Tag: Doctor Strange

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‘Doctor Strange’ Actor Mads Mikkelsen In Talks To Replace Johnny Depp As The Villain of ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’

Deadline reports that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Doctor Strange, Casino Royale) in talks with Warner Bros. to take the role of Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 3, replacing Johnny Depp. Mads being director David Yate’s choice to take the role.

Put Mads Mikkelsen atop the list of actors being considered to replace Johnny Depp in the David Yates-directed Fantastic Beast 3, the third installment of the Harry Potter spinoff based on the JK Rowling fantasy franchise. Sources said he is Yates’ choice to play Grindelwald and he is in early talks.

Mikkelsen is no stranger to playing villains including the iconic Hannibal Lecter in the series Hannibal and feels like an organic casting choice for The Potterverse. It’ll be interesting to see if this version of the villain would be taking visual cues from Depp’s incarnation or if they’ll try something a bit different.

Johnny Depp announced his forced exit from the franchise via Instagram likely connected to the ruling against him in his libel case against The Sun. However, despite only shooting a single scene will be reportedly payed $10 million by the studio as part of his pay or play deal.

Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently filming in London and is expected to be released on July 15th, 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Tom Holland Posts First Official ‘Spider-Man 3’ Set Photo Confirming Filming Has Finally Started In Atlanta

After multiple production delays due to the Coronavirus outbreak and deal hiccups between Sony/Marvel, Spider-Man 3 is finally shoot with it’s lead Tom Holland back as Peter Parker!

Tom Holland made the announcement today on his Instagram account posting the first official set photo with himself in the costume wearing a mask, supporting calls for people to embrace mask wearing as new American COVID-19 cases have exploded (hitting 100,000+ daily cases).

HOLLAND: “Wear a mask, I’m wearing two…”

Tom had recently completed filming his Uncharted feature film co-starring Mark Wahlberg before arriving in Atlanta, Georgia to begin production on the untitled Spider-Man sequel others that have been spotted in the area getting ready to shoot include Zendaya and Jacob Batalon.

It’s also expected that Tony Revolori, J.K. Simmons, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, and Angourie Rice will reprise their roles.

Returning to direct is Jon Watts, who previously helmed Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home. There have been reports that Jamie Foxx will be reprising his role as villain Electro (potentially a new MCU version) along with Benedict Cumberbatch shooting his scenes as Doctor Strange before moving on to Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England.

Marvel Studios has yet to confirm any new additions but more casting announcements via trades are assumed in the coming weeks given that filming has started officially.

The new deal between Sony and Marvel allows for Holland to appear as Spider-Man in one more Disney film before they have return to the table and examine if they want to continue the beneficial relationship, which most likely could be the Doctor Strange sequel given Benedict’s participation in Spider-Man 3.

Marvel’s next big productions are Doctor Strange 2 in the UK and as Shang-Chi has wrapped in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia will see Thor: Love & Thunder move into those stages at Fox Studios Australia.

Both Ant-Man 3 and Captain Marvel 2 were aiming to shoot in England next year but COVID-19 may have delayed that shooting schedule. Director James Gunn is also going be returning for Guardians of The Galaxy 3 once he finishes his work on The Suicide Squad and his Peacemaker series for HBO Max. Black Panther 2 is more of an unknown for the time being after the sudden death of franchise lead Chadwick Boseman due to colon cancer. Everyone involved including the cast seems to be focusing on grieving that loss rather than rushing a sequel.

Sony Pictures has set Spider-Man 3’s release date for December 17th, 2021.

SOURCE: TOM HOLLAND

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Tom Holland Has Finally Arrived In Atlanta To Shoot ‘Spider-Man 3’ and Is Super Excited About It – “Let’s Go!”

It looks like Spider-Man 3’s main shoot is about to kick-off soon in Atlanta, Georgia as Tom Holland has now officially flown over from Europe to the United States after seemingly competing the production on the Uncharted film.

Tom posted some videos of himself on what looked like a private plane on Instagram Stories and the final one was of him walking on the tarmac confirming he was in the city to shoot Spider-Man 3 and was super enthusiastic about it.

HOLLAND: “So we just landed in Atlanta and… it’s time for Spider-Man 3. Let’s Go!”

I don’t really blame Tom Holland for the excitement given the film had been delayed multiple times due to the Coronavirus pausing the production of Uncharted back in March just before they started rolling on it. That pretty much cemented that the summer shoot for Spider-Man 3 would be pushed into the fall/winter.

However, with the skyrocketing new cases of COVID-19 in the United States as single day numbers are the highest since the pandemic started, I’m slightly curious if the production will see multiple hiccups throughout the shoot if they don’t use a production bubble (similar to what was used with the NBA) to keep cast and crew safe. We’ve already seen in the United Kingdom (less cases and deaths per capita than the U.S.) that both massive films The Batman and Jurassic World: Dominion, despite new safety precautions, still ended up with positive test results with the former lead actor Robert Pattinson testing positive.

I’ll try to remain hopeful but it’s hard not to be at least worried that stateside film productions over the winter aren’t likely going to have an easy go as other places in the world.

While there have been plenty of rumors about who will show up in the third film cast members reported by trades include Holland, Zendaya as MJ, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Tony Revolori as Flash, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Jamie Foxx shocking return as villain Electro.

There is also an expectation that J.K. Simmons will be back as the meddlesome J. Jonah Jameson.

I’m slightly curious if following the events of Spider-Man 3 that Tom Holland will be showing up in Doctors Strange In The Multiverse of Madness as his final Marvel Studios movie before the Sony/Marvel deal expires for a second time.

The film with returning director Jon Watts is expected to use the new working title of The November Project (used Serenity Now for 2nd unit shoot in NYC) during it’s time filming in Atlanta. It’s currently unknown if Spider-Man 3 will attempt to shoot in multiple other countries as previously planned.

More casting news should be coming very soon.

Spider-Man 3 has been given a release date of December 17th, 2021 by Sony Pictures but a lot can happen over a year and they just might not be able to hit that target as we’ve seen plenty of these release dates move for various reasons. They are hardly set in stone anymore.

SOURCE: TOM HOLLAND

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Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange Reportedly Joins ‘Spider-Man 3’ – Should Help Fuel Multiverse Speculation

The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Benedict Cumberbatch has joined the case of Spider-Man 3 reprising his role as Doctor Strange. However, they’re not clear when he’ll shoot his Spider-Man 3 scenes as Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will begin shooting soon in London, while the Spidey sequel is expected to shoot in stateside in Atlanta, Georgia.

This is a crossover that really shouldn’t surprise fans as the two Steve Ditko superheroes have been interacting with each other and teaming up against villains for many decades in the pages of Marvel Comics.

I seemingly predicted the crossover news back in 2016 with this cheeky tweet stating a crossover would happen in 2020, I also do lottery numbers on request.

There has been plenty of rumblings of Spider-Man 3 tackling The Multiverse/Spider-Verse after the casting news of Jamie Foxx reprising the Electro role and the addition of Doctor Strange into the mix would certainly support that narrative. The problem becomes does Marvel go all-in with focusing on various Multiverse characters/cameos or are getting a superhero film focused on an actual plot.

As THR points out there still seems to be a scheduling issue with the two competing Marvel sequels will productions filming in two different countries at the same time. It is possible that they shoot scenes when there is a break in their schedules or do them at a later date once both films shoot most of their scenes.

I’m slightly curious if Spider-Man will now show up in the Doctor Strange sequel as that could be when theses Spider-Man 3 scenes are shot. This could be exactly how Marvel Studios finishes out the recent contract with Sony Pictures as they get one more film with Holland’s Spider-Man before it expires again.

What could be happening is that Spider-Man 3 is part one of this big Multiverse cinematic event with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness being the final climax, possibly the final time we see Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the MCU.

It would also give Sam Raimi another hot at directing Spider-Man again.

Jon Watts returns to direct with a release date of December 17th, 2021 (subject to change).

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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Benedict Cumberbatch Says ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel May Begin Filming Late October or Early November

Benedict Cumberbatch has revealed to Watch Time India that Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, directed by Sam Raimi, will begin filming at the end of October or early November.

CUMERBATCH: “I’m in pre-production with the second Doctor Strange film, which is very exciting. We will start filming in late October or early November. And I’m in post-production with two films.”

That production start will likely depend how the United Kingdom tackles the second wave of COVID-19 over the next month as a nationwide shut down would directly impact productions like Doctor Strange 2 aka Stellar Vortex. Yesterday, the UK saw the largest single day for new cases at 7,100 and there could be measures to slow down the spread with a shut down.

Confirmed by myself it will shoot on the stages of Longcross Studios in Surrey, England.

The Ronin also recently confirmed that Logan cinematographer John Mathieson joined the film’s production team.

The Doctor Strange sequel will feature confirmed actors Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, Benedict Wong as Wong, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as villain Baron Karl Mordo. There is some strong evidence that America Chavez (aka Miss America) will appear in the comic book film as well, that character’s casting has yet to be announced officially by Marvel.

Marvel has set the film’s release date for March 25th, 2022.

SOURCE: WATCH TIME INDIA

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EXCLUSIVE: ‘Logan’ and ‘X-Men: First Class’ Cinematographer John Mathieson Confirmed For ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness’

The Ronin has been able to confirm that Marvel Studios and director Sam Raimi have selected cinematographer John Mathieson for their Doctor Strange sequel titled Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.

Mathieson’s credits include the solo Wolverine film Logan, X-Men: First Class, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Detective Pikachu.

It’s interesting to see Marvel hiring a cinematographer with a background in the X-Men franchise given that the co-lead of the film is a mutant and daughter of Magneto in the comic books.

Raimi had been recently hired to take over for director Scott Derrickson, who left the sequel over creative differences.

I’ve been previously able to confirm that production will be taking place at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England under the working title Stellar Vortex (title first mentioned by Murphy’s Multiverse). Additional filming had been expected to take place in New York City and Norway, we’ll see if they’ll be able to do that.

Filming may begin before the end of the year.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness will see Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch taking a co-starring role alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s Stephen Strange with upcoming Disney+ series WandaVision and Loki likely going to establish the Multiverse, characters, and plot details. Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor are also confirmed to return.

Disney has given the film the tentative release date of March 25th, 2022.

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Scott Derrickson Teases Remaking John Carpenter’s ‘They Live’ – Matt Reeves Had Been Previously Attached To Reboot It For Universal

Scott Derrickson Teases Remaking John Carpenter’s ‘They Live’ – Matt Reeves Almost Made A Reboot Of The Film For Universal 

Yesterday there was an update that John Carpenter and Blumhouse would be working together on an upcoming remake of The Thing based on the lost manuscript Frozen Hell, the longer original version of Who Goes There? written by John W. Campbell.

It was interesting to see another John Carpenter remake being brought-up by Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson. He says his kids are trying to convince him to remake the 1988 film They Live starring Roddy Piper and Kieth David. The film was a political satire covering classism wrapped around an alien invasion action film.

They Live has seen a newfound relevancy given what is currently going on in the United States with violence and misinformation being used to pacify citizens questioning authority, the system, and current leadership. It was a direct product and commentary of the Ronald Reagan era from Carpenter.

THEY LIVE – Nada (Roddy Piper), a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.

Scott recently exited Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness and is now attached to make a sequel to Jim Henson’s Labyrinth. 

Like The Thing, They Live was an adaptation of an existing science fiction story turned into a screenplay by John Carpenter. In the case of They Live, it was loosely based on Ray Nelson’s short story Eight O’Clock In The Morning. 

While we’re not sure of any active plans for a reboot, there have been attempts in the past with Universal Pictures hiring Matt Reeves in 2011 to both write and direct the project. Reeves seemingly being hired after he successfully did an English remake of the Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In with his version Let Me In. 

Of course, Reeves ended up making Dawn of The Planet of The Apes and War For The Planet of The Apes for 20th Century Fox instead of tackling a They Live remake for Universal Pictures. He’s currently in production on The Batman reboot in England which recently dropped an impressive teaser trailer cobbled together with footage from a shoot that was only 25-30% complete when it was placed on hiatus due to the pandemic. 

It doesn’t seem like Reeves is in any position to return to the They Live reboot given that he’s been talking about complete a Batman trilogy with Robert Pattinson’s incarnation of the DC Comics hero. 

There is a strong chance that Universal, Blumhouse, and John Carpenter could eventually make a deal for They Live after reviving Halloween and is expected to remake The Thing as well. 

SOURCE: SCOTT DERRICKSON

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‘Labyrinth’ Sequel Lands ‘Doctor Strange’ Director Scott Derrickson

Deadline reported earlier in the week that the long-gestating Labyrinth sequel has finally signed a director with Scott Derrickson. The project will be produced by The Henson Company and Sony’s TriStar Pictures.

The original 1986 fantasy musical was directed by Jim Henson starring a young Jennifer Connelly as Sarah and David Bowie as Jareth, The Goblin King.

LABYRINTH – Frustrated with babysitting on yet another weekend night, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), a teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King (David Bowie). Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers.

The sequel’s script was penned by Maggie Levin.

It isn’t mentioned if Scott and his writing/producing partner C. Robert Cargill (Doctor Strange) will take a crack at working on the script.

How exactly the plan on tackling the second film remains to be seen and given the dark nature of the 80’s film, it’ll be very difficult to land another PG rating from the modern MPAA.

Scott Derrickson is best known for helming Marvel’s Doctor Strange and famously exiting Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness over creative differences that led to the hiring of Sam Raimi as a replacement.

Casting information wasn’t mentioned along with production and release dates. Given the current climate of production delays due to the global Coronavirus pandemic and backlogged projects we might not hear when they expect to begin filming for some time.

The Henson Company recently resurrected The Dark Crystal, another beloved Henson film from the 1980s, with their prequel series for Netflix titled The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

SOURCE: DEADLINE