‘Lord of The Rings’: Amazon Announces ‘The Witcher’s Charlotte Brandstrom Will Direct Two Episodes

Today, Amazon has announced a third director has joined their Lord of The Rings series that has a massive budget of $465 million for Season 1 (five season commitment) and is still shooting down in Auckland, New Zealand. It’s massive budget revealed by trade reports.

The streamer dropped in an officially press release that Swedish-French television director Charlotte Brandstrom (The Witcher, The Man In The High Castle) has joined the fantasy series loosely based on the work of author J.R.R. Tolkien and taking place within the Second Age of Middle-Earth. The era that saw the rise of Sauron after the banishment of the first Dark Lord, Morgorth, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, the creation of the Rings of Power, and Sauron’s ultimate defeat (for a time).

She’ll direct two episodes alongside J.A. Bayona and Wayne Che Yip.

Continuing on the work of Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona and British Chinese Director Wayne Che Yip, Brändström joins the international ensemble cast, currently filming in New Zealand, to direct two episodes. Brändström is an International Emmy Award®-nominee for Julie, chevalier de Maupin. She has also directed over 30 feature films, mini-series, and movies-of-the-week including episodes of The Man in the High Castle, Outlander, The Witcher and the upcoming series Jupiter’s Legacy.

Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-Earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

The show’s massive cast includes actors Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, Lenny Henry, Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, Children of Men), Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Benjamin Walker (Heart of The Sea, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Arrow, Power), Simon Merrells, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Geoff Morrell, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, and Sara Zwangobani.

Episodes are expected to begin airing on Prime Video in 2022 and we’re hearing they’ll continue to use Auckland for the production of subsequent seasons.

SOURCE: AMAZON

‘The Tomorrow War’ Teaser Trailer: Chris Pratt Fights Aliens In Time-Traveling Action Flick Releasing This July On Amazon Prime Video

In The Tomorrow War, the world is stunned when a group of time travelers arrive from the year 2051 to deliver an urgent message: Thirty years in the future mankind is losing a global war against a deadly alien species. The only hope for survival is for soldiers and civilians from the present to be transported to the future and join the fight. Among those recruited is high school teacher and family man Dan Forester (Chris Pratt). Determined to save the world for his young daughter, Dan teams up with a brilliant scientist (Yvonne Strahovski) and his estranged father (J.K. Simmons) in a desperate quest to rewrite the fate of the planet.

It stars Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, Jasmine Mathews, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, and Keith Powers.

The sci-fi film directed by Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie) was originally going to be released theatrically by Paramount Pictures only for the film to be sold-off to Amazon Prime Video for the hefty price of $200 million and will be streaming starting July 2, 2021.

Tomorrow War isn’t the only Paramount Pictures action movie picked-up by Prime Video as the Michael B. Jordan franchise starter Without Remorse will hit Amazon this Friday. Without Remorse focuses on John Kelly/Clark, a CIA operator that lives in the world of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan franchise. You might be aware of Amazon’s popular Jack Ryan series led by John Krasinski, which likely made the film very attractive to the streaming giant.

It remains to be seen if either The Tomorrow War or Without Remorse will lead to sequels, despite originally signing-on to reprise John in a Rainbow Six movie too.

Amazon’s ‘Kids In The Hall’ Revival Shooting May To July In Toronto

The Ronin has been confirm that The Kids In The Hall revival for Amazon Prime Video has landed production dates as the Canadian comedy series will shoot from May 19 to July 15 in Toronto. Original cast members Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson are all expected to return.

Kids In The Hall was hugely influential on me as a kid growing up as there were limited examples of Canadian entertainment outpacing American counterparts. It wasn’t until HBO’s Mr. Show that it felt like American sketch show was able to catch-up with Kids In The Hall.

Speaking of Canadian comedy revivals, there was also an SCTV reunion special coming to Netflix from Martin Scorsese but there hasn’t been an official announcement about it’s release date.

‘The Boys’ Superhero College Spinoff Adds Shane Paul McGhie, Aimee Carrero & Maddie Phillips

As the new untitled Amazon series set in the universe of The Boys inches closer to getting an order, the mature superhero college spinoff has added three more cast members to play young supes. Joining Jaz Sinclair and Lizze Broadway on the project include Shane Paul McGhie, Aimee Carrero, and Maddie Phillips according to a new report from Deadline.

The untitled The Boys spinoff is set at America’s only college exclusively for young adult superheroes (and run by Vought International). It is described as an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. Part college show, part Hunger Games — with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys.

The Boys is primarily shot in Toronto and filming on Season 3 is currently underway.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘The Boys’ Spinoff Series Taps Actresses Lizze Broadway & Jaz Sinclair To Play Young Superheroes

Deadline is reporting that Amazon’s untitled spinoff series of their popular dark superhero series The Boys had landed two lead actresses as they’ve tapped Lizze Broadway and Jaz Sinclair (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) for the roles of superheroes Emma and Marie.

The untitled The Boys spinoff is set at America’s only college exclusively for young adult superheroes (and run by Vought International). It is described as an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. Part college show, part Hunger Games — with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys.

Season 3 of The Boys is currently filming in Toronto.

Based on the bestselling comic by Ennis and Robertson, The Boys, heading int its third season, is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes – who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super-powerful as the Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven, and Vought – the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages these superheroes and covers up all of their dirty secrets.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘John Wick’ Creator Derek Kolstad Developing Live-Action Film Based On ‘Hellsing’ Manga For Amazon

Deadline has just revealed that John Wick creator/screenwriter Derek Kolstad is teaming-up with Amazon Studios to develop a live-action feature film based on the Japanese manga Hellsing from Kouta Hirano. An interesting take on the Dracula mythology seeing him joining The Hellsing Organization, a group that seemingly echos B.P.R.D. from the Hellboy comic books.

Written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano and published by Shōnen Gahōsha,  Hellsing reimagines Dracula as Alucard, a special agent bound to The Hellsing Organization, under the leadership of Integra Hellsing, great-granddaughter of Abraham Van Hellsing, to aid them in their mission to protect England and the world from vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural threats. The manga also focuses on Hellsing’s newest recruit, a female ex-police officer named Seras Victoria.

Kolstad has been closely involved with the John Wick franchise along with writing the upcoming Bob Odenkirk action flick Nobody and was working on Marvel’s Disney+ series The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. He is also developing a Dungeons & Dragons live-action series for Hasbro/eOne as Paramount is moving forward with their own feature film remake.

Derek is excellent at world building which should be a huge asset for the Hellsing film.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘G.I. Joe’ Spinoff Series Focusing On Lady Jaye In Development At Amazon From ‘Daredevil’ Showrunner Erik Oleson

Deadline is reporting that Paramount and Skydance are developing a television series for Amazon Prime Video that will focus on G.I. Joe operative Lady Jaye expanding upon the franchise. They’ve hired Erik Oleson, who was the Season 3 showrunner of Netflix’s Daredevil series, to write and showrun the streaming project.

The character appeared in Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation (an upgrade from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) and was previously played by John Wick actress Adrianne Palicki.

Paramount Pictures is rebooting the franchise with their upcoming film G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes with multiple new actors in key roles. In the origin film we’ll be seeing Henry Golding playing Snakes, Andrew Koji is Storm Shadow, Samara Weaving in the role of Scarlett, and Ursula Corbero is the the new Baroness. The assumption here would be that Lady Jaye would be getting a reboot and new actress as well.

A third G.I. Joe film has been in the works for ages now but when it will actually get made it’s a little unclear.

G.I. Joe is a Hasbro toyline that was rebranded with a cartoon series, animated film, and comic books published by Marvel Comics that led to two feature films with Snake Eyes set to reboot the franchise.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘Solo’ Co-Stars Donald Glover & Phoebe Waller-Bridge Reuniting For A ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ Series Coming To Amazon In 2022

Yesterday, it was announced by Amazon Studios that Donald Glover would be reuniting with Phoebe Waller-Bridge for a series remake of the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith, the Doug Liman-directed flick that starred Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Phoebe and Donald previously worked together on the Lucasfilm prequel Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The new series from co-creator and showrunner Francesca Sloane is expected to debut on Amazon Prime Video in 2022.

MR. & MRS. SMITH – John (Brad Pitt) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie), a couple in a stagnating marriage, live a deceptively mundane existence. However, each has been hiding a secret from the other: they are assassins working for adversarial agencies. When they are both assigned to kill the same target, Benjamin Danz (Adam Brody), the truth comes to the surface. Finally free from their cover stories, they discover that they have been assigned to kill each other, sparking a series of explosive attacks.

SOURCE: AMAZON

George Clooney Adds ‘The Midnight Sky’ Cinematographer For His Long Island Drama ‘The Tender Bar’ Starring Ben Affleck

The Ronin can confirm that director George Clooney will be reuniting with cinematographer Martin Ruhe for his Amazon drama The Tender Bar. Martin and George previously worked together on Netflix’s The Midnight Sky and the WWII satirical series Catch-22 for Hulu.

Ruhe’s other credits include Control, The American, and Harry Brown.

A recent Deadline report revealed that Ben Affleck is in negotiations to take a lead role.

The Departed screenwriter William Monahan worked on the drama’s script which is based on the J.R. Moehringer memoir and that will focus on J.R’s experiences growing up in Long Island and seeking out father figures at his uncle’s bar.

Ben Affleck’s recent projects include the erotic thriller Deep Water, Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, and leading Robert Rodriguez’s crime thriller Hypnotic. The latter will see Affleck playing a detective that becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program, while investigating a string of impossible high-end heists. He also signed-up to direct Keeper of The Lost Cities for Disney and had been attached to direct the WWII film Ghost Army.

‘Lord of The Rings’: Elvish Kingdom of Lindon & Moria Will Be Explored In Amazon Series – Will Celebrimbor Appear?

A synopsis for The Lord of The Rings series posted by fansite The One Ring and confirmed by IGN doesn’t give us any hard plot details but has now given us two key locations the expensive Amazon project will explore within the Second Age of Middle-Earth.

Amazon had already confirmed that they would covering the island Kingdom of Numenor (Middle-Earth’s Atlantis) that eventually returns to the water after the inhabitants attempt a rebellion against the Elves/immortals sparked by the evil Sauron in his fair-form, a disciple of the original Dark Lord Morgoth. Sauron embeds himself into the court after being captured and basically destroys Numenor from within leading to a Morgoth cult that included human sacrifices and turning the rulers/population against the Elves. The Numenoreans eventually made their way to the mainland and led the forces against Sauron at the end of The Second Age leading to the new Dark Lord losing the Ring of Power in defeat.

The two other locations for the show mentioned in the synopsis include the Elvish Kingdom of Lindon and Misty Mountains, the latter being where the Dwarf Kingdom of Khazad-dûm aka Moria that was explored in The Fellowship of The Ring and briefly shown in The Hobbit films. The Kingdom of Lindon was a place that was essentially abandoned by those Elves before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings trilogy that took place in The Third Age.

Lindon included the Noldor and Sindar. The Noldor is the group of Elves that Celebrimbor belonged to, the Elvish Prince who helped forge the Eleven Rings of Power for Sauron in the Second Age and was seen in the Shadow of Mordor video games.

Here is that synopsis.

Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

These words about the Misty Mountains teasing the Mines of Moria which would suggest we’ll see those Durin Dwarves in the series (ancestors of Dwarves we’ve seen before in the Peter Jackson films), Lindon apparently had Dwarves among their population as well.

Filming is underway in Auckland, New Zealand.

The show’s massive cast includes actors Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, Lenny Henry, Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, Children of Men), Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Benjamin Walker (Heart of The Sea, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Arrow, Power), Simon Merrells, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Geoff Morrell, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, and Sara Zwangobani.

SOURCE: THE ONE RING & IGN