Tag: Legendary Entertainment

Posted on in Film News, News

Oscar-Winning Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu & Tom Cruise Teaming Up For New Mystery Film That May Land At Legendary/WB

After reports that action star Tom Cruise is looking to book roles with more acting-focused projects and working with auteur filmmakers, a new report from Deadline seems to have revealed what one of those first movies could end up being. Legendary and Warner Bros. are said to be in negotiations to acquire the newest English-language film from Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (“The Revenant”) with Crusie attached to star.

This news comes after Cruise signed a deal with Warners and is expected to include the long-delayed sequel to “Edge of Tomorrow” from director Doug Liman. Cruise and Liman are also partnering on a sci-fi film at Universal that is going to film sequences in space at the International Space Station. Other projects on Cruise’s plate are finishing up the titleless “Mission: Impossible 8” and Paramount is already developing “Top Gun 3” that will see director Joseph Kosinski return for the follow-up to the billion-dollar hit, “Top Gun: Maverick.” There have been indications that Quentin Tarantino‘s “The Movie Critic” might have a role for the actor as well.

Iñárritu has won four Academy awards for his previous English films “Birdman” (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay) and “The Revenant” (Nabbed a second Best Director statue). Plot details about this new film are unknown but the director co-wrote the script from 2023 with Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris, and Nicolas Giacobone. “The Revenant” was a bit of a financial hit as the period survival thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio ended up making a hefty $500 million at the global box office and with a star like Cruise attached they could end up replicating that success.

It wouldn’t be the first time Oscar-caliber directors have worked with Cruise as some of his acclaimed credits include Martin Scorsese‘s “Color of Money,” Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Outsiders,” Paul Thomas Anderson‘s “Magnolia,” and the late iconic Stanley Kubrick on the thriller “Eyes Wide Shut.”

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Dune’: Jason Momoa Wants 4-To-6-Hour Extended Cut To Be Released; “I Don’t Want It To Be Trimmed”

We’ve been hearing a lot about extended or director’s cuts being championed recently. And it sounds like Dune has a much longer cut and actor Jason Momoa is getting behind the idea of releasing the four-to-six-hour incarnation allowing people to watch Denis Villeneuve’s longer version like a television.

Momoa’s comments were made during a chat with the New York Times and seemingly echoes how HBO Max released the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League.

“It was a cool movie. You know what they need to do? They need to make the four-to-six hour version of the first half. It’s like, ‘Let’s watch the four-to-five-hour movie like a TV show; I can choose when I want to watch the whole thing.’ I want to see Denis’s whole vision. I don’t want it to be trimmed,” Momoa told the New York Times about his interest of seeing the extended cut of Dune being released.

This idea of Dune being watched as a television show isn’t that far-fetched, as there was a miniseries adaptation by the Sci-Fi Channel and HBO Max/Legendary are developing a new streaming series, Dune: The Sisterhood.

Dune, part one of two installments covering the original novel by Frank Herbert, will be officially released in theaters and HBO Max on October 22.

DUNE – A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Dune’s cast consists of Timothée Chalamet (“Call Me by Your Name,” “Little Women”), Rebecca Ferguson (“Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”), Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (“Milk,” “Avengers: Infinity War”), Stellan Skarsgård (HBO’s “Chernobyl,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), Dave Bautista (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “Avengers: Endgame”), Stephen McKinley Henderson (“Fences,” “Lady Bird”), Zendaya (“Spider-Man: Homecoming,” HBO’s “Euphoria”), David Dastmalchian (“Blade Runner 2049,” “The Dark Knight”), Chang Chen (“Mr. Long,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Netflix’s “Sex Education”), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (“45 Years,” “Assassin’s Creed”), with Jason Momoa (“Aquaman,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men,” “Skyfall”).

SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES

Posted on in Film News, News

Legendary Entertainment Reportedly Exploring Sale/Merger; Behind ‘Dune’ & ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’

After reports of Apple inquiring a potential purchase of A24 and Amazon picking up MGM Studios for a hefty $8.45 billion, it looks like another major production studio might end up on the auction block. Variety is reporting that Legendary Entertainment could be looking to be sold or merge with another company,. This comes after Bloomberg revealed that Legendary was working with investment bank LionTree LLC to develop possible deals.

Any deal would likely be for less than than the $3.5 billion that Dalian Wanda paid to acquire Legendary in 2016 from founder Thomas Tull, because that pact included the assumption of substantial debt. 

Legendary is behind recent releases such as Godzilla vs. Kong and the upcoming sci-fi epic Dune from director Denis Villeneuve. In the past, the company has had distribution deals with Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., however, there have been tension with the partnering companies over the years. There were multiple reports that Legendary was on the cusp of suing WarnerMedia over blocking a deal to offload Godzilla vs. Kong at Netflix for around $200 million. Instead, WarnerMedia with little notice announced plans to add Godzilla vs. Kong and Dune to their big day-and-date slate, that would the two pricey films dropped on HBO Max at the same time as theaters.

A sale could essentially dissolve distribution deals, meaning that future Dune and Monsterverse (pending Toho extending their rights deal) franchise installments could find a new home depending if there is a sale or merger on the horizon. That is unless WarnerMedia believes they want to acquire Legendary.

There a bunch of projects still in development including Dune: Part Two and a handful of Monsterverse movies such as the rumored Son of Kong from director Adam Wingard. It remains to be seen what this could mean for those films and other various things being worked on behind the scenes.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

Legendary’s ‘Toxic Avenger’ Enlists Kevin Bacon As The Villain In The Superhero Satire; Filming Begins This Month In Bulgaria

Before Marvel Comics’ Deadpool, the most violent and comedic character in the “superhero genre” was Troma Films’ Toxie aka The Toxic Avenger. The character debuted in the satirical superhero movie in 1984 that focuses on the transformation of a weakling nerd janitor, Melvin, into the hulking but grotesque titular hero after being dumped into toxic waste.

A new feature film is in the works at Legendary with director Macon Blair set to reboot the character for a new generation as they’ve already assembled a cast that has Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, Avengers: Infinity War), Jacob Tremblay (Good Boys, The Predator, Room), and Taylour Paige (Zola, Boogie, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) in lead roles.

The Toxic Avenger reboot has selected an actor to play the film’s villain, as The Hollywood Reporter says they’ve hired veteran actor Kevin Bacon. He’s no stranger to genre pics after previously working on projects such as the sci-fi horror comedy Tremors, James Gunn’s Super, and Joel Schumacher’s underrated thriller Flatliners.

They also mention production begins this month in Bulgaria, a location recently used for Michael Fassbender’s Kung Fury 2.

A string of films were mature but satirical in nature taking the genre to the extreme with hyper-violent scenes including the murder of a child. Despite that, it eventually spawned a Saturday morning cartoon series, a run of comics published by Marvel Comics, and a kids toyline.

THE TOXIC AVENGER – Tromaville, New Jersey is a small American town that terrible criminals have overtaken. As the town’s corrupt mayor sits idly by, muggers, robbers, and teenage punks victimize its helpless citizens. Among the residents of Tromaville is a young man named Melvin—a nerdy, emaciated janitor who works at the local health club. That is he’s meek until a gang of thugs decide to toss the poor kid out a third story window into a vat of hazardous toxic waste. An unexpected metamorphosis takes place as the chemicals take hold of his body, and they transform him into the TOXIC AVENGER—doer of good, and brutal mauler of evil! The rest, as they say, is history as our hero sets out to single handedly wipe out the forces of evil that torment the good people of Tromaville.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Regina King To Direct Monster Movie ‘Bitter Root’ For Legendary & Producer Ryan Coogler – Based On Image Comics Property

It doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing Regina King direct Blade, The Vampire Hunter or the new black Superman film that is being developed by Warner Bros./Bad Robot, she’s decided another comic book project altogether.

After directing the Oscar-nominated film, One Night In Miami, she’s landed a high-profile feature adaptation of the Image Comics property Bitter Root for Legendary and producer Ryan Coogler. The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter and sounds a little similar to Lovecraft Country.

Bitter Root is set in 1924 during the Harlem Renaissance and tells of the Sangeryes, a family of once-great monster hunters, who face an evil that descends upon New York.

Screenwriter Bryan Edward Hill (Power Rangers) is behind the film’s script.

It’s unknown when Legendary wants Bitter Root to begin shooting but this likely means she could be too busy to tackle films for Marvel Studios or DC Films at this time. Allowing other names floated by trades to tackle Blade and Superman as it looks like the two projects are eyeing a production start in 2022.

Ryan Coogler is about to begin shooting on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever this July with a spinoff series for Disney+ also in the works.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘Kong: Skull Island’ Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts & Brian K. Vaughn Team For Live-Action ‘Gundam’ Movie

Legendary and Netflix is moving forward with a live-action Gundam movie, according to IGN. As the streaming giant has set Jordan Vogt-Roberts to direct a script from Lost’s Brian K. Vaughn. Legendary will distribute the film in China while Netflix will exclusively stream the film globally.

It’s unclear if they’ll be adapting the original anime series or attempt a new incarnation.

In the war between the Earth Federation and Zeon, a young and inexperienced crew find themselves on a new spaceship. Their best hope of making it through the conflict is the Gundam, a giant humanoid robot, and its gifted teenage pilot. It is the year 0079 of the Universal Century.

Vogt-Roberts is likely best known for his Monsterverse installment Kong: Skull Island that rebooted King Kong for the Legendary franchise and recently cast Oscar Isaac (Dune, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Moon Knight) for his Metal Gear Solid film at Sony Pictures.

Brian K. Vaughn is an established comic book writer and had once been tasked to write a solo Silver Surfer movie for 20th Century Fox before the merger with Disney nixed those plans. He’s behind comics such as Saga, Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina.

It’s starting to sound like Legendary and Netflix will attempt to grow their relationship after recently working together on Enola Holmes. You might remember that Netflix offered the studio a massive $200 million deal to secure Godzilla vs. Kong, as WarnerMedia crushed that deal to place the film on HBO Max for free alongside the theatrical release. I’m curious if we’ll see big projects like this at Legendary offered to Netflix in the future instead of Warner Bros. for distribution.

SOURCE: IGN

Posted on in Film News

‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Has Worst Domestic Opening In The Monsterverse – Still Heading Towards $285M+ Globally

Godzilla vs. Kong might end up being one of the first films to make a major splash at the box office since the pandemic begin last year. However, despite some impressive numbers overseas in it’s international debut last weekend it still managed to have the lowest 3-day and 5-day domestic opening in the Monsterverse franchise at $32.2 million and $48.5 million. Of course, this is directly connected to the pandemic but it’s still worth mentioning where the numbers stack up against the other three films.

Here’s a rundown of the domestic openings of all four movies.

  • GODZILLA (2014): 3-Day $93.1M & 5-Day $107.8M 
  • KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017): 3-Day $61M & 5-Day $72.7M 
  • GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019): 3-Day $47.7M & 5-Day $57.1M 
  • GODZILLA VS KONG (2021): 3-Day $32.2M & 5-Day $48.5M

As you can see with the numbers listed above, Godzilla vs. Kong made less than half what Godzilla made over 5-days back in 2014. COVID aside, the box office numbers had already been decreasing which each Monsterverse installment. Putting the latest pic dead last in the domestic box office rankings.

The event film is still doing well overall heading towards $285.5 million globally it’s first two weekends and most likely will turn a profit when the dust settles.

GODZILLA VS. KONG – Legends collide in Godzilla vs. Kong as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The epic clash between the two titans—instigated by unseen forces—is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth.

SOURCE: DEADLINE & BOX OFFICE MOJO

Posted on in Film News

UPDATE: ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ Earns Estimated $70M In China & $122M Internationally

Despite multiple countries still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a handful staring down the barrel of a fourth wave because of the increased variants (alongside folks ignoring medical recommendations), the international box office seems to be returning in some markets.

Legendary’s Godzilla vs Kong made a big splash when it’s first trailer dropped and the marketing campaign has seemingly resonated with audiences that had been previously lukewarm about previous installments like Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of The Monsters.

Will this equate into a huge box office hit?

Well, internationally that seems to be the case and is becoming the biggest debut since the pandemic started. Deadline is reporting that after the film had a spectacular Friday opening of $21.1 million in China it seems to be lumbering towards an estimated haul of $70.4 million in the Middle Kingdom. This means the kaiju showdown is expected to cross $100+ million opening weekend internationally and has surpassed the Chinese opening of Godzilla: King of The Monsters. It’s worth mentioning that foreign movies don’t tend to stick around very long in the Chinese market compared to their local releases and the studio hopes to make hay as long as they can.

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter adds that the intentional estimate is now $121.8 million.

Godzilla vs Kong won’t be debuting domestically until March 31.

However, WarnerMedia is offering the film free for a month on HBO Max which will certainly have an impact on domestic box office earnings. While there has been positive estimates, we’ll have to wait and see if folks will be piling into indoor theaters as a fourth wave of COVID-19 looms or will opt for the free alternative available on HBO Max with a subscription.

Bob Odenkirk’s action flick Nobody took the top spot this weekend domestically with $6.7 million which is good for a movie budgeted at $16 million. This isn’t exactly the sign of box office strength you want to see with Godzilla vs Kong’s release on the horizon later in the week.

With a budget of $165 million, Godzilla vs Kong will need to continue to be successful overseas to turn a profit when movies like Wonder Woman 1984 were reportedly said to take $100 million loss. The hybrid release model from WarnerMedia has yet to be seen as box office benefit to the Warner Bros. division, but we’ll see if this changes with films such as Godzilla vs Kong.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

‘No Time To Die’ Director Cary Joji Fukunaga Tackling Cyberpunk With ‘Tokyo Ghost’ Movie For Legendary

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga has joined the world of massive studio blockbusters with the upcoming James Bond release No Time To Die, the final film of the Daniel Craig era and the studio now looks to find a new actor. The filmmakers seemingly itching to tackle more genre IP as he’s set to direct a feature film adaptation of an Image Comics property.

Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Legendary Entertainment has tapped Fukunaga to tackle a film based on their cyberpunk comic Tokyo Ghost.

Tokyo Ghost is set in 2089 when humanity has become fully addicted to technology as an escape from reality. The story follows peacekeepers Debbie Decay and Led Dent, who are working in the Isles of Los Angeles and are given a job that will take them to the last tech-free country on Earth: the garden nation of Tokyo.

The comic’s writer Rick Remender (Deadly Class, Fear Agent) will be writing the script.

Western cyberpunk films such as The Matrix, RoboCop, Blade Runner/Blade Runner 2049, Upgrade, and Total Recall have had varying levels of success. However, there has been a bit of hiccup with Hollywood attempts to adapt Japanese entries such as the Scarlett Johansson box office flop Ghost In The Shell and Warner Bros. has spent almost twenty years trying to make a movie based on the manga Akira.

Tokyo Ghost being from an western comic book might have an easier time being translated to the big screen. Audiences are also newly aware of the genre thanks to the recent video game Cyberpunk 2077. It’ll be interesting to see how they tackle this adaptation visually as the artwork from the comic would be certainly jarring to general film audiences.

Cary is also set to direct episodes of the Apple TV+ series Masters of The Air, the WWII project is produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Considered to be a follow-up to their previous shows Band of Brothers and The Pacific as HBO passed and Apple grabbed it.

No Time To Die will be released in October.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Guillermo del Toro Hopeful For ‘Pacific Rim’ & ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Crossover – “Perhaps, One Day They Can Rumble”

While Legendary is about release their big Monsterverse crossover Godzilla vs. Kong, director Guillermo del Toro is on Twitter responding to fans with the hope that at some point his Pacific Rim universe could “rumble” with the Monsterverse in a crossover of it’s own.

DEL TORO: “I personally love seeing the Neon, Sea battles, building demolition, etc because secretly -maybe- the PAC RIM Universe co-exists in the LEGENDARY Kaijuverse and, perhaps, one day they can rumble!”

Pacific Rim: Uprising didn’t do the kind of business that had been expected and given the two films have their other mythology with kaiju (titans in the Monsterverse) being sent to Earth by aliens. Adding aliens to the Monsterverse could one way to continue the franchise beyond the next installment. However, they might have to do a soft-reboot to make it fit for a crossover. Similar to how Kong: Skull Island was Legendary’s soft-reboot of King Kong to become a direct entry point into the established universe of Godzilla.

You can’t watch the Godzilla vs. Kong trailer without noticing the visual cues from del Toro’s neon-filled Pacific Rim. They’re also seemingly teasing robots with the possible inclusion of Mechagodzilla in the new film.

GODZILLA VS. KONG – Legends collide in Godzilla vs. Kong as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The epic clash between the two titans—instigated by unseen forces—is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth. 

SOURCE: GUILLERMO DEL TORO