EXCLUSIVE: Matthew Vaughn’s Next Feature Film Enlists ‘Tetris’ Production Designer Daniel Taylor & ‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ Cinematographer George Richmond

The Ronin can confirm that Matthew Vaughn as hired Tetris production designer Daniel Taylor for next feature film at MARV Films, which is going under the working tile Argyle (all MARV Films projects use working titles giving a nod to the tailoring/clothing trade).

Matthew Vaughn has been notably been involved with comic book adaptations such as X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass, Kingsman 1-2, and the upcoming Kingsman origin flick The King’s Man.

Daniel Taylor joins a production team that already has cinematographer George Richmond (Fantastic Beasts 3) on the roster, who we previously confirmed for the new project. Richmond worked on Kingsman: The Secret Service, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the Elton John biopic Rocketman, and the sports comedy Edddie The Eagle.

The pair recently worked with MARV Films biopic about the creation of the iconic video game Tetris, which stars British actor Taron Egerton (Kingsman 1-2, Rocketman, Eddie The Eagle).

A rumor from Giant Freaking Robot, suggests the film is a spy project. However, we cannot confirm those details or the potential casting information they are sharing in the report.

THE KING’S MAN – As a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man must race against time to stop them. Discover the origins of the very first independent intelligence agency in The King’s Man.

EXCLUSIVE: Daisy Ridley Thriller ‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’ Adds ‘Sunshine’ & ‘Hanna’ Cinematographer Alwin Küchler

The Ronin can confirm that German cinematographer Alwin Küchler has joined the upcoming Neil Burger-directed thriller The Marsh King’s Daughter. The pic begins shooting this month in Toronto with Star Wars actors Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom, Killing Them Softly) taking main roles.

Helena Pelletier has a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a business that fills her days. But she also has a secret: she is the product of an abduction. Her mother was kidnapped as a teenager by her father and kept in a remote cabin in the marshlands of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Helena, born two years after the abduction, loved her home in nature, and despite her father’s sometimes brutal behavior, she loved him, too…until she learned precisely how savage he could be. More than twenty years later, she has buried her past so soundly that even her husband doesn’t know the truth. But now her father has killed two guards, escaped from prison, and disappeared into the marsh. The police begin a manhunt, but Helena knows they don’t stand a chance. Knows that only one person has the skills to find the survivalist the world calls the Marsh King–because only one person was ever trained by him: his daughter. 

His feature film credits include Joe Wright’s Hanna, Neil Burger’s Divergent, Danny Boyle films Sunshine and Steve Jobs alongside additional photography for Netflix’s Project Power. Alwin recently worked on the MARV Films’ video game development biopic Tetris directed by Jon S. Baird (Filth) and stars Taron Edgerton (Rocketman, Eddie The Eagle, Kingsman 1-2).

Writers Mark L. Smith (Overlord, The Revenant, The Midnight Sky) and Elle Smith adapted the Karen Dionne novel for the screen. Mark was also working with Quentin Tarantino to develop a Star Wars film for Paramount that seemingly has stalled.

Mendelsohn will reprise his Marvel Cinematic Universe role, Talos, in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion. The Marvel sci-fi show will focus on the shape-shifting Skrulls replacing superheroes as the aliens attempt to invade Earth. It’s possible he’ll also appear in Nia DaCosta’s Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels.

A release date for The Marsh King’s Daughter hasn’t been set.

Jon S. Baird Confirmed To Direct ‘Tetris’ Drama For Marv Films – Working Title Is ‘Falling Blocks’

There had been mystery surrounding what Marv Films project director Jon S. Baird (Filth, Stan & Ollie) had been attached to direct after trade reports linked to an unknown project. In July it was reported by the Daily Mail that Jon would be directing a live-action Tetris movie with British actor Taron Egerton (Kingsman 1-2, Eddie The Eagle, Rocketman) set to play video game entrepreneur Henk Rogers.  

The Ronin can now confirm the Daily Mail’s reporting that Baird is indeed attached to direct with Matthew Vaughn producing and add that film and could begin shooting this fall/winter in the United Kingdom under the working title of Falling Blocks. 

This version seems to be heading more in the period drama direction as it’ll take place in the 1980s during The Cold War. 

Russian video game developer Alexey Pajitnov created the hit Tetris, which was popularized by the Nintendo Gameboy but was embroiled in a legal battle to secure the intellectual rights. 

Taron had been previously in talks to take the leading role of Seymour in the remake of genre musical Little Shop of Horrors for Warner Bros. and director Greg Berlanti. I’m not sure what this means for Taron’s involvement with Little Shop of Horrors, which had landed tax incentives to shoot in the state of California. 

Tetris aka Falling Blocks could end up landing a release date sometime in 2021.