Tag: The Walking Dead

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Oblivion Song’: Jake Gyllenhaal To Lead Feature Adaptation Of Robert Kirkman’s Dimension-Hopping Comic Book

Another Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) property is being developed as a live-action project, as his sci-fi comic book Oblivion Song had it’s film rights secured by New Republic Pictures, after previous involvement from Universal Pictures.

The Hollywood Reporter brings us the news and adds that Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Prisoners) will both star and produce the movie based on the comic published by Image Comics.

The comic — which Kirkman created with artist Lorenzo De Felici in 2018 — takes place a decade after 300,000 citizens of Philadelphia were suddenly lost in a cataclysmic event named Oblivion. The government made every attempt to recover them, but after many years they gave up. But protagonist Nathan Cole hasn’t, making daily trips to find those lost.

Gyllenhaal’s most recent films include Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, Bong Joon-ho’s Okja, Velvet Buzzsaw with upcoming releases such as Michael Bay’s Ambulance and Antoine Fuqua’s thriller The Guilty. Other projects on the horizon include the survival drama Suddenly alongside Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Hobbs & Shaw, The Crown), the Navy SEAL action flick Combat Control, and the video game film The Division that will co-star Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) at Netflix.

Kirkman’s The Walking Dead franchise and Invincible are also poised to also get feature films. He was recently involved with Chris McKay’s Universal Monsters pic Renfield starring Nicholas Hoult helping craft it’s story.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News, News

‘Renfield’: Nicholas Hoult To Lead Universal Monster Horror-Comedy From ‘Tomorrow War’ Director Chris McKay

Universal Pictures is trying to develop a bunch of various films within the Universal Monsters branding and an upcoming project is one focused on Dracula’s familiar Renfield. The project was developed from a story idea by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible) and has a script from Rick & Morty writer Ryan Ridley.

It was originally going to be directed by Dexter Fletcher (Eddie The Eagle, Rocketman) but has since been replaced with Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War).

McKay compared the film to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead 2 when speaking with The Hollywood Reporter giving us an idea of what to expect from the horror pic’s tone.

“Renfield is a story about Dracula’s assistant set in modern times, and it’s kind of a codependency success story. And it’s a comedy. It’s a horror movie. It’s an action movie. It’s about bad bosses. It’s written by Ryan Ridley, who worked on Rick and Morty, and it’s a really funny and emotional. It’s gonna be like a hard-R action movie, crazy-violent in an Evil Dead 2 kind of way. That’s gonna be fun,” the filmmaker revealed about his upcoming Renfield project at Universal Pictures. 

Deadline has now revealed that British actor Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class, Mad Max: Fury Road, Those Who Wish Me Dead) has been tapped to star just a week after landing the Searchlight thriller The Menu co-starring with Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes.

The film is said to be set during present day.

Universal is also developing a new Wolf Man film starring Ryan Gosling and a Dracula hybrid genre film from Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals), the latter might already have quietly started shooting.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

AMC Settles ‘Walking Dead’ Lawsuit From Frank Darabont & CAA For $200M; More Lawsuits Pending

Frank Darabont (The Mist, Shawshank Redemption) has been battling AMC in court for nearly a decade trying to get money owed from AMC Network as he was due to earn profits from the show The Walking Dead series, a billion-dollar franchise. Darabont was the writer/director that helped develop and launch the zombie drama series back in 2010 and essentially made AMC their name alongside Vince Gilligan’s superb Breaking Bad.

Yesterday, it was announced (via Variety) that AMC had settled with Darabont and CAA for $200 million.

The deal calls for AMC Networks to pay Darabont and CAA a total of $200 million. They will continue to receive a share of future profits from streaming deals tied to “The Walking Dead” and spinoff “Fear the Walking Dead.” But for all other “Walking Dead”-related content, the settlement buys out the plaintiffs’ rights.

Interestingly enough, Frank Darabont isn’t the only one suing to get their Walking Dead money from AMC as Gale Anne Herd, Glen Mazzara, Robert Kirkman, David Alpert, and Charles Eglee are also fighting them in court and launched their own suits back in 2017.

After Darabont and CAA filed the first salvo, “Walking Dead” executive producers Gale Anne Hurd, comic book creator Robert Kirkman, showrunner Glen Mazzara and exec producers David Alpert and Charles Eglee filed a similar suit in 2017.  That suit is still pending in Los Angeles Superior Court, with a trial expected to begin in November.

Everyone involved is rightfully owed money and AMC for whatever decided to stiff the majority of people involved with the series. Hopefully, they don’t have to wait a decade to see results. It’s amazing how much money AMC must have wasted on legal fees to only end up paying $200 million in the end, it’s almost like they should have honored the contracts to begin with. I guess greed is a huge motivator.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Posted on in Film News

Adam Wingard & Robert Kirkman Team For Universal’s Feature Film Adaptation of Sci-Fi Comic Book ‘Hardcore’

Director Adam Wingard’s profile has risen thanks to the box office success of Godzilla Vs. Kong, the crossover film set in Legendary’s Monsterverse has become the biggest box office earner since the pandemic began as it crossed $400 million globally and is inching towards reaching $100 million domestically.

Another genre project has arrived.

Universal is also trying to get on team Wingard as there are reports via The Hollywood Reporter that the filmmaker will co-write and direct a feature film based on the comic book Hardcore with co-creator Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible) writing the film’s story and producing. The script will be worked on by Wingard and Will Simmon, which is based on the comic created by Kirkman and Marc Marc Silvestri.

The Hardcore Program can turn anyone—your neighbor, your co-worker, your spouse—into a human drone to get to targets normal soldiers can’t. Agent Drake is the best soldier Hardcore has to offer, until he’s stranded in a body with only 72 hours to discover who’s hijacked the Program. But who can he trust when his enemy can change their appearance as easily as you change your shirt?

It’s unknown where Hardcore lands on the project pecking order as Adam Wingard has other movies he’s attached to. The filmmaker has since been reportedly linked to another Monsterverse film, possibly Son of Kong, and is making a hybrid animated/CGI feature film for Warner Bros. based on the cult hit cartoon ThunderCats.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Film News

‘Tomorrow War’ Director Chris McKay Tapped For Universal Monster Flick ‘Renfield’

A while back it was announced that Rocketman and Eddie The Eagle director Dexter Fletcher was circling a new Universal Monsters project focused on Count Dracula’s brainwashed lackey, Renfield. The script is penned by Rick & Morty’s Ryan Ridley based on an original outline from Robert Kirkman (Walking Dead, Invincible), Ridley’s involvement suggesting a comedic-bend to the horror movie.

Fletcher has exited the project to focus on Paramount’s The Saint reboot starring Chris Pine and Universal has hired Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War) to replace him as director, according to Deadline.

Renfield believed if he was loyal enough, his master Dracula would give him immortality and is institutionalized. The incarnation of Renfield that standouts personally for me is Tom Waits’ take in Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula from 1992 that starred Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves.

The studio attempted to re-brand the Universal Monsters by launching their own modern cinematic universe, Dark Universe, starring with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy only for the film to flop. Leading the studio to kill the Dark Universe and retool their plans by getting Leigh Whannell to direct a new take on The Invisible Man with the help of Jason Blum’s Blumhouse. Renfield is part of a wave of new Universal Monsters projects, the next one is expected to be a Wolfman remake from Whannell and starring Ryan Gosling. Some of the other movies include a genre-hybrid Dracula remake from Chloe Zhao (Eternals, Nomadland), Van Helsing from director Julius Avery (Overlord), talk of the studio still trying to get a director attached for a Bridge of Frankenstein remake and other various films in development.

McKay’s sci-fi action flick The Tomorrow War starring Chris Pratt was recently sold by Paramount to Amazon for a hefty $200+ million and will be released on July 2, 2021.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

HBO Max’s ‘Peacemaker’ Series Adds ‘Jessica Jones’ Director Rosemary Rodriguez To The Directing Team

Last week, The Ronin exclusively revealed that James Gunn’s DC Comics spinoff series Peacemaker would be adding Eastbound & Down director Jody Hill and we can now add another seasoned television director has joined the project that is filming in Vancouver.

We’ve confirmed that Rosemary Rodriguez will direct on The Suicide Squad spinoff series too. Her extensive credits include Rescue Me, Dickinson, Sneaky Pete, and The Good Wife. She’s no stranger to comic book properties directing episodes of Jessica Jones, The Walking Dead, and the live-action The Tick show.

Rosemary confirming her involvement on her website and in an interview from January.

RODRIGUEZ: “In the Spring, I’ll be directing [DC Comics’] Peacemaker for James Gunn. That will be a guaranteed good time!”

Oh f*ck, it’s Peacemaker! HBO Max is set to explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, the master of weapons from the highly anticipated upcoming The Suicide Squad film, in the new Max Original action-adventure-comedy series Peacemaker. HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order of eight episodes for the first season of the show. John Cena will reprise his role from The Suicide Squad movie to star in the series, and the film’s acclaimed writer/director James Gunn will write all eight episodes of Peacemaker and will direct multiple episodes, including the first.

The cast consists of John Cena as Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker, Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn, Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon, Annie Chang as Sophie Song, Christopher Heyerdahl as Captain Locke, Nhut Le as Judomaster, Steve Agee as John Economos, Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, and Chris Conrad as Adrian Chase aka Vigilante.

Peacermaker is a direct spinoff of James Gunn’s upcoming film The Suicide Squad coming to HBO Max and theaters on August 6, 2021.

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.

Posted on in Film News

‘Last Voyage of The Demeter’: Amblin Taps ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Actor Corey Hawkins To Lead Dracula Flick

According to Deadline, Amblin has hired Corey Hawkins to lead their upcoming vampire movie Last Voyage of The Demeter, the Russian ship that transports Dracula to London as the vampire feeds on the crew members during the journey. The horrific trip was seen in films such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula directed by Francis Ford Coppola and the classic silent film Nosferatu.

Hawkins is no stranger to creature features appearing in Kong: Skull Island and The Walking Dead.

The film will detail the strange events that befell the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a terrifying presence onboard the ship. When it finally arrived near Whitby Harbor, it was a derelict. There was no trace of the crew. The initial script was written by Bragi Schut.

Andre Øvredal is directing from a script from Bullet Train screenwriter Zak Olkewicz.

The project has been kicking around for just under two decades with various directors attaching themselves and exiting before Amblin kicked things into gear with this incarnation.

When they plan to begin shooting wasn’t mentioned in the report.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

‘The Walking Dead’ Actor Matt Lintz Officially Joins ‘Ms. Marvel’ Cast – Spotted In Set Photos

Yesterday, Just Jared posted the first set photos of Ms. Marvel from filming in Atlanta over Wednesday’s shoot which showed Iman Vellani in character as Kamala Khan wearing a Captain Marvel alongside a teenage friend, who happens to be The Walking Dead’s Matt Lintz as there multiple shots of Matt with Iman which looks like some sort of costume party.

Matt’s role in the series has yet to be confirmed but is likely playing a classmate.

Kamala Khan is a practicing Muslim Pakistani-American teenager living in New Jersey, who is a massive fan of Captain Marvel and develops her own superpowers (canonically is group of The Inhumans) then adopting the name Ms. Marvel (Carol’s original superhero name in the comics).

The series showrun by Bisha K. Ali has a group of directors that include Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Meera Menon, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

The Disney+ series is expected to debut in late 2021.

SOURCE: JUST JARED

Posted on in Television News

Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Meera Menon To Direct ‘Ms. Marvel’ Series

Ms. Marvel has finally landed a group of directors!

The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Oscar-winning short director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Saving Face, A Girl In The River: The Price of Forgiveness), and Meera Menon (The Walking Dead, The Punisher, Titans) will helm episodes of Marvel Studios’ new superhero series Ms. Marvel.

The Direct first reported that Bad Boys For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were in the mix for the Marvel Studios show.

The series will follow Pakistani-American teenager Kamala Khan living in New Jersey as she navigates newly acquired superpowers. She happens to be part of The Inhumans in the comic books and there have been plenty of speculation this could lead to a reboot of that wave of characters after a disastrous series run on ABC.

Kamala recently got a boost in the realm of pop-culture thanks to the new video game Marvel’s Avengers, which has her as a playable character and part of the game’s story.

This is excellent news as it seems like Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, and She-Hulk are all getting ready to go soon in Atlanta.

Hopefully, they’ll be able to announce who has been cast as Kamala very soon.

There is a good chance that we could see Kamala Khan join the ranks of Avengers/Young Avengers along with possibly making her big screen debut in stuff like Captain Marvel 2, given how attached the character is to Carol Danvers in the comics.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER