Tag: New Line Cinema

Posted on in Film News, Trailers

TRAILER: James Wan’s Visually Stunning Horror Flick ‘Malignant’ Releases In Theaters & HBO Max On September 10

Director James Wan is currently shooting his Aquaman sequel, Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom, in Watford, England and we finally have a brand new trailer for his upcoming horror film Malignant at New Line Cinema. The film is an original concept and is said to homage the Italian horror sub-genre Giallo, most nobly created by Italian filmmakers Mario Brava and Dario Agento.

Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities.

The horror film’s cast consists of Jacqueline McKenzie, Maddie Hasson, Jake Abel, Michole Briana White, Annabelle Wallis, Ingrid Bisu, and Mckenna Grace.

Malignant will hit theaters and HBO Max on September 10.

“Malignant” is the latest creation from “Conjuring” universe architect James Wan (“Aquaman,” “Furious 7”). The film marks director Wan’s return to his roots with this new original horror thriller. In the film, Madison is paralyzed by shocking visions of grisly murders, and her torment worsens as she discovers that these waking dreams are in fact terrifying realities. “Malignant” stars Annabelle Wallis (“Annabelle,” “The Mummy”), Maddie Hasson (YouTube’s “Impulse,” TV’s “Mr. Mercedes”), George Young (TV’s “Containment”), Michole Briana White (TV’s “Black Mafia Family,” “Dead to Me”), Jacqueline McKenzie (“Palm Beach,” TV’s “Reckoning”), Jake Abel (TV’s “Supernatural,” the “Percy Jackson” films) and Ingrid Bisu (“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” “The Nun”). Wan (“Aquaman,” “Furious 7”) directed from a screenplay by Akela Cooper (“M3GAN,” upcoming “The Nun 2”), story by Wan & Ingrid Bisu and Cooper. The film was produced by Wan and Michael Clear, with Eric McLeod, Judson Scott, Bisu, Peter Luo, Cheng Yang, Mandy Yu and Lei Han serving as executive producers. Behind the scenes, Wan was joined by his frequent collaborators, director of photography Don Burgess and editor Kirk Morri (“Aquaman,” “The Conjuring 2”), production designer Desma Murphy (art director, “Aquaman,” “Furious 7”), as well as costume designer Lisa Norcia (“Insidious: The Last Key”). The music is by Joseph Bishara, who has composed the score for all seven films in “The Conjuring” Universe, among many others. New Line Cinema Presents, In Association With Starlight Media Inc. and My Entertainment Inc., An Atomic Monster Production, a James Wan Film, “Malignant,” will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 10, 2021 in theaters nationwide and on HBO Max via their Ad-Free plan in 4K UHD, HDR10, and Dolby Vision on supported devices; it will be available on HBO Max for 31 days from theatrical release.

SOURCE: WARNERMEDIA

Posted on in Film News

Kevin Smith Was Refused Access To Werewolf By Night On ‘Howard The Duck’ Because Marvel Studios Had Movie Plans For Him

Once upon a time, Marvel Television was being overseen by Jeph Loeb and director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) was hired to make a mature cartoon series focused on Howard The Duck. However, the project was ultimately trashed leading to Smith to focus on his Netflix cartoon series Masters of The Universe: Revelation.

Marvel Television was re-branded as Marvel TV Studios with Loeb exiting the company because Kevin Feige became Marvel’s chief creative officer giving him complete control over all divisions, including television and animation. The M.O.D.O.K. animated show using stop-motion was the only thing that really survived the mass cancellations of the Marvel television shows to make way for hard-canon stuff heading to Disney+ starting with WandaVision.

Smith revealed on his podcast Fatman Beyond that he asked to use Werewolf By Night (Marvel’s big werewolf character), but his request was denied by Jeph Loeb because Marvel Studios (the film division) had plans for the character. Back then, Marvel Television had to get approval to use certain characters that the film division was going to use.

“In my head, as I started building my season, I was like, ‘Alright, Episode 5, Werewolf By Night.’ The idea of our story was that Howard was trapped here and he was trying to get pages of the Darkhold, which would allow him to go back. There’s Howard as I’m laying it out and then I go into Jeph and told him what I wanted to do, and that’s when they said ‘You can’t use Werewolf By Night,’ and I asked why? They said the movie division was using him.”

Jack Russell aka Werewolf By Night has been seen in animation but there was once a live-action version that many people might not be aware of. He appeared in a deleted scene from Blade Trinity, however, as you can see below the scene was so bad (like the rest of the movie) it was abandoned. It invokes memories of the deleted scene from the original Blade, where director Stephen Norrington played Morbius The Living Vampire as a way to set him up as the villain of the sequel only for that scene to be cut (Sony Pictures owned the rights) and Guillermo del Toro going in another direction with Blade II.

It’ll be interesting to see what project Russell could end up showing up in as things like the Moon Knight series and Blade reboot are helping to introduce the horror corner of Marvel Comics to the Marvel Cinematic universe.

SOURCE: FATMAN BEYOND

Posted on in Film News

UPDATE: ‘Lord of The Rings’ Standalone Anime Film ‘War Of The Rohirrim’ Heading To Theaters; Focuses On King Helm Hammerhand

Earlier this week, it was announced that New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation would be teaming for a brand new anime film set within the fantastical world of Middle-Earth created by British author J.R.R. Tolkien. The project will explore the origin’s of Helm’s Deep and King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan.

K̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶H̶e̶l̶m̶ ̶H̶a̶m̶m̶e̶r̶h̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶e̶a̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ ̶g̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶M̶i̶d̶d̶l̶e̶-̶E̶a̶r̶t̶h̶:̶ ̶S̶h̶a̶d̶o̶w̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶N̶a̶z̶g̶u̶l̶.̶ ̶O̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶h̶o̶s̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶v̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶D̶a̶r̶k̶ ̶L̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶S̶a̶u̶r̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶H̶o̶b̶b̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶L̶o̶r̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶R̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶t̶r̶i̶l̶o̶g̶i̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶T̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶e̶x̶p̶l̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶n̶e̶r̶ ̶B̶r̶o̶s̶.̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶N̶e̶w̶ ̶L̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶C̶i̶n̶e̶m̶a̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶v̶e̶l̶o̶p̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶l̶m̶ ̶a̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶r̶a̶c̶t̶e̶r̶.̶ ̶

UPDATE: A producer on the project saw our original headline and has clarified on Twitter they won’t be taking the same liberties with Helm Hammerhand as the video game did and sticking to canon instead. Sorry, for the miscommunication.

The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who is likely best known to folks in the west for his work on the series Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Blood: The Last Vampire, and the series Blade Runner: Black Lotus, which has yet to debut.

Below is some examples from Kamiyama’s work.

It’s script will be penned by The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance’s Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews alongside Oscar-winning screenwriter Philippa Boyens acting as a consultant.

Below is WarnerMedia’s official press release from this week.

Twenty years after delivering the award-winning “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, based on the iconic books by J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema has partnered with Warner Bros. Animation to produce an original anime feature directed by acclaimed filmmaker Kenji Kamiyama that will plunge fans into a legendary battle that helped shape Middle-earth and set the stage for the epic adventures brought to life in “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy. 

“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” explores and expands the untold story behind the fortress of Helm’s Deep, delving into the life and bloodsoaked times of one of Middle-earth’s most legendary figures; the mighty King of Rohan – Helm Hammerhand.

With Kamiyama (the “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” TV series) at the helm, the all-new standalone feature is being produced by Joseph Chou (“Blade Runner: Black Lotus” TV series) with Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews (“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”) penning the screenplay.  Oscar-winner Philippa Boyens, from the screenwriting team behind “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies, is serving as a consultant on the project.

Though a standalone story, “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” is being created as a companion piece to New Line’s “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, with story and artistic elements woven throughout that will reconnect fans to the excitement and cinematic wonder of Middle-earth.

Posted on in Film News

‘Evil Dead Rise’: Aussie Actresses Alyssa Sutherland & Lily Sullivan Join HBO Max Horror Flick – Begins Filming Next Month In New Zealand

A new Evil Dead movie, titled Evil Dead Rise, is coming from New Line Cinema with franchise stewards Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell attached to produce. The horror project is heading to WarnerMedia’s streaming service HBO Max from Lee Cronin, who will write and direct.

We finally know the first two actors that have joined the cast of Evil Dead Rise, as The Hollywood Reporter mentions that Australian actresses Alyssa Sutherland (Vikings, The Mist) and Lily Sullivan (Jungle) will play sisters in the horror film. Traditionally, the films focus on murderous demons called Deadites that jump into the bodies of human hosts possessing them after being unleashed by reading from the Necronomicon aka Book of The Dead.

The new film’s synopsis mentioned in the report reveals the setting will move from the cabin in the woods to the city and takes place in a high-rise skyscraper.

Evil Dead Rise takes the undead action away from the cabin in the woods and into the city as two estranged sisters’ reunion is cut short when flesh-possessing demons thrust them into a battle for survival. 

Filming on Evil Dead Rise is said to begin sometime next month in New Zealand with previous crew members from Ash vs. The Evil Dead joining the production team including production designer Nick Bassett (Sweet Tooth, Guns Akimbo, Kung Fury 2) and stunt coordinator Stuart Thorp (Zero Dark Thirty, Avatar). Stuart recently worked on James Cameron’s Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 while they were shooting at Stone Street Studios in Wellington.

The Evil Dead franchise has led to three movies, a reboot film, and even a television series that brought back Bruce Campbell’s iconic Deadite slayer Ash. It also helped filmmaker Sam Raimi make an impact before tackling bigger movies down the line like the original Spider-Man trilogy for Sony Pictures.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

Mark Strong Confirms Dr. Thaddeus Sivana Won’t Appear In ‘Shazam! Fury of The Gods’ As Production Is About To Begin In Atlanta

The DCEU is chugging along with David F. Sandberg is set to direct Shazam! Fury of The Gods with a release date of June 2, 2023. Returning cast members include Zachary Levi as Shazam, and Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Jovan Armand as Pedro Pena, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez, Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez, Meagan Good, Michelle Borth, Ross Butler, D.J. Cotrona, and Adam Brody.

The new additions are Helen Mirren as Hespera, Lucy Liu as Kalypso, and Rachel Zegler.

It doesn’t look like Mark Strong’s Dr. Thaddeus Sivana will be coming back for the next film as he revealed to Den of Geek and is happy to see a group of female villains stepping up for the sequel.

STRONG: “Dr. Sivana isn’t in Shazam! 2. What’s happened is, I think Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu and perhaps someone else — they’ve got some female villains in. And to be honest with you, I’m very happy to take a back seat to some female villains and let them have a go, because judging by the work that Emma Thompson and Emma Stone have done in Cruella, it’s about time.”

However, Mark didn’t close the door on Shazam! 3.

STRONG: “Who knows? He’s still got unfinished business with Mister Mind.”

Filming on Fury of The Gods is confirmed for Atlanta, Georgia as the film’s lead Zachary Levi officially landed in the city not too long ago as revealed by a recent Instagram post. The same city that is being used to shoot Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, a foe of Levi’s Shazam! and will introduce the Justice Society to DCEU. The proximity to the two productions could see a crossover sooner than expected, but we’ll have to wait and see.

SHAZAM! – We all have a superhero inside of us — it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In 14-year-old Billy Batson’s case, all he needs to do is shout out one word to transform into the adult superhero Shazam. Still a kid at heart, Shazam revels in the new version of himself by doing what any other teen would do — have fun while testing out his newfound powers. But he’ll need to master them quickly before the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana can get his hands on Shazam’s magical abilities.

SOURCE: DEN OF GEEK

Posted on in Film News

Lucy Liu To Play Villain Kalypso In ‘Shazam! Fury of The Gods’

As Warner Bros. has already started filming Black Adam over the weekend, there is another big DC Comics franchise casting announcement for their Shazam! sequel. Actress Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels, Kill Bill) has landed the role of Kalypso in Shazam! Fury of The Gods, according to Deadline.

From an action standpoint, Lucy is likely best known to audiences from her roles in the Charlie’s Angels films, Shanghai Noon, and playing the iconic villain O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Other credits include Chicago, Payback, Elementary, Domino, and voicing Viper in DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda franchise. She also has as second career as a television director working on various projects including Netflix’s Luke Cage.

Liu joins a cast that also includes Helen Mirren as Hespera, Rachel Zegler as Hespera’s sister, Zachary Levi as Shazam, and Asher Angel as Billy Batson, Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy Freeman, Faithe Herman as Darla Dudley, Grace Fulton as Mary Bromfield, Jovan Armand as Pedro Pena, Ian Chen as Eugene Choi, Cooper Andrews as Victor Vasquez, Marta Milans as Rosa Vasquez, Meagan Good, Michelle Borth, Ross Butler, D.J. Cotrona, and Adam Brody.

Billy and his foster siblings are endowed with superpowers.

Shazam! Fury of The Gods directed by David F. Sandberg will be released on June 2, 2023.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Dwayne Johnson Announces ‘Black Adam’ Has Officially Started Production

Dwayne Johnson might be one of the few actors that has dedicate their careers trying to secure their dream comic book role, and for Johnson that has been Black Adam. His attempts to land the DC Comics role goes back to 2007 and this weekend things have finally come to fruition.

Yesterday, it was announced on Johnson’s Instagram account that they have finally started filming on Black Adam in Atlanta and posted a picture of the clapperboard from the set. I’m sure this shoot is going to become a career highlight for Dwayne, because he’s wanted this project/role so badly and it’s actually happening.

Joining Johnson on the superhero project directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise) includes Aldis Hodge as Carter Hall aka Hawkman, Pierce Brosnan as Kent Nelson aka Dr. Fate, Noah Centineo as Al Rothstein aka Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell as Maxine Hunkell aka Cyclone, Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz aka Isis, Bodhi Sabongui, James Cusati-Moyer, and Marwan Kenzari expected to play the film’s villain.

The New Line Cinema project is going to be releasing head-to-head with Indiana Jones 5 on July 29, 2022 as Lucasfilm announced they would be sticking to the summer date even after Warner Bros. placed Black Adam in the same spot. We imagine one of them is going to eventually find a new date down the road.

Warner Bros. seems to be moving on with their DC franchise post-Zack Snyder and a project like Black Adam will allow them to introduce a multitude of new characters in a single installment with The Justice Society playing a role in the film. They should be an interesting addition to the DCEU alongside the Shazam! family.

SOURCE: DWAYNE JOHNSON

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‘Black Adam’ Going Head-To-Head Against ‘Indiana Jones 5’ In July 2022

Yesterday, it was announced that Dwayne Johnson’s DC Comics film Black Adam finally got a new release date and will be coming out on July 29,2022. Johnson made the announcement via Instagram with the new date being revealed at Times Square in New York City.

This means Black Adam will be going up against Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones 5 starring Harrison Ford and directed by James Mangold (Logan, The Wolverine, Ford v. Ferrari), that’s unless Disney moves the fifth installment to later in 2022 or to a new summer spot in 2023.

Dwayne Johnson leads the superhero flick in the role of Black Adam. Other cast members assembled by New Line Cinema consists of Aldis Hodge as Carter Hall aka Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Al Rothstein aka Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell as Maxine Hunkell aka Cyclone, Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz aka Isis, Pierce Brosnan as Kent Nelson aka Dr. Fate, and Marwan Kenzari expected to play the film’s villain.

Production on Black Adam is set to begin next month in Atlanta, Georgia.

SOURCE: DWAYNE JOHNSON

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‘Black Adam’: Former James Bond Actor Pierce Brosnan Tapped To Play Dr. Fate Opposite Dwayne Johnson

The other day it was announced that New Line Cinema had hired Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren to play the villain Hespera in David F. Sanberg’s Shazam! sequel Shazam! Fury of The Gods.

Another big name has been selected for another key role in a DC Comics film.

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has been tapped to play DC Comics hero and Justice Society member Dr. Fate in Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam solo film according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Brosnan will play Kent Nelson, aka the good Dr. Fate, a son of an archaeologist who was taught sorcery skills and given the magical Helmet of Fate. The character, created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman, is one of DC’s oldest characters, having first appeared in 1940’s More Fun Comics #5.

The Irish actor joins a cast that includes Aldis Hodge as Carter Hall aka Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Al Rothstein aka Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell as Maxine Hunkell aka Cyclone, Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz aka Isis, and Marwan Kenzari expected to play the film’s villain.

There is some hope from fans that there will be teases of a future crossover between Johnson’s Black Adam and Zachary Levi’s Shazam! as the two DC characters have come to blows in the comics.

Filming will begin next month in Atlanta with Jungle Cruise director Jaume Collet-Serra behind the camera and Warner Bros. has yet to give it a new release date.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

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‘John Wick’ Director Chad Stahelski Developing New Hybrid Action Movie ‘Classified’ – ‘Die Hard’ Meets ‘Indiana Jones’

Deadline reports that New Line Cinema has landed a new action movie, titled Classified, that will see John Wick’s Chad Shahelski attached to direct. A hybrid genre film that combines elements of isolated location similar to Die Hard with the dangerous relics of Indiana Jones.

It’s script will be penned by Andrew Deutschman and Jason Pagan, who previously worked on Project Almanac and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.

The project is a high octane thriller that was shopped as Die Hard meets Indiana Jones. It is set inside a top secret government bunker, the kind that ends Raiders of the Lost Ark. That bunker contains relics covertly recovered during World War II, and they turn out to be more powerful and dangerous than ever imagined.

Chad is a busy bee, he recently helped consult on The Matrix 4 and is set to direct both John Wick: Chapter 4 and John Wick: Chapter 5 for Lionsgate. He had also been developing a reboot of the Highlander franchise and a car-centric action project for Paramount Pictures. Also, Stahelski is producing a spinoff film Ballerina directed by Len Wiseman, set within the world of John Wick’s hierarchy of assassins.

SOURCE: DEADLINE