential is easily a huge turning point in Hollywood, it earned Kim Basinger an Oscar while essentially making Australian actors Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce stars. The film’s success is undeniable, however, when a sequel was pitched a few years back, Warner Bros. seemingly didn’t want anything to do with it.

The original’s Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland spoke with The Ringer (via The Playlist), revealing he had developed a direct sequel set in the mid-70s with author James Ellroy (his novel was adapted for the first movie). He had even secured original cast members Crowe and Pearce to reprise their roles. The kicker is that he wanted the late Chadwick Boseman to play a youg cop, the pitch was ultimately rejected by the studio.

A few years ago, the Oscar-winning filmmaker Brian Helgeland went to Warner Bros. with what seemed like a dynamite movie pitch: a sequel to L.A. Confidential, the 1997 Hollywood cop drama he cowrote with director Curtis Hanson. Helgeland had already secured a top-tier cast, including returning Confidential costars Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce, alongside Chadwick Boseman, who’d be playing a young police officer. He’d developed a new story with L.A. Confidential novelist James Ellroy, one that would be set in the mid-’70s.

“We worked the whole thing out. It was great. And Warners passed,” Helgeland told The Ringer.

Yet another example of studio executives having terrible taste when selecting or rejecting film projects.

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL – Three policemen, each with his own motives and obsessions, tackle the corruption surrounding an unsolved murder at a downtown Los Angeles coffee shop in the early 1950s. Detective Lieutenant Exley (Guy Pearce), the son of a murdered detective, is out to avenge his father’s killing. The ex-partner of Officer White (Russell Crowe), implicated in a scandal rooted out by Exley, was one of the victims. Sergeant Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) feeds classified information to a tabloid magnate (Danny DeVito).

SOURCE: THE RINGER

Posted on in Film News

‘Black Panther 2’: Lupita Nyong’o Talks About Returning To The Set Without Chadwick Boseman

While everyone at Marvel Studios alongside the cast and crew of Black Panther are still mourning the loss of actor Chadwick Boseman to colon cancer last year, the studio and director Ryan Coogler are pressing on with the sequel set to begin shooting this July in Atlanta under the working title Summer Break.

Fans are still extremely curious how they’re going to continue without Boseman’s T’Challa.

Yahoo! Entertainment‘s Kevin Polowy was able to speak with Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o during an interview to promote her animated project Super Sema. During their chat the subject of returning for Marvel’s Black Panther 2 was brought up and Lupita talked about the emotion surrounding the upcoming production alongside director Ryan Coogler’s

NYONG’O: “People will ask me, ‘Are you excited to go back?’ Excitement isn’t the word. I feel like I’m in a very pensive and meditative state when it comes to Black Panther 2. His passing is still extremely raw for me. And I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like to step on set and not have him there.”

“But at the same time we have a leader in Ryan, who feels very much like we do, who feels the loss in a very, very real way as well. And his idea, the way which he has reshaped the second movie is so respectful of the loss we’ve all experienced as a cast and as a world. So it feels spiritually and emotionally correct to do this. And hopefully, what I do look forward to, is getting back together and honoring what he started with us and holding his light through it. Because he left us a lot of light that we’re still going to be bathing in. I know that for sure.”

We’re heard similar sentiments from other cast members and we’re still in the dark to how exactly Ryan and Marvel are going to approach the film without recasting T’Challa. The studio has repeatedly stated they don’t have plans on using a digital version of Chadwick and with the summer shoot looming you’d think they would have shared their angle by now.

Black Panther 2 is set for release on July 8, 2022 and we should start hearing more casting news in the coming months.

SOURCE: YAHOO ENTERTAINMENT

Posted on in Film News

‘Black Panther 2’ Working Title Is ‘Summer Break’

As a summer production in Atlanta is expected for Marvel’s Black Panther sequel directed by Ryan Coogler, the film has apparently landed it’s own working title alongside other Marvel Studios projects shooting in 2021.

Production Weekly is listing the working title as Summer Break. This will be strictly used during the filming of Black Panther 2 and these faux titles are often chosen by the directors.

Other recent working titles for MCU film projects are as follows.

SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME = THE NOVEMBER PROJECT

THOR: LOVE & THUNDER = THE BIG SALAD

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 = GOAT RODEO

ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA = DUST BUNNY

Details on the project are scarce but with the passing of T’Challa actor Chadwick Boseman there had been multiple confirmations from Marvel Studios brass that they have zero plans to use a digital version of Chadwick and have also downplayed the idea of recasting the role. We still don’t know what their plan is for the sequel and who exactly will take on the mantle.

Narcos Mexico star Tenoch Huerta had reportedly landed a villain role in the sequel but his character wasn’t mentioned in the report. We assume that they’ll be able to wrangle original cast members to return such as Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Florence Kasumba, Martin Freeman.

At the end of the first installment, Wakanda revealed itself to the world and it’s advanced technology could lead to conflict with other nations. Fans have been hoping that complex characters such as Namor or Doctor Doom could end up appearing in the sequel but neither have been confirmed.

Director Ryan Coolger is also developing a Wakanda spinoff series for Disney+ as part of his overall deal with Disney. We’ve seen Wakanda take a small role in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier and could be planting seeds for the Coogler show.

Black Panther 2 has been given a release date of July 8, 2022.

SOURCE: PRODUCTION WEEKLY

Posted on in Film News

Director Spike Lee Would Consider Making A Marvel Movie “If The Right Opportunity Comes Across”

While Marvel Studios likely won’t be landing Martin Scorsese anytime soon, another landmark New York filmmaker is keeping the superhero door open.

In a recent chat with Entertainment Weekly, Oscar-winner Spike Lee revealed he would be open to the idea of making a Marvel movie if the right project and opportunity materialized. Lee didn’t mention any franchises or characters he’d like to tackle but had grown up reading Spider-Man comics.

LEE: “I have nothing against Marvel. I grew up reading Spider-Man comic books. To me, DC Comics was always corny… I’m just saying. I was all about Marvel. If the right opportunity comes across, I’m not campaigning for it, but I will give it consideration.”

One of Chadwick Boseman’s final performances was in Spike’s Vietnam War drama Da 5 Bloods.

It’s worth mentioning that Spike and Samuel L. Jackson have been working together for over 30 years with his early films School Daze and Do The Ring Thing. You might also remember that Sam embraced the filmmaker on stage when Spike was awarded his Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2019. The idea that the pair could reunite for a Nick Fury movie wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities given that Marvel had been developing a solo film before some elements of that were folded into Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Jackson will reprise the Nick Fury role in Secret Invasion and is expected to appear in Captain Marvel 2.

Another interesting project could be an MCU reboot of Luke Cage or Heroes For Hire as Lee could certainly make a NYC-set project feel authentic and might bring a fun vision for it. We know that Marvel/Disney is open to making R-rated projects as Deadpool 3 is confirmed to be heading in that direction and might also be the case for Mahershala Ali’s Blade reboot as well.

However, being open to the idea doesn’t mean anything is going to come from this statement but it’s surely neat to hear that Spike is open-minded.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Posted on in Film News

‘Black Panther 2’: Kevin Feige Reaffirms Marvel Won’t Use A CGI Chadwick Boseman In Sequel

You might remember an unreliable YouTuber was pushing a rumor that Marvel Studios was considering using a CGI Chadwick Boseman for Black Panther 2, something that was quickly debunked by Marvel Studios’ Victoria Alonso when speaking with Clarin last year.

ALONSO: “No. There’s only one Chadwick, and he’s not with us. Our king, unfortunately, has died in real life, not just in fiction, and we are taking a little time to see how we return to the story and what we do to honor this chapter of what has happened to us that was so unexpected, so painful, so terrible, really.”

“[We] have to think carefully about what we are going to do, and how, and think about how we are going to honor the franchise.”

During the Disney Investor Day back in December, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige revealed they weren’t planning on recasting the T’Challa role. He’s now reaffirmed they have zero plan to use a CGI version of Chadwick in the sequel while speaking with Deadline to promote the upcoming release of WandaVision.

However, he is being vague how they’ll continue the franchise as referring back to writer/director Ryan Coogler working on hard on the project.

FEIGE: “So much of the comics and that first movie is the world of Wakanda. Wakanda is a place to further explore with characters and different subcultures. This was always and initially the primary focus of the next story. We’re not going to have a CG Chadwick and we’re not recasting T’Challa. Ryan Coogler is working very hard right now on the script with all the respect and love and genius that he has, which gives us great solace, so it was always about furthering the mythology and the inspiration of Wakanda. There’s also the task of honoring and respecting the ongoing learnings and teachings from Chad as well.”

Narcos: Mexico actor Tenoch Huerta is reportedly playing an unnamed villain in the new film and has a release date of July 8th, 2022 with production said to begin this summer in Atlanta, Georgia.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Will Letitia Wright Have A Bigger Role In ‘Black Panther 2’?

Another little tidbit in The Hollywood Reporter’s casting news concerning Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther 2 with Narcos: Mexico actor Tenoch Huerta in talks to play one of the film’s villains. They mention that the returning cast will include Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Wintston Duke, and Angela Bassett with the former possibly getting a much larger role.

Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Angela Bassett are expected to return for the new feature, with some saying Wright’s character may take on a more prominent role. Marvel, which had no comment on this story, has not revealed its plans on how it plans to proceed without Boseman, although it has indicated that it will not use CGI to include the late star in the film.

Oddly enough, Danai Gurira is not part of this returning group but I assume she will be in the future.

Chadwick passed over the summer after a battle of colon cancer and everyone involved has been focused on mourning which makes me a little skeptical they’ll at this pointing locking-down production dates after they just lost their lead actor. Marvel Studios executive vice president Victoria Alonso debunked an online rumor that they were considering on using a digital-double of Chadwick Boseman for the film.

While the outlet is pushing this news that filming is set to begin in July the studio hasn’t confirmed if they’ll be promoting Wright’s Shuri to Black Panther status or simply recasting the T’Challa role which seems like the simpler move on their part as weird as it might be. Handing the reigns to Shuri would mean they’d also have to kill-off the T’Challa character and I’m not terribly sure Disney is keen on that idea. However, giving Wright more to do in sequel could lead to her becoming Black Panther at some point.

There seems to be a process where the ruler of Wakanda can retire the Black Panther position and still rule, as was the case of T’Chaka and T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War.

We’ll have to wait and see what Marvel/Coolger ultimately decide to do.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘Narcos: Mexico’ Actor Tenoch Huerta In Talks To Play ‘Black Panther 2’ Villain – Eyeing July Production Start

The Hollywood Reporter has news that Marvel and director Ryan Coogler are in talks with Narcos: Mexico actor Tenoch Huerta to play one of the villains of Black Panther 2.

Also, they state that Marvel Studios wants filming to begin by July of next year in Atlanta, Georgia.

They’re not naming his role but Huerta would make for interesting MCU incarnation of Namor The Sub-Mariner, as he played a complex cartel member on Narcos: Mexico and I’ve been championing different types of actors for the role when it comes time for Marvel to cast an actor for it.

Namor’s Atlantis and T’Challa’s Wakanda have come to all-out war in the comics with Namor flooding Wakanda along with the two high-tech nations almost exchanging nuclear weapons. There is certainly tension there between them and plenty of unconfirmed rumors that Namor could end up being a villain go all the way back to the first film’s release. The sinking of Atlantis aka The Great Cataclysm in Marvel Comics has a direct connection to Celestials, Deviants, and Eternals which could be introduced in the upcoming Eternals film. Nods to Namor go all way back to Captain America: The First Avenger and have been sprinkled throughout multiple films since.

There are even objects from the Guardians of The Galaxy attraction Mission Breakout! located at the Disney theme parks that tease an Atlantis connection via “Terran Ocean Artifacts”.

Of course, the role could be something else entirely but he’s giving off Namor vibes.

Chadwick Boseman passed over the summer due to a battle with colon cancer (something he kept private) and everyone involved with the project has been taking time to mourn his passing. I’m not entirely sure how fixed that production start is given that was likely when they were planning on shooting before the death of Chadwick and there could be adjustments or delays upcoming.

Marvel Studios still hasn’t announced what their plans are with the T’Challa role but have debunked a rumor of using a digital-double of the late actor for the sequel.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in News

Actor Chadwick Boseman Loses 4-Year Battle With Colon Cancer At Age 43

Sad news this morning as the passing of actor Chadwick Boseman was announced by his family last night. Chadwick at the age of 43 lost his 4-year battle with cancer first being diagnosed with stage III colon cancer back in 2016, something that wasn’t made public as he attempted to tackle it privately even shooting films between surgeries and chemotherapy. 

His family who was by his side when he passed in Los Angeles made the following statement via social media.

It is with immeasurable grief that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Boseman.⁣

⁣Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016, and battled with it these last 4 years as it progressed to stage IV. ⁣

⁣A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much. From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more, all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. ⁣

⁣It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther. ⁣

⁣He died in his home, with his wife and family by his side. ⁣

The family thanks you for your love and prayers, and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time. ⁣

Chadwick, a graduate from Howard University was born in South Carolina and first made waves in Hollywood playing baseball legend Jackie Robinson in the biopic 42, who first crossed the color barrier. 

His passing happened to take place when Major League Baseball was celebrating Jackie Robinson Day. 

Boseman was best known internationally as the actor who portrayed T’Challa in Marvel’s Black Panther along with other Marvel Cinematic Universe features such as Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. 

Black Panther became a monster box office hit earning an impressive $1.3 billion and that success broke down longstanding Hollywood myths about how international audiences would react to a blockbuster with a majority black cast. 

He also starred in Get On Up, Marshall, 21 Bridges, Message From The King, and most recently the Spike Lee movie Da 5 Bloods. 

This news is just heartbreaking and we hope that you’ll consider getting yourselves checked regularly for cancer via cancer screenings along with donating to local or national cancer charities in Chadwick’s name. 

Men’s health is something that isn’t nearly brought up often enough and making sure you’re getting screened for cancers is an important part of that, as many know that men can put off going to the doctor or seeking regular check-ups simply out of fear or pride. 

Chadwick will be greatly missed and our hearts go out to his family during their time of mourning.