Filmmaker Justin Lin (“Star Trek Beyond”) has rebounded after exiting “Fast X” over creative issues and has secured two extremely high-profile leading actors for his upcoming heist thriller at Apple. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Lin has cast Oscar-winner Charlize Theron (“Atomic Blonde”) and former James Bond actor Daniel Craig (“No Time To Die”) as the leads of his new movie “Two For The Money.” Details on the film are scarce but the pic will see Theron and Craig play seasoned thieves while their relationship evolves over three big heists.
“Two For The Money” landed at Apple after a multiple studio bidding war and has a script penned by Dan Mazeau (“Damsel”) after working with Lin to co-write the script for “Fast X.”
Theron, of course, has worked with Lin previously on the “Fast & Furious” franchise directing her case Cipher in “F9: The Fast Saga.” The South African actress has some other action projects on the horizon including “The Old Guard 2,” a long-gestating sequel to “Atomic Blonde” at Netflix as well, and a potential return to the Furiosa role if a third pic connected to George Miller‘s “Mad Max: Fury Road” comes together as planned.
Craig is coming off his tenure playing the iconic British spy James Bond and is still expected to reunite with Rian Johnson for a third untitled Benoit Blanc film at Netflix after the success of “Knives Out,” and “Glass Onion.” His most recent role is playing Lee in Luca Guadagnino‘s adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel, “Queer.”
It’s unclear when “Two For The Money” will go in front of cameras.
Netflix has tapped a new director to handle The Old Guard sequel, as Deadline reports that Victoria Mahoney will replace Gina Prince-Bythewood. Adding that Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo, and Chiwetel Ejiofor are returning for the sequel.
Mahoney was the first female director to work on a Star Wars project, assigned as the huge film’s second unit director.
The news was reaffirmed by previous director Gina Prince-Bythewood on Twitter, who decided not to direct and will stay on as a producer. The filmmaker is busy with the Viola Davis action film The Woman King.
THE OLD GUARD – Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it’s up to Andy and Nile (Kiki Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary.
Director Paul Feig’s (Spy, Last Christmas, Bridesmaids) next feature film will be The School of Good & Evil for Netflix, from a script penned by David Magee (Life of Pi, Mary Poppins Returns, Finding Neverland) and Laura Solon (Office Christmas Party, Let It Snow) based on the bestselling book by Soman Chainani.
Best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where fairytale legacies go to school: the School for Good and Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. With her princess ambitions, Sophie knows she’ll be picked for the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her grim aesthetic and wicked cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil. Yet soon the girls find their fortunes reversed: Sophie is dropped into the School for Evil, Agatha into the School for Good. But what if the mistake is the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are? Their friendship will be put to the test in this thrilling and comedic story where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.
The Ronin can exclusively reveal that the adaptation will have cinematographer John Schwartzman, who previously worked with director Paul Feig on his holiday pic Last Christmas. His other credits include Jurassic World, The Little Things, The Amazing Spider-Man, Dracula: Untold, The Green Hornet, and Universal’s big upcoming blockbuster release Jurassic World: Dominion.
We can also confirm that the film’s production designer will be Andy Nicholson, who previously worked on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Assassin’s Creed, Captain Marvel, Gravity, and Netflix’s big action pic Red Notice.
It has a fantastic cast that includes folks such as Oscar-winner Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde, The Old Guard, F9: The Fast Saga) as Lady Lesso, Michelle Yeoh (Shang-Chi, Gunpowder Milkshake, Last Christmas, Crazy Rich Asians) Professor Anemone, Laurence Fishburne (Man of Steel, John Wick 2, John Wick 3, Ant-Man & The Wasp) as the Schoolmaster, Kerry Washington (Django Unchained, The Last King of Scotland, Scandal) as Professor Dovey, Sophia Anne Caruso as Sophie, Sophie Wylie as Agatha, Demi Isaac Oviawe as Anadil, Kaitlyn Akinpelumi as Dot, and Freya Theodora Parks as Gester.
Filming is taking place in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The location has been recently used for Paramount’s Dungeons & Dragons movie led by Chris Pine, Robert Eggers’ Viking epic The Northman, and famously was the home for eight seasons of HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Netflix has yet to announce a release date for The School of Good & Evil.
Universal Pictures delaying F9: The Fast Saga has paid off for the studio as the sequel is breaking miltuple pandemic records as Box Office Mojo has the film sitting at an international total of $500.3 million with $126 million coming from domestic box office.
The last installment, The Fate of The Furious, made an impressive final total of $1.2 billion.
Vin Diesel recently told Regal Movies in an interview that Furious 10 (parts 1-2) will begin shooting in January. With the main movies winding-down, there are plenty of offshoots in the works from Universal Pictures such as a Hobbs & Shaw sequel in development along with Michelle Rodriguez and Charlize Theron getting spinoffs as well. Diesel has also mused about potential prequels as well.
We’ll keep our fingers crossed that Sung Kang’ Han will get his own film too because it only makes sense to bring him back to give him a spinoff adventure.
While it’s not complete picture of the theater industry completely healed, it’s a good sign that other summer films might end up doing well as Black Widow, Snake Eyes, and The Suicide Squad are coming up. The problem at the moment is that vaccine numbers have stalled in the U.S. and the Delta variant quickly becoming the dominate version of COVID-9 across the globe, when many countries are behind in their vaccinations.
F9: THE FAST SAGA – Dom Toretto is living the quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, but they know that danger always lurks just over the peaceful horizon. This time, that threat forces Dom to confront the sins of his past to save those he loves most. His crew soon comes together to stop a world-shattering plot by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered — Dom’s forsaken brother.
While Oscar-winner Charlize Theron is fully embracing her era as an action star, she won’t be reprising the Furiosa role in George Miller’s prequel film that will begin shooting next month in Australia with Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, The Queen’s Gambit, Last Night In Soho) playing a younger incarnation of the character. However, Theron will have plenty of things on her plate for the foreseeable future.
Variety’s Mark Malkin has dished some interesting updates on Charlize Theron projects such as The Older Guard sequel that will begin shooting in the first quarter of 2022 and even development on a Cipher movie focused on her character from the recent Fast & Furious movies, according to franchise star Vin Diesel.
Charlize Theron tells me that the script is done for the sequel to The Old Guard, her Netflix film adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name. Cameras will start rolling in the first quarter of 2022. The gay couple, played by Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli, will be back, too. “Oh, yeah!” Theron says. “They’re definitely there.” Meanwhile, Vin Diesel tells me that he has writers working on a Fast & Furious spinoff for Theron’s character, Cipher.
The Old Guard is a Netflix action movie based on the Greg Rucka (also wrote the script) comic book about a diverse group of immortals and was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball). According to Netflix, it was one of their most popular original feature films and a sequel felt like a given.
Given the box office successes of The Fate of The Furious and F9: The Fast Saga along with Hobbs & Shaw it feels like an obvious thing to give Theron her own film, but you’d hope that someone hires a better hairstylist for the actress. Other projects in the works at Universal Pictures is a Hobbs & Shaw sequel and a female-led film focused on Michelle Rodriguez’s character Letty Ortiz.
I’ll patiently wait for director David Leitch (Bullet Train, John Wick, Deadpool 2, Hobbs & Shaw) and Theron to reunite for an Atomic Blonde sequel.
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.
Tom Holland Teases That ‘Uncharted’ Will Begin Shooting Soon In Germany
Fans have been guessing about what Sony Pictures would do about Uncharted and Spider-Man 3 as their productions would now conflict with each other. The obvious thing was that Uncharted would begin shooting first because it was ready to begin in Germany back in March but filming was paused to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Some fans had made giant leaps with theories that Sony would just kill/delay Uncharted (after multiple production woes and hiccups over the years) and push forward with Spider-Man 3 instead. As we’ve been saying for months Uncharted is the priority at the moment and this has been cemented by Tom Holland.
Recent Instagram posts from Tom Holland suggest he’s about to begin shooting Uncharted in Germany very soon after taking a COVID-19 test, getting his hair done to play Nathan Drake and showing off how ripped he got to work with his Uncharted co-star Mark Wahlberg.
This would give the impression that he’ll be too busy over the next couple of months for Spider-Man 3 to begin production in September as previously rumored.
In normal times, Uncharted might have been able to complete it’s production within a range of 3-4 months, however, with the new COVID-19 precautions this would likely extend the filming a couple of months. That’s if people don’t get sick and they have to pause for a couple of weeks.
I think it’s extremely unlikely that Spider-Man 3 either is ready to shoot this September in Atlanta and Sony/Marvel will simply push that production into 2021 then bumping that November 5th, 2021 release to sometime in 2022.
‘Doctor Strange 2’ Still Expected To Shoot Primarily At Longcross Studios
Speaking of Phase Four films that have seen their productions delayed in 2020, I have an update as it looks like Marvel still plans to film Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England. A major filming location I had previously confirmed over at HN Entertainment.
Not anything crazy but, interestingly, they’ve been sticking to that stage space instead of considering other places. Longcross is the same stage facility where the original film shot and director Sam Raimi shot his Wizard of Oz prequel for Disney titled Oz, The Great & Powerful.
It’s a little unclear when they’ll begin shooting since it’s unknown how much set construction or prep has been taking place since the United Kingdom has been in lockdown. We also won’t know if they’ll be able to meet their 2021 release date until Marvel makes it known when they’ll be able to start filming.
I had also reported that they were planning on filming the sequel in New York City and Norway, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be doing any international filming anytime soon.
We shouldn’t be surprised if Doctor Strange 2 like Spider-Man 3 is delayed into 2021. However, Spider-Man 3 is a slightly different case as their lead is shooting another large studio film first.
Then again, we have little idea how much set construction and prep has been underway on either of the MCU sequels during the pandemic.
‘Moonlight’s Janelle Monae Wants To Play Storm In ‘Black Panther 2’
We’ve been all been excited to see who will ultimately play the rebooted version of the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and yet another actress has thrown their hand in the ring to play aka Storm.
Moonlight actress and singer Janelle Monae spoke to Empire recently and revealed she’d very much like to play Ororo Munroe aka Storm in the Black Panther sequel. Bringing it up to cast members when they were hanging out in Atlanta.
MONAE: “I definitely have thrown it out there. One of my dreams has always been to play Storm. I don’t know if she comes in Black Panther, but it would be a dream to have her in it. I don’t know where they are with that. A lot of women have played Storm and they’ve done an exceptional job, and I would love to be in that line of artists and get to do Storm justice.”
T’Challa and Ororo in the comics do become romantically involved leading to marriage and it would be an organic way to introduce her into the MCU given that her mother N’Dare (a tribal princess) is from Kenya. Ororo potentially being fellow royalty wouldn’t be a stretch.
We still don’t know where Black Panther 2 is in the development stage other than Ryan Coogler is writing the script. While there have been rumblings of Spider-Man‘s Kraven The Hunter, Namor, and Fantastic Four‘s Doctor Doom appearing in the film nothing has been announced or confirmed.
‘The Mandalorian’s Giancarlo Esposito Says He’s Keen For Marvel Studios Role Next
Janelle isn’t the only actor seemingly gunning for a Marvel role. Veteran film and television actor Giancarlo Esposito (Do The Right Thing, The Mandalorian) briefly mentioned to Entertainment Tonight that he’d like to work with Marvel Studios at some point.
ESPOSITO: “Well there’s been all these rumors about being with Marvel, I want to work with those guys. I put it out there all the time. I haven’t created any of those rumors, but I worked years ago with Louis D’Esposito, who is one of the guys at Marvel, back when he was doing Cotton Club and I was doing Cotton Club, he was the [1st assistant director].”
“What they do is fantastic, and I want to do something enduring with them. I think the Marvel world would be, likely, the next step for me.”
This comes after a year ago there were rumblings the Breaking Bad actor was wanted for a role, however, that was neither announced nor confirmed.
Where he could land role-wise is unknown despite the fan suggestions for Norman Osborn and Magneto. I personally think he’d be excellent as a hero like Norrin Radd aka Silver Surfer since Adam McKay was trying to get a feature film together over at Marvel last year.
Charlize Theron Admits She Has Never Been In Talks With Marvel For Roles
While speaking with Variety, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron (Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road) has revealed that despite rumors over the years she has ultimately never spoken with Marvel Studios about various roles.
THERON: “I swear to God. I’ve never gotten anything. No, I’m not lying to you. But that’s okay. You know what? I am paving my own way. I’m creating my own opportunities. So it’s alright.”
This doesn’t mean Charlize will never meet with Marvel in the future but it sounds like it hasn’t happened up to this point.
Russo Brothers Support Anthony Mackie’s Comments On Lack of Diversity Behind The Scenes At Marvel Studios
After Anthony Mackie pointed out not too long ago that the people behind the scenes of Marvel Studios movies are mostly white and not as diverse as it could be. He is getting some support from directors The Russo Brothers while asked about it by Movie Maker.
JOE RUSSO: “I think we can always all do better at diversity, constantly in this business, and in every facet of every industry — so he’s not wrong at all. I think that we all have to work harder to keep endorsing and supporting diversity on both sides of the camera.”
Marvel Studios Artist Charlie Wen Shares Unofficial ‘Shang-Chi’ Artwork
A brief post made by Marvel Studios concept artist Charlie Wen on his Instagram shows us some interesting but unofficial artwork featuring Simu Liu as Shang-Chi.
During an in-depth interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote her upcoming comic book film The Old Guard, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron gave her genuine reaction to George Miller looking to recast the Furiosa role for the upcoming prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road.
THERON: “It’s a tough one to swallow. Listen, I fully respect George, if not more so in the aftermath of making Fury Road with him. He’s a master, and I wish him nothing but the best. Yeah, it’s a little heartbreaking, for sure. I really love that character, and I’m so grateful that I had a small part in creating her. She will forever be someone I think of and reflect on fondly. Obviously, I would love to see that story continue, and if he feels like he has to go about it this way, then I trust him in that manner. We get so hung up on the smaller details that we forget the thing that we emotionally tap into has nothing to do with that minute thing that we’re focusing on.”
Just because that George Miller is making a prequel to Fury Road, it doesn’t mean that Charlize won’t be asked to reprise the role in the future for a direct sequel.
Theron also states that the Atomic Blonde sequel is still in only development stages, despite a previous report it was a done-deal that was later debunked.
THERON: “Yes, we’re in the development stages right now, and that’s the one thing that lockdown has been good for — being able to develop with writers over Zoom. So, we’re actively developing [an Atomic Blonde sequel] right now.”
Development could mean a lot of things, as we know that director/producer David Leitch is busy lately signing up to direct multiple studio productions for the foreseeable future including the Japanese-set action flick Bullet Train for Sony Pictures.
It was confirmed recently that Charlize Theron wouldn’t be reprising the Furiosa role in George Miller’s upcoming prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road as the writer/director wasn’t sold on the current de-aging CGI effects and their limitations. Leading to him now seeking a younger actress to play the role with Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, The New Mutants) and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, The Last Duel) reportedly among the many ladies auditioning.
Theron’s co-star Zoe Kravitz has now commented about the sitution while being interviewed on the podcast Happy Sad Confused, giving Miller the benefit of the doubt.
KRAVITZ: “If I recall correctly, he always spoke about wanting to do a Furiosa prequel. I didn’t know he was going to recast her. If I learned anything from being in Fury Road, it’s shut up and trust George Miller. I’m just gonna shut my mouth and say go to work maestro because I don’t know what else I can say to that, man.”
I don’t think the door is nesscarily closed concerning Charlize returning to the Furiosa role down the road as Miller also wanted to make a direct sequel to Fury Road which would allow Theron to appear as the badass character once more.
When filming on Furiosa will begin is a little unclear as Miller was in the middle to starting up Three Thousand Years of Longing when his star Idris Elba contracted the coronavirus and the country-wide outbreak led to the industry to pause all productions in Australia including Marvel’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings.
George has suggested in previous interviews that he hopes to shoot the Fury Road prequel once Three Thousand Years of Longing is completed.There had been rumors of Furiosa beginning this fall or sometime in 2021, neither projected start seems realistic at this point given delays on Miller’s current film.
Zoe has had production woes too as she was recently cast as Selina Kyle aka Catwoman in Matt Reeves’ new Batman film. Matt had revealed a while back that they had only completed a quarter of filming before the pandemic paused production in the United Kingdom.
Jurassic World: Dominion is reportedly aiming to be the first major production to resume in the UK at Pinewood Studios UK sometime between early to mid-July. Despite false online rumors, The Batman isn’t cancelled nor is Robert Pattinson being fired. Instead, the DC Comics movie will resume filming shortly as soon as the studio feels it’s safe to do so.
THE RONIN 