Tag: Disney

Posted on in Television News

SET PHOTOS: First ‘Ms. Marvel’ Images Reveals Captain Marvel Fangirl Kamala Khan – Filming Officially Begins In Atlanta

We finally have photographic proof that Ms. Marvel (working title Jersey) has finally begun filming in Atlanta, Georgia.

Just Jared has posted a batch of first-look set photos from the Atlanta set from filming on Wednesday revealing Canadian actress Iman Vellani in character as Ms. Marvel aka Kamala Khan wearing what looks to be a Halloween costume of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel.

You can check out those pictures here.

Kamala Khan is a practicing Muslim Pakistani-American teenager living in New Jersey, who is a massive fan of Captain Marvel and develops her own superpowers (canonically is group of The Inhumans) then adopting the name Ms. Marvel (Carol’s original superhero name in the comics).

The series showrun by Bisha K. Ali has a group of directors that include Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

There is a strong possibility that Kamala could have involvement with Captain Marvel 2 and maybe even the Nick Fury series if it involves S.W.O.R.D. Ms. Marvel is also part of the New Avengers/Young Avengers making her an important character to the future of Marvel Cinematic Universe. It remains to be seen if Brie Larson will show up in Ms. Marvel even for a cameo.

There is an expectation that Ms. Marvel will be ready to begin airing on Disney+ in late 2021.

SOURCE: JUST JARED

Posted on in Television News

Katee Sackhoff Denies Involvement With ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Series Featuring Cara Dune – “I Have Absolutely No Idea What You’re Talking About”

Capping-off Deadline’s debunking last week of the fan rumor that Katee Sackhoff and Gina Carano would be co-starring in a spinoff series from The Mandalorian with the pair reprising their roles of Bo-Katan and Cara Dune.

Katee is now flat-out denying it’s existence as well during an interview with the outlet stating the following.

SACKHOFF: “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, that’s legitimately the truth.”

She added what makes the character interesting to her.

SACKHOFF: “She’s a warrior and she has struggled tremendously with being a leader. For her, I think there is a struggle and a story about who she becomes in peace, if that were to ever be accomplished and what kind of ruler she would be. She’s never really, that we’ve seen, gotten that opportunity, and whether or not she’s ready for that. Just because she thinks it’s her rightful place, doesn’t mean she’s ready or equipped to rule Mandalore.

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight she hinted Bo-Katan important part of The Mandalorian.

SACKOFF: “She’s been such a pivotal character in this world and she’s so important to this story in The Mandalorian and where it’s going.”

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Margot Robbie Comments On Involvement With Disney’s ‘Pirates of The Caribbean’ Franchise – “We’re Really Excited About The Prospect”

I first reported back in August 2018 that Disney was looking to kick the tires of the Pirates franchise for a sixth untitled installment which could possibly move away from Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow. Disney then hired a handful of screenwriters to tackle Pirates of The Caribbean 6 which was said to be a reboot. Most recently writers Ted Elliott and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Last of Us) had been hired by the studio to work on the project’s script.

Over the summer it was reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Aussie actress Margot Robbie and her Birds of Prey screenwriter Christina Hodson might be reuniting for a second Pirates project that would see Robbie attached for the lead role.

This week Margot Robbie (The Suicide Squad, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) is making the press rounds to promote her upcoming film Dreamland and while speaking with Josh Horowitz on his podcast Happy Sad Confused revealed Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl is one of her comfort films along with a brief comment on the report she is being considered for a role in a new movie from Disney.

HOROWITZ: There is talk you may be involved with a future Pirates film…

ROBBIE: “Wait and see. Early days, early days, I shan’t say anymore.”

Margot also revealed to Collider that she will not be producing the film and that while development seems to be happening at the moment, it doesn’t sound like a done deal at Disney.

ROBBIE: “A lot of girl power. No, it’s too early to talk about it…I’m not a producer on Pirates so I’ll sit back and wait for the process…I don’t have to stress about it. But no, we’re really excited about the prospect of adding, obviously, a very key female element to that world.”

If you’re not familiar with updates at theme parks concerning Pirates of The Caribbean they’ve revamped the character Redd, who is now a female pirate at the park. Redd is not only part of the ride but also had her own park character as well. She seems like a strong contender for the role that Disney is looking place Robbie in.

Johnny Depp was recently forcibly removed from the Fantastic Beasts franchise by Warner Bros. and could possibly be replaced with Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Hannibal, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). There has been expectations that Johnny will not reprise the iconic pirate in either of these two projects but hasn’t been made official.

SOURCE: HAPPY SAD CONFUSED PODCAST & COLLIDER

Posted on in Film News

Daisy Ridley Sounds Hesitant To Continue Rey’s Journey After ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ – “I Just Feel Like That Was Rey’s Perfect Ending”

Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley recently spoke with IGN to help promote her upcoming action film Chaos Walking, co-starring Tom Holland, revealing that she isn’t terribly keen on reprising Rey Skywalker in either future films or a streaming series. Suggesting they pretty much left her in a good place at the end Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Daisy seems happy with how it all ended.

RIDLEY: “I think for me the beauty of Episode IX is it ends with such hope and such potential. I just feel like that was Rey’s perfect ending. The big battle was in Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. I think really she’s probably running around the forest somewhere having a great time [following the events of The Rise of Skywalker].”

“I feel totally, totally satisfied with how that story finished. I just don’t know what else she could do that I didn’t have to do. Also, there are so many amazing characters in Star Wars, that it’s sort of an amazing thing. I was watching the new episode of Mandalorian, and it’s just like the places it can go beyond even where it is now is so exciting.”

Considering the brutal harassment Ridley got from “fans” alongside co-stars John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran it’s no wonder that she’d rather just move on with her acting career. It’s also worth mentioning that Lucasfilm hasn’t given any signs they even want to continue the Rey Skywalker Saga in live-action form anytime soon. Instead, they seem to be focusing on television for the moment with brand new films on the horizon that most likely will move away from the Skywalker timeline altogether.

John Boyega has given less fluffy answers on the topic of a potential return to the franchise feeling like Finn was mistreated in the subsequent films and dismissing the idea of reprising the character for a live-action series on Disney+ which is understandable.

SOURCE: IGN

Posted on in Film News

Will The Long Delayed ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Finally Begin Filming In August?

Development on a fifth and possibly final Indiana Jones film starring Harrison Ford has been in the works for five years at Lucasfilm. The project has been delayed for ages now after a string of release dates went from July 19th, 2019 to July 10th, 2020 to July 9th, 2021 to the most recent date being July 29th, 2022.

You might remember that Steven Spielberg exited the film and Lucasfilm eventually hired Logan director James Mangold. It’s expected that Mangold is working on the script after screenwriters David Koepp (Jurassic Park) and Jonathan Kasdan (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Willow series) have moved on.

It’s possible that they might finally inching closer towards filming. A new production grid for the untitled Indiana Jones 5 is making the rounds online and one of the places it landed yesterday was Daniel Richtman’s Patreon page.

However, we have to note there were at least two other production grids that suggested that filming would begin in 2019 and 2020 that never actually happened due to script issues. I wouldn’t be terribly quick to say this is lock without confirmation from the studio and casting begins but could give some insight when Lucasfilm hopes to get filming started next year.

They’ll also have to contend with lingering COVID-19 that won’t be entirely gone in the summer of 2021 (even with a vaccine in circulation) and potentially risking the heath of the nearly 80 year old Harrison Ford. Disney and Lucasfilm taking another mulligan until 2022 wouldn’t be the most shocking development.

Back in February, Ford himself told CBS Sunday Morning that they would begin shooting this year and those plans didn’t come together.

FORD: “Trying not to look silly, running around in tight pants and high boots… I’ll give you a more appropriate answer considering that I’m gonna start doing Indiana Jones in about two months. I’m always delighted to come back to these characters. When we have the opportunity to make another, it’s because people have enjoyed them, I feel obliged to make sure that our efforts are as ambitious as they were when we started.“

Last we heard from Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy, Indiana Jones 5 is indeed a continuation.

KENNEDY: “Oh, Harrison Ford will be involved, yeah. It’s not a reboot, it’s a continuation…He can’t wait he absolutely is.”

In the past, Harrison Ford has debunked the talk of Chris Pratt (mixing him up with Chris Pine) taking over the role in a reboot stating to the Today Show the character is expected to die with him.

FORD: “Nobody is going to be Indiana Jones, don’t you get it? I’m Indiana Jones. When I’m gone, he’s gone. It’s easy. This is a hell of a way to tell Chris Pine this. I’m sorry, man.”

Back in 2016, screenwriter David Koepp revealed to Collider that franchise creator George Lucas wouldn’t be part of the story/script process.

It’s unclear if we’ll be seeing supporting characters like Wan Li aka Short Round or Henry Jones III aka Mutt appear in the final installment. I’d personally like to see them attempt to develop a new protege character and place Indy in the Henry Jones Sr. role as seen in The Last Crusade.

SOURCE: DANIEL RICHTMAN/PRODUCTION WEEKLY

Posted on in Television News

Marvel’s ‘WandaVision’ Debut Officially Delayed To January 15th On Disney+

The mystery of WandaVision’s release date has been finally solved!

While there was an expectation back in August that they would be able to begin airing episodes before the end of 2020, that isn’t the case. Disney has officially announced on social media that the series will begin airing on Disney+ starting on January 15th.

Many fans had tried to convince themselves that WandaVision could be ready before December but that obviously wasn’t realistic given that production delays due to COVID-19 has seemingly impacted multiple Marvel Studios even the film slate.

Back in August, in The Ronin’s report on the delay of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier to sometime in 2021 there had been an expectation that WandaVision was much further along in the production/post-production process and could have been ready in late 2020.

Fans will really need to dig deep down to find their patience because targeted release dates are written in sand and not stone. We’ll likely see many more delays and shifts throughout 2021 as situations are influx leading to date changes/production pauses.

This news would confirm that 2020 will be the first year without new MCU projects in a long time.

Other live-action series officially on the way include Loki, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Hawkeye.

WANDAVISION – Marvel Studios’ WandaVision blends the style of classic sitcoms with the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany)—two super-powered beings living their ideal suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems.

SOURCE: DISNEY

Posted on in Film News

George Lucas Wanted Darth Maul and Darth Talon To Be Villains of The ‘Star Wars’ Sequel Trilogy

One of the biggest issues a lot of fans of myself with the prequel trilogy is that it never really had a menacing villain and once they killed off Darth Maul, who at the time felt like was going to become the next Darth Vader was dispensed so quickly it felt like a horrible mistake on the part of George Lucas. Neither Darth Sidous and Count Dooku really measured up “great villains” feeling like Maul was wasted potential.

Well, it sounds like Lucas had plans on bringing him back for his version of the sequel trilogy that was never used by Lucasfilm/Disney.

During a interview for a new retrospective book on the prequels titled The Star Wars Archives: 1999-2005, George states that he wanted to use both Darth Maul and Darth Talon (Legends/Expanded Universe character) as the villains in the new trilogy with the latter becoming the new Vader of those films.

What looks like a page from the book with these details leaked on Reddit.

LUCAS: “Darth Maul trained a girl, Darth Talon, who was in the comic books, as his apprentice. She was the new Darth Vader, and most of the action was with her. So these were the two main villains of the trilogy. Maul eventually becomes the godfather of crime in the universe because, as the Empire falls, he takes over.”

Darth Maul got a bit of redemption from his wasted use in The Phantom Menace in The Clone Wars and Rebels becoming more of a developed character. Then reappearing in a brief cameo at the end of Solo: A Star Wars Story as a crimelord in Crimson Dawn, which seemed to mirror what Lucas had in mind for the new trilogy. Despite unverified rumors it doesn’t seem likely we’ll see the character return in the live-action realm anytime soon given that Darth Maul actor Ray Park may have posted revenge porn on his Instagram account.

The inclusion of Darth Talon is interesting since we’ve seen her pop-up in a lot of places in the Star Wars mythology and development.

Darth Talon from Star Wars: Legacy published by Dark Horse Comics

Darth Talon originally came from the Dark Horse Comics run but under Disney wouldn’t be part of canon anymore allowing Lucasfilm to use the character however they’d like. There had been development on a Darth Maul game titled Battle of The Sith Lords that included Talon in concept artwork but the project was ultimately killed after Disney acquired the company.

Darth Maul & Darth Talon concept artwork from Battle of The Sith Lords

Her journey didn’t seem to end with Disney there as unused concept artwork from Star Wars: The Force Awakens confirms that someone at Lucasfilm considered using Darth Talon in the new films but for whatever reason J.J. Abrams or Kathleen Kennedy decided against it.

Darth Talon concept art from Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Asajj Ventress, a key figure in The Clone Wars happened to be based on a rejected Sith design from the prequels but got second life in the animation side of things. It sounds like Lucas wanted the same thing for Talon on the live-action side, but it was never fully realized.

I’d personally love to see Talon get her own series which could be in the cards as Disney+ seems to be keen to develop various Star Wars shows.

SOURCE: THE STAR WARS ARCHIVES 1995-2005

Posted on in Film News

EXCLUSIVE: Emilio Estevez To Direct An Episode of ‘The Mighty Ducks’ Series For Disney+

The Ronin has been able to confirm that The Mighty Ducks franchise actor Emilio Estevez will be taking the role of director on the upcoming Disney+ series currently filming in Vancouver. The actor is reprising the role of Gordon Bombay as well.

Estevez might be best known for directing the comedy Men At Work that co-starred his brother Charlie Sheen but has tackled TV with CSI: NY and Cold Case.

Disney+ is looking to bring multiple nostalgia projects from 80-90s to the streaming platform including a soft-reboot film of Honey, I Shrunk The Kids titled Shrunk with director Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3, Captain America: The First Avenger) returning and Turner & Hooch reboot series.

This new incarnation of The Mighty Ducks will star Lauren Graham (Bad Santa, Gilmore Girls) and Brady Noon (Good Boys).

The series is set in present-day Minnesota, where the Mighty Ducks have evolved from scrappy underdogs to an ultra-competitive, powerhouse youth hockey team. After 12-year-old Evan (Noon) is unceremoniously cut from the Ducks, he and his mom, Alex (Graham), set out to build their own ragtag team of misfits to challenge the cutthroat, win-at-all-costs culture of competitive youth sports.

The Mighty Ducks is expected to drop on Disney+ sometime in 2021.

Posted on in Film News

James Gunn Says Making A Superman Project “Was A Possiblity” Before Agreeing To Direct ‘The Suicide Squad’

In a new interview with Empire, The Suicide Squad writer/director spoke about when he agreed to make the DC Comics film before getting a call from Disney’s Alan Horn and Marvel’s Kevin Feige about coming back to make Guardians of The Galaxy 3.

He says that making a Superman project “was a possibility” after revealing that Feige had asked him if his DC project was indeed Superman.

After hearing from Horn, Gunn knew he had to update MCU head honcho Kevin Feige on his next project – who, when told it was a DC movie, asked: “Is it Superman?” Gunn stated that it wasn’t Superman (“That was a possibility,” he tells Empire) and explained that he had chosen The Suicide Squad. Feige’s reaction? “Please, please make a good movie. Just… make a great movie.”

At one time, it was rumored that Warner Bros. approached various filmmakers tackle a sequel to Man of Steel. However, another solo Superman film never materialized. The studio had been reportedly developing a Supergirl film that has seemingly been placed on paused for the foreseeable future.

Despite reports of Warner Bros. trying to get Henry Cavill to cameo as Superman (possibly in The Flash alongside other Justice League co-stars) his return for his own feature film is far from confirmed.

SOURCE: EMPIRE MAGAZINE

Posted on in Television News

‘Y: The Last Man’ Series Adds ‘Dredd’ Actress Olivia Thirlby – Production Resumes In Toronto

Deadline reports that the FX On Hulu series Y: The Last Man has found two replacement actresses for the sci-fi project based on the DC Comics property. As Dredd’s Olivia Thirlby and Shameless’ Ashley Romans are taking roles previously played by Imogen Poots (Filth, 28 Weeks Later) and Lashana Lynch (No Time To Die, Captain Marvel).

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which a cataclysmic event decimates every mammal with a Y chromosome but for one cisgender man and his pet monkey. The series follows the survivors in this new world as they struggle with their efforts to restore what was lost and the opportunity to build something better.

Production on the pilot has resumed in Toronto and is expected to complete on November 17th.

Eariler this year Ben Schnetzer took over the lead role of Yorick Brown from Barry Keoghan (Chernobyl, Eternals), who is currently filming The Batman in the United Kingdom. The rest of the cast consists of Diane Lane (Judge Dredd, Man of Steel), Amber Tamblyn, Marin Ireland, Diana Bang, Elliot Fletcher and Juliana Canfield.

SOURCE: DEADLINE