Tag: HBO

'Lanterns': Aaron Pierre Officially Lands John Stewart Role
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‘Lanterns’: Aaron Pierre Officially Lands John Stewart Role

DC Studios co-head James Gunn has officially confirmed multiple trade reports that British actor Aaron Pierre (“Rebel Ridge”) has landed the role of John Stewart in the upcoming “Green Lantern” reboot series “Lanterns.” Pierre joins previously announced co-star Kyle Chandler, who will play the infamous Hal Jordan. A cosmic DC Comics hero who was played by Ryan Reynolds in the ill-fated live-action film directed by Martin Campbell.

This wasn’t the actor’s first brush with the comic book genre as Pierre had been once attached for a co-starring role in Marvel Studios’ “Blade” reboot before ultimately exiting the film. He also appeared in the “Superman” prequel series “Krypton” that was developed by David S. Goyer.

The new series set to air on HBO is said to be directly part of the new DCU that will be launched with “Creature Commandos,” “Peacemaker” season two, and Gunn’s “Superman.” There is an expectation that Pierre’s version of Stewart will eventually crossover into feature films and possibly a new “Justice League” incarnation down the road.

SOURCE: JAMES GUNN

'Lanterns': Aaron Pierre & Stephan James Are Reportedly Finalists To Play John Stewart In DC Comics Series
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‘Lanterns’: Aaron Pierre & Stephan James Are Reportedly Finalists To Play John Stewart In DC Comics Series

We have our Hal Jordan, and now it looks like HBO and DC Studios are zeroing in on who will play fellow Earthling Geen Lantern, John Stewart. A new report from Deadline reveals that actors Aaron Pierre (“Rebel Ridge”) and Stephan James (“Race”) are being positioned as the two finalists to take the John Stewart part in the upcoming DCU series, “Lanterns.”

I’ve been personally campaigning on Twitter all month for Pierre to get the role of Stewart and even suggested him recently when the news broke earlier in the week that Kyle Chandler (“Bloodline”) was in talks to play Hal Jordan. The British actor isn’t a stranger to comic book projects as he appeared in the short-lived “Superman” prequel series “Krypton” before being tapped by Marvel Studios to join the cast of “Blade” in a supporting role, only for him to exit the reboot.

James is a Canadian actor, most notably playing US Olympic athlete Jesse Owens in the biopic “Race” and the Chadwick Boseman NYC thriller “21 Bridges.”

“Snowfall” actor Damson Idris, a talented young actor on the rise, was also in the mix but is no longer in the running.

It won’t be long before we find out who has nabbed the Green Lantern role that is assumed to be also part of the new “Justice League” lineup once DC Studio figures out when they want to make that DCU event film. Possibly in a couple of years to give the audience time to reset from the previous incarnation.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

HBO's 'Game Of Thrones' Spinoff Series 'The Hedge Knight' Casts Dunk & Egg
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HBO’s ‘Game Of Thrones’ Spinoff Series ‘The Hedge Knight’ Casts Dunk & Egg

While HBO‘s “Game of Thrones” spinoff series “House of The Dragon” returns in June, another series is on the horizon with “A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” (likely to get trimmed down to “The Hedge Knight”), and they’ve officially cast the two lead roles of Dunk and Egg, another spinoff show that has been given a series order. Entertainment Weekly has revealed that actors Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell have landed those respective roles that were first introduced in the “Tales of Dunk & Egg” novellas from George R.R. Martin, who is creatively involved with this show.

Claffey plays Sir Duncan The Tall, the titular Hedge Knight, and Ansell plays the future King, Aegon V Targaryen, who is given the nickname of Egg and is the squire to Duncan.

Here is the show’s official logline from HBO:

“A century before the events of ‘Game of Thrones,’ two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros … a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.”

“The Hedge Knight” has a 2025 premiere with casting underway it would suggest that filming could begin by the end of the year.

SOURCE: EW

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‘The Hedge Knight’: HBO’s Latest ‘Game Of Thrones’ Spinoff Series Exploring The ‘Tales Of Dunk & Egg’ Aiming To Premiere In Late 2025

While HBO has a fleet of “Game of Thrones” spinoffs in various stages of development alongside the second season of “The House of Dragon,” we got a great update on when we can expect “A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” (We assume the title could be knocked back to something simpler like “The Hedge Knight“) will premiere.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav shared the update via The Hollywood Reporter stating we could be getting the show that already had a full series order to premiere sometime in late 2025. The show is based on George R.R. Martin’s trio of novellas referred to as “Tales of Dunk & Egg” which focused on the adventures of Sir Duncan The Tall (Dunk) and Egg (The future King, Aegon V Targaryen).

“[Creator and executive producer] George R.R. Martin is in preproduction for the new spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will premiere in late 2025 on Max,” Zaslav said.

Here is the show’s official logline from HBO:

“A century before the events of ‘Game of Thrones,’ two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros … a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.”

We’re still waiting on writers besides Martin alongside a list of actors and directors for “The Hedge Knight” as the 2025 premiere would suggest that filming could begin by the end of the year.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘True Detective’: HBO Announces Fifth Season Moving Forward With Showrunner Issa López Returning After Signing An Overall Deal

This month saw the finale of “True Detective: Night Country” wrap up the fourth season of the acclaimed crime anthology series. Well, now, HBO has made the official announcement that “True Detective” is coming back for a fifth season with showrunner Issa López returning as well, who replaced series creator/writer Nic Pizzolatto and ended up writing/directing the new season that starred Oscar-winner Jodie Foster and newcomer Kali Reis dealing with a group of murders in a rural mining town in Alaska during the time of the year where the area is in constant darkness without the sun.

López also has signed an overall deal with HBO, allowing her to keep working on the series for years to come and could see her develop other projects in the future as well.

It’ll be interesting to see where the fifth season goes and who they end up putting together for the next whodunnit. Traditionally, the series moves on to new locations and characters but they might consider doing a follow-up to “Night Country,” yet, that’s doubtful given what audiences/fans would expect from the next season. The crux of the show is that each season does something completely different which allows creatives to play in the genre but not repeat themselves.

I binge-watched the series this week in a single sitting and had a great time trying to figure out who committed the murders. However, some story elements didn’t get fully explained leaving some holes that didn’t get filled and the paranormal aspect didn’t always work for me. But, the overall experience was on par with the other seasons, including the finale, while I think the mystery of it all seemed to be a little more compelling than the last two seasons. It stands to reason why the show ended up being the most-watched season out of the four.

Sadly, executive producer Pizzolatto recently threw shade on the new season online and has sort of signaled bitterness toward his replacement and not being allowed to continue with the show on a creative level. Hopefully, his nasty attitude will change over time but we won’t be holding our breath.

SOURCE: HBO

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‘The Last Of Us’: Isabel Merced & Young Mazino Nab Roles Alongside Kaitlyn Dever In Season 2 Of Acclaimed Post-Apocalypse Series

The acclaimed series adaptation of “The Last of Us” is quickly helping to shape Hollywood’s new obsession with video game adaptations. This takes us to a post-apocalypse setting where the United States has been plagued with a fungus outbreak that has turned the human population into a mindless horde of zombie-like creatures. Survivors find a glimmer of hope when a young girl named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) is discovered to be seemingly immune after being bitten but not being affected by it and a resistance group assigns smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) to get her to proper people who can potentially use Ellie to create a cure/vaccine. One of the more compelling aspects of the show has been the dramatic scenes alongside excellently written character moments that elevate the horror elements into something extremely special given the lackluster track record of projects being based on video games.

A second season is finally gearing up to begin shooting soon which means casting is in full swing. This week it was reported that Kaitlyn Dever (“Last Man Standing”) is set to play the role of antagonist Abby with more recent updates via Variety adding that actors Isabel Merced (“Sicario 2,” “Alien: Romulus”) will play Dina and Young Mazino (“Beef”) has taken the part of Jesse in the next run of episodes.

Other actors that appeared in the first season included Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid, Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Pierce, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene, Elaine Miles, Ashley Johnson, and Troy Baker.

“The Last of Us” isn’t the only widely popular PlayStation exclusive game that is being given the live-action treatment as “God of War” is getting a series at Amazon Prime Video, Netflix landing a show based on “Horizon Zero Dawn,” and “John Wick” franchise director Chad Stahelski is aiming to bring the samurai adventure game “Ghost of Tsushima” to the big screen for Sony Pictures. There are also plans to make a sequel to the Tom Holland-led feature adaptation of “Uncharted.”

SOURCE: VARIETY

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‘House Of The Dragon’: HBO Adds Graham McTavish From ‘Hobbit’ Trilogy & ‘Outlander’ To ‘Game Of Thrones’ Spinoff

House of The Dragon is the next big installment of the Game of Thrones franchise from HBO and producer/creator George R.R. Martin, which is based on the prequel novel Fire & Blood that chronicles the Targaryens (House of The Dragon).

Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, the series will tell the story of House Targaryen (a.k.a. the House that gave us the Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen) and take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones.

HBO has announced via The Hollywood Reporter that six more actors have joined the mature fantasy series with the standout being Scottish actor Graham McTavish, who had a supporting role in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy and might be better known for his role on the television series Outlander.

Check out the roles and character descriptions from HBO.

Ryan Corr (Holding the Man) as Ser Harwin ‘Breakbones’ Strong — ‘Breakbones’, Harwin is said to be the strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms. Ser Harwin is the eldest son to Master of Laws Lyonel Strong and heir to Harrenhal.

Jefferson Hall (Vikings) as Lord Jason Lannister — the Lord of Casterly Rock and twin to Ser Tyland Lannister. Jefferson Hall as Tyland Lannister — a crafty and calculating politician, twin to Lord Jason Lannister.

David Horovitch (Miss Marple) as Grand Maester Mellos — a voice of reason and trusted advisor to King Viserys.

Graham McTavish (Outlander) as Ser Harrold Westerling — Ser Harrold has served in the Kingsguard since the days of King Jaehaerys; he is a paragon of chivalry and honor.

Matthew Needham (Chernobyl) as Larys Strong — younger son of Master of Laws Lyonel Strong, brought to court by his father.

Bill Paterson (Fleabag) as Lord Lyman Beesbury — Lord of Honeyholt and Master of Coin on King Viserys’s small council.

Gavin Spokes (Hamilton) as Lord Lyonel Strong — Master of Laws to King Viserys and Lord of Harrenhal.

The rest of the cast consists of Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon (The Sea Snake), Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower (The Hand of the King), Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Milly Alcock as Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Emily Carey as Young Alicent Hightower.

Martin recently signed a five-year deal with HBO and could see even more Game of Thrones projects being developed. There have been previous reports that George R.R. Martin’s Knight of The Seven Kingdoms will be turned a series, titled Tales of Dunk & Egg, along with other projects in development such as Sea Snake aka The 9 Voyages, 10,000 Ships, and three animated projects as one will focus on The Grand Empire of Yi Ti (a fantasy version of Imperial China).

A Flea Bottom show has been killed by HBO, we’ll likely see more projects not make the finish line. The Long Night/Bloodmoon was a prequel series about the origin of The White Walkers that only shot a pilot and didn’t get a series pick-up.

House of The Dragon will begin airing sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘Westworld’: ‘Reminiscence’ & ‘Collateral’ Cinematographer Paul Cameron Confirmed To Return For Season 4

Westworld Season 4 is indeed moving forward at HBO as production recently had to pause filming this month due to a positive COVID test (House of The Dragon had to pause too). The sci-fi thriller series is based on the Michael Crichton film that was released back in 1973 and landed a sequel in 1976 called Futureworld.

A dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the question of free will, the show was created for television by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, who are also executive producers. Nolan directed the season’s premiere episode, which has surpassed nine million viewers across all platforms.

Last month, Deadline announced actress Aurora Perrineau would be joining the next season.

The Ronin can confirm that cinematographer Paul Cameron will return to shoot an episode for Season 4. Cameron is known for his string of action film credits that include Michael Mann’s Collateral, Tony Scott’s Man On Fire, Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot, Swordfish, and Dead Man Down.

Cameron previously worked on Jonathan Nolan-directed episodes of Westworld and could suggest that Nolan will helm this Season 4 one that the cinematographer is involved with.

He also worked on Lisa Joy’s Reminiscence, the feature film directorial debut of the Westworld showrunner that stars Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson with a theatrical/HBO Max release date of August 20.

REMINISCENCE – Nick Bannister (Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession. As Bannister fights to find the truth about Mae’s disappearance, he uncovers a violent conspiracy, and must ultimately answer the question: how far would you go to hold on to the ones you love?

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HBO’s ‘Last Of Us’ Series Adds ‘Mindhunter’ Actress Anna Torv

The Last of Us series from HBO has seemingly started shooting in Calgary this month and Variety reports that Australian actress Anna Torv has landed the role of Tess, a smuggler and hardened survivor. The rest of the cast consists of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as well as cast members Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandrige, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlet, Con O’Neill, and Jeffery Pierce.

Torv is likely best known for her work on shows such as Fringe and David Fincher’s Mindhunter.

The Last of Us takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival. 

Craig Mazin (HBO’s “Chernobyl”), Neil Druckmann (“The Last of Us” and “Uncharted” video game franchises), and Carolyn Strauss (HBO’s “Chernobyl” and “Game of Thrones”) are executive producers along with Naughty Dog’s Evan Wells and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan. Written by Mazin and Druckmann, the series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and Naughty Dog produce.

It will be airing on both HBO and HBO Max.

Pascal is also expected to eventually return for Season 3 of The Mandalorian, which is apparently already shooting shooting in the Los Angeles/Manhattan Beach area. However, it’s unknown when Pedro Pascal will be joining the cast as the shoot for The Last of Us is expected to continue into the fall.

The Last of Us is part of a new wave of video game adaptations based on Sony-owned properties. Tom Holland leads a feature film adaptation of Uncharted and John Wick’s Chad Stahelski is attached to turn Sony’s popular samurai game, Ghost of Tsushima, into a movie as well.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Michael B. Jordan Developing New ‘Superman’ Project At HBO Max That Will Focus On Val-Zod

Posted on in Television News

‘House Of The Dragon’ Pauses Production Due To COVID

WarnerMedia is going all-in on Game of Thrones as they’re developing multiple spinoff shows with House of The Dragon currently shooting in Watford, England. The project is based on George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood and focuses on various members of the powerful Targaryen family 300 years before the events of the original series.

Filming had begun in April, but Deadline has learned that production has paused for two days after a crew member has tested positive for COVID-19.

Deadline understands that a production member tested positive and in compliance with industry guidelines, will isolate and close contacts are required to quarantine. Production will resume on Wednesday.

The cast consists of Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon (The Sea Snake), Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower (The Hand of the King), Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Milly Alcock as Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Emily Carey as Young Alicent Hightower.

Martin recently signed a five-year deal with HBO and could see even more Game of Thrones projects being developed. There have been previous reports that George R.R. Martin’s Knight of The Seven Kingdoms will be turned a series, titled Tales of Dunk & Egg, along with other projects in development such as Sea Snake aka The 9 Voyages, 10,000 Ships, and three animated projects as one will focus on The Grand Empire of Yi Ti (a fantasy version of Imperial China).

A Flea Bottom show has been killed by HBO, we’ll likely see more projects not make the finish line. The Long Night/Bloodmoon was a prequel series about the origin of The White Walkers that only shot a pilot and didn’t get a series pick-up.

House of The Dragon will begin airing sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE