Tag: Idris Elba

George Miller Open To Idea Of Working With Chris Hemsworth Again On Marvel's 'Thor 5'
Posted on in Film News, News

George Miller Open To Idea Of Working With Chris Hemsworth Again On Marvel’s ‘Thor 5’

Will we ever actually get “Thor 5” from Marvel Studios? That seems like a huge question mark after the lackluster effort from “Thor: Love & Thunder,” and while lead actor Chris Hemsworth seems gung-ho about donning the cape once more, what the studio actually wants to do is another matter entirely. Yet, there is a glimmer of optimism thanks to his “Furiosa” director, George Miller, who recently responded to Comic Book about his interest in working with the fellow Aussie again for a possible fifth “Thor” movie.

“I would work with Chris on anything. I really would. He’s a wonderful actor. He’s got the full range of all the skills,” the director said of the potential of working with Hemsworth again on “Thor 5” at Marvel Studios. “I mean, you’ve got to be athletic, physically. But, you also gotta be athletic emotionally and intellectually to take on these very, ultimately fairly complex, any role really. So, I was very lucky with all my cast, and particularly in the way that Anya and Chris matched each other. Particularly towards the end of the month.”

Hard to imagine that Kevin Feige wouldn’t be completely thrilled if Miller came into the Marvel offices to declare his intentions to direct a film for them. While there are certainly a bunch of hurdles to jump to get to the point of Miller actually getting involved with the MCU and the next “Thor” movie, we can’t completely dismiss the idea.

George Miller's Unmade Justice League Movie: Cast Photo Revealed - IGN

There was a time when Miller nearly made his own big studio comic book movie with “Justice League Mortal” (long before Zack Snyder’s version), and there have been reports of Warner Bros. at various times pursuing him again to tackle DC characters like Superman and Green Lantern. Perhaps something like a fifth “Thor” movie might be a little more appealing to the filmmaker, given his last three movies have very much had a fantasy/fairytale angle to them, not to mention already working with “Thor” cast members like Hemsworth on “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” and Heimdall (currently kicking it in Valhalla with Jane Foster) actor Idris Elba was his co-lead in his genie pic “Three Thousand Years of Longing.”

Image

It’s not lost on us the handful of references in these last two “Fury Road” connected films that have mentioned Valkyries and Valhalla as part of the Citadel’s wasteland warrior culture, seemingly adding elements of the Norse myths.

However, it’s worth noting despite all the online rumors concerning early “Thor 5” development and Hemsworth’s willingness to make one more movie to get things right alongside a potential death scene, Marvel Studios hasn’t shared any official plans for a fifth movie or that they’re even keen to make it after the mixed reactions to “Thor: Love & Thunder.”

The Ronin has theorized where a hypothetical version of “Thor 5” could go and hopefully would incorporate a bunch of the unused comic and Norse mythology as a final solo outing.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Pacific Rim’: Guillermo del Toro Reveals He Originally Wanted Tom Cruise For Idris Elba’s Part In The Kaiju Action Pic

Once upon a time, there was a time when Guillermo del Toro and mega-star Tom Cruise almost worked together on a massive R-rated feature film version of “At The Mountains of Madness.” The film obviously didn’t come together because of creative differences between del Toro and Universal, along with the insane demands from the studio to get the budget to where it needed to be. Mainly, attempting a PG-13 version which likely would have deflated the vision del Toro for his take on the H.P. Lovecraft sci-fi horror tale.

Well, while speaking with Collider, the filmmaker revealed another sci-fi project they almost worked on together and it was his big mainstream attempt at a robots versus kaiju film, “Pacific Rim.” Instead of Cruise being wanted for the main role in the film they had actually wanted him to play Idris Elba’s mentor and commanding officer character, Marshal Stacker Pentecost. Of course, when they decided to pursue Elba after Cruise wasn’t an option they ended up rewriting the part.

Stacker Pentecost Suite | Pacific Rim (Original Soundtrack) - YouTube

“Oh yeah. The two models for ‘Pacific Rim,’ the two models for the screenplay, are ‘Hoosiers’ with Gene Hackman and Top Gun. So, the part that Idris Elba plays, Tom Cruise was gonna do it, and I even had a karaoke. The deal couldn’t be made. He wanted to do it. We were developing stuff, and he couldn’t do it. I thought, ‘You know what? Let’s go with Idris Elba then. He’s a god.’ Obviously, I had to rewrite it for that, but I thought it was gonna be an interesting analog to do that. It would have been a lot of fun.”

Of course, Tom Cruise did attempt to dabble in more action-centric sci-fi genre projects such as “Edge of Tomorrow” and “Oblivion” which came out the same year as “Pacific Rim” before mostly sticking to his “Mission: Impossible” films alongside the recent “Top Gun” sequel “Maverick.” Stacker would end up dying in the film only for a son we had no idea even existed, played by John Boyega, who became the main lead in the studio’s follow-up installment “Pacific Rim: Uprising.” It’s still pretty wacky that Universal and Warner Bros. wasted a potential team-up between Cruise and del Toro, another fuck-up of epic proportions by agencies/studio executives.

Hopefully, the two will eventually work together at some point.

PACIFIC RIM: Long ago, legions of monstrous creatures called Kaiju arose from the sea, bringing with them all-consuming war. To fight the Kaiju, mankind developed giant robots called Jaegers, designed to be piloted by two humans locked together in a neural bridge. However, even the Jaegers are not enough to defeat the Kaiju, and humanity is on the verge of defeat. Mankind’s last hope now lies with a washed-up ex-pilot (Charlie Hunnam), an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi), and an old, obsolete Jaeger.

SOURCE: COLLIDER

Posted on in Film News, News, Television News

Live-Action ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ Project Officially In Development At Anonymous Content

With the release of a massive update to the video game “Cyberpunk 2077” from developers alongside the “Phantom Liberty,” the new expansion story. It looks like there is now some renewed interest in adapting further incarnations into other forms of media after the Netflix anime series “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.”

Today, the video game developers CD Projekt Red (“The Witcher”) have announced they have partnered with Anonymous Content (“True Detective,” “Spotlight”) to put together a “live-action project.” The press release stops short of revealing if they’re aiming for it to be aired on TV/streaming or will head to the big screen. But does mention they’ll now be seeking a screenwriter, which could indicate the desire to do a feature film within this mature cyberpunk universe. Also, stating it’ll be a “brand-new story,” likely means they won’t be adapting existing plots for this project.

CD PROJEKT RED Partners With Anonymous Content to Develop Live-Action Project

“The new project is at an early development stage and has currently commenced searching for a screenwriter to tell a brand-new story set in the world of ‘Cyberpunk 2077,'” the developers said in their official press release. “Anonymous Content’s AC Studios will serve as the studio on the project. The project will be developed in close collaboration with the ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ creative team.”

In “Cyberpunk 2077,” users play as V, as they attempt to navigate the seedy world of Night City and the newly explored Dogtown. A near-future fictionalized dangerous cyberpunk world filled with corporate espionage, gangs, advanced weapons, robotics/cyborgs, and cybernetic body enhancements. Taking all the best elements from sci-fi properties like “Dredd,” “Ghost In The Shell,” “Elysium,” and “Akira.”

John Wick 4's Director Used An Unusual Method To Cast Rina Sawayama

I think of I’m getting sick of Hollywood’s version of cyberpunk mostly revolving around white characters when a huge aspect of the sci-fi sub-genre is steeped within the aesthetics and culture of Japan. It would be really smart on the part of AC Studios to consider hiring an actor of Asian descent to play the project’s protagonist. One person who jumps out to us is singer and “John Wick 4” breakout Rina Sawayama.

Given CD Prokect Red’s working relationship with Netflix for “The Witcher” and “Edgerunners” I don’t think it would shock anyone if Netflix got their mits on “Cyberpunk.” Interestingly enough, both action stars Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba are already featured as supporting in-game characters. Hopefully, they end up getting involved and reprising their “Cyberpunk” roles in this new project given how quickly fans have embraced their involvement. Having those two attached, the famous faces of the game could get a lot of eyeballs and it does a lot of the heavy lifting to convince fans to support it.

SOURCE: CD PROJEKT RED

Posted on in Trailers

Things Go Off The Rails In Red-Band Trailer For ‘The Suicide Squad’ – Confirms Starro

Yesterday, director James Gunn teased that a trailer for his DC Comics film The Suicide Squad would get it’s first trailer released and today is the day!

It confirms that mind-controlling cosmic villain Starro is indeed in the film (something that was revealed over the summer) and that Sly Stallone is voicing King Shark.

You can check out that first trailer below.

Welcome to hell—a.k.a. Belle Reve, the prison with the highest mortality rate in the US of A. Where the worst Super-Villains are kept and where they will do anything to get out—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X. Today’s do-or-die assignment? Assemble a collection of cons, including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn. Then arm them heavily and drop them (literally) on the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the Squad is on a search-and-destroy mission with only Colonel Rick Flag on the ground to make them behave…and Amanda Waller’s government techies in their ears, tracking their every movement. And as always, one wrong move and they’re dead (whether at the hands of their opponents, a teammate, or Waller herself). If anyone’s laying down bets, the smart money is against them—all of them.

The film stars Margot Robbie (“Birds of Prey,” “Bombshell”), Idris Elba (“Avengers: Infinity War”), John Cena (upcoming HBO Max series “Peacemaker,” “Bumblebee”), Joel Kinnaman (“Suicide Squad”), Jai Courtney (the “Divergent” franchise), Peter Capaldi (“World War Z,” BBC’s “Doctor Who” ), David Dastmalchian (upcoming “Dune,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp”), Daniela Melchior (“Parque Mayer”), Michael Rooker (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films), Alice Braga (“Elysium”), Pete Davidson (“The King of Staten Island,” TV’s “Saturday Night Live”), Joaquín Cosio (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” TV’s “Narcos: Mexico”), Juan Diego Botto (“The Europeans”), Storm Reid (“The Invisible Man,” “A Wrinkle in Time”, “Euphoria”), Nathan Fillion (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” TV’s “The Rookie”), Steve Agee (“Brightburn,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”), Sean Gunn (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, the “Avengers” films), Mayling Ng (“Wonder Woman”), Flula Borg (“Ralph Breaks the Internet”), Jennifer Holland (“Brightburn,” upcoming HBO Max series “Peacemaker”) and Tinashe Kajese (TV’s “Valor,” “The Inspectors”), with Sylvester Stallone (the “Rocky,” “Rambo” and “Expendables” franchises), and Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Suicide Squad”).

Gunn (the “Guardian of the Galaxy” films) directs from his own screenplay, based on characters from DC. The film is produced by Charles Roven and Peter Safran, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Walter Hamada, Chantal Nong Vo, Nikolas Korda and Richard Suckle executive producing.

Gunn’s creative team includes director of photography Henry Braham (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”), production designer Beth Mickle (“Captain Marvel”), editors Fred Raskin (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”) and Christian Wagner (the “Fast & Furious” films) and Oscar-nominated costume designer Judianna Makovsky (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”). The music is by John Murphy (“Kick-Ass”).

As mentioned above The Suicide Squad is set for release on August 6, 2021 on both HBO Max and in theaters.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

Posted on in Film News

Idris Elba Reprising Heimdall Role For ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’? – Spotted With Chris Hemsworth & Matt Damon In Australia

Actor Idris Elba is currently in Australia shooting the George Miller film Three Thousand Years of Longing and given the proximity to Marvel’s Thor: Love & Thunder production there is some speculation he could end up reprising the Heimdall role.

There is a potential hint that could end up happening.

A new Instagram photo posted by Chris Hemsworth over the weekend on from an 1980s birthday party features himself with Matt Damon and Elba.

You might be asking why would Heimdall be coming back? He was killed-off in Avengers: Infinity War. True, but there are teases from the Loki trailer Elba might have shot a cameo for that Disney+ series (Loki mentions Heimdall by name) alongside Jaimie Alexander’s Lady Sif (also expected for Love & Thunder). There are a few ways to have Heimdall come back, The Multiverse and flashbacks being the most reasonable options.

Oscar-winner Christian Bale was confirmed by Marvel Studios in December as playing the film’s alien villain Gorr The God Butcher.

Filming has been underway since last month at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney with multiple Guardians of The Galaxy actors spotted on the set.

However, unlike other actors we know that Idris is specifically there for another movie production and his presence in Australia doesn’t automatically mean he’ll end up in the film. There is just an extremely good chance that it happens.

SOURCE: CHRIS HEMSWORTH

Posted on in Film News

‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’: George Miller’s Follow-Up To ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Finally Shooting – Adds ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ Production Designer

After actor Idris Elba caught COVID-19 earlier this year while getting ready to shoot the George Miller film Three Thousand Years of Longing, production on the film halted and Elba returned to the United States to film another project while the project was given time to pause.

According to Deadline, filming has resumed on the secretive project in Sydney, New South Wales Australia and they plan of having the film ready for release by September 2021. The production team for the film budgeted at $60 million includes cinematographer John Seale (Mad Max: Fury Road), production designer Roger Ford (Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), and composer Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL (Deadpool, Mad Max: Fury Road).

Ford previously working with Miller on the two Babe movies.

The Sydney-based production, which is observing numerous on-set Covid safety protocols, is in fact 20 days into its 62-day shoot. The team will break up over Christmas and reconvene early next year before wrapping in the early spring for a planned September 2021 delivery. Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba are starring in Miller’s latest, whose plot details are being kept under wraps. The visionary filmmaker previously described the project to us as an “anti-Mad Max” with plenty of interiors and dialogue but also punctuated with action scenes.

George Miller is also prepping a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road focusing on a younger version of Charlize Theron’s Furiosa with a cast that is said to include Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The Mad Max sequel likely won’t begin until either the fall of 2021 or sometime in 2022.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘The Suicide Squad’ Tasked To Destroy A Nazi-Era Prison Lab Called Jotunheim and James Gunn Had Carte Blanche To Kill-Off Characters

We won’t get to watch James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad until next August month but there are some new details about the film coming out.

James Gunn took to Twitter to reveal that Warner Bros. allowed him to kill any of the characters he wanted after a fan suggested that certain characters and high-profile actors were safe because of their usefulness in future films.

GUNN: “No character was protected by DC. They gave me carte blanche to do what I wanted. That was one of the things we agreed to before I came to work for them. I wasn’t looking for shock value but I wanted the audience to know anything could happen.”

https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1320104790722969601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1320104790722969601%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fca.ign.com%2Farticles%2Fthe-suicide-squad-james-gunn-carte-blanche-to-kill-any-dc-character

The Direct also caught-wind of a Reddit post from someone with an early copy of the latest issue of Empire Magazine where producer Peter Safran reveals that the Latin American location in footage will be the fictional island nation of Corto Maltese and happens to be the home of a Nazi facility called Jotunheim where experiments took place on prisoners. These excerpts have circulating at other sites.

SAFRAN: “There they have to destroy a Nazi-era prison and laboratory named Jotunheim where political prisoners were held and experimentations took place.”

The Nazi connection and material that could be covered there might help to support the assumption that the film might indeed end up landing an R-rating.

The sizzle-reel trailer that dropped during DC FanDome also seemingly revealed that the villain of the film might be alien baddie Starro.

Here is a rundown of the cast.

  • Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
  • Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
  • Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang
  • Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag
  • Idris Elba as Bloodsport
  • John Cena as Peace-Maker
  • Alice Braga as Sol Soria
  • Pete Davidson as Blackguard
  • Peter Capaldi as Thinker
  • David Dastmalchian as Poka-Dot Man
  • Michael Rooker as The Savant
  • Sean Gunn as Weasel
  • Mayling Ng as Mongal
  • Flula Borg as Javelin
  • Steve Agee as King Shark (body)
  • Daniela Melchior as Rat Catcher
  • Nathan Fillion as TDK
  • Julio Ruiz as Major General Suarez
  • Juan Diego Botto as General Luna

The Suicide Squad is set to be released on August 6th, 2021.

SOURCE: JAMES GUNN & EMPIRE MAGAZINE

Posted on in Film News

Regina King, Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, and Delroy Lindo Join ‘The Harder They Fall’ – Netflix Western Led By Idris Elba and Jonathan Majors

Deadline reports a large group of additions to the cast of Netflix’s all-black western titled The Harder They Fall, which stars The Suicide Squad’s Idris Elba and Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors. 

Outlaw Nat Love (Majors) who discovers that the man (Elba) who killed his parents two decades ago is being released from prison, he reunites with his gang to track his enemy down and seek his revenge.

The new additions to the cast are Oscar-winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), Zazie Beetz (Joker), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out), Danielle Deadwyler (Watchmen), Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class), and RJ Cyler (White Boy Rick). 

Majors and Lindo played father and son in Spike Lee’s fantastic Da 5 Bloods that was also released by Netflix. Delory’s performance in that film will likely be in consideration for an Oscar.

Jeymes Samuel will be directing the western from a script penned by Samuel Yakin and Boaz Yakin. 

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

DC FANDOME: ‘The Suicide Squad’ Character Roster, First Images and Behind The Scenes Footage Revealed

Writer/director James Gunn revealed the character roster along with the first characters images and a sweet behind the scenes video.

  • Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
  • Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
  • Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang
  • Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flag
  • Idris Elba as Bloodsport
  • John Cena as Peace-Maker
  • Alice Braga as Sol Soria
  • Pete Davidson as Blackguard
  • Peter Capaldi as Thinker
  • David Dastmalchian as Poka-Dot Man
  • Michael Rooker as The Savant
  • Sean Gunn as Weasel
  • Mayling Ng as Mongal
  • ,Flula Borg as Javelin
  • Steve Agee as King Shark
  • Daniela Melchior as Rat Catcher
  • Nathan Fillion as TDK
  • Julio Ruiz as Major General Suarez
  • Juan Diego Botto as General Luna

The Suicide Squad is set to be released on August 6th, 2021.

SOURCE: DC FANDOME