Tag: The Wolverine

Posted on in Film News

‘Logan’ Director James Mangold Tapped For Horror-Centric ‘Swamp Thing’ Movie Based On Alan Moore Run

Earlier this week, the first wave of new DC Studios projects were finally announced and one of the more interesting standouts from that upcoming Gods & Monsters 2025-2027 slate included a horror film focused on the underrated DC Comics character, Swamp Thing. It really didn’t take long for a creative to be attached to the new comic book project.

We ended up seeing director James Mangold (Ford v Ferrari) tweet out a comic book image from Swamp Thing and led to co-CEO James Gunn to retweet that post. Only for the The Hollywood Reporter to reveal that Mangold was indeed in early talks to write/direct a new feature film remake. This news was a bit of surprise that it simply wasn’t mentioned in that big announcement from Tuesday, but neat none-the-less.

Mangold isn’t exactly known for his horror chops but has a fantastic library of pulpy credits which includes two comic book films with the Hugh Jackman-led pics The Wolverine and Logan. The two X-Men films certainly inspired by established comics but also were given a more origin spin by the filmmaker making them slightly more unique. He most recently worked with Lucasfilm’s final installment of the Indiana Jones franchise starring Harrison Ford with Indiana Jones & The Dial of Destiny that is due to be released this July.

Given that the we’re expected to play within the horror genre, we’re hopeful that Mangold will take cues from other body horror movies like The Thing and The Fly for inspiration.

Gunn also recently added on Twitter that the upcoming film will indeed be inspired by the Alan Moore run of the character. Previous comic book properties that have been adapted from Moore’s work consists of Watchmen, From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and V For Vendetta. However, the writer is well-known as being completely adverse to his source material being touched by Hollywood and likely won’t be supporting this project either.

Swamp Thing isn’t some new undiscovered property but certainly has had an odd go when it comes to live-action adaptations. The 1982 live-action film was written and directed by legendary horror director Wes Craven, that version led to a sequel, television show, and a cartoon series as well. It wouldn’t be until 2019 that producer James Wan (Aquaman) attempted a revival for the now dead DC Universe streaming service via his production company Atomic Monster after a version of Justice League Dark (that would have included the character) fell apart.

SOURCE: THR

Posted on in Film News

‘Loki’ Stunt Coordinator & ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Actress Monique Ganderton Down To Work On Marvel’s ‘X-Men’ Reboot

Monique Garderton is the stunt coordinator and second unit director of Marvel’s popular Loki series with multiple other MCU credits such Avengers: Endgame (as stunt coordinator), Avengers: Infinity War (played on-set Proxima Midnight), Captain Marvel, Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, Iron Man 3, and Guardians of The Galaxy (doubled for Karen Gillan’s Nebula). Currently, she is working on Marvel’s She-Hulk series led by Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters, which is still shooting in Atlanta under the working title of Clover.

The stunt coordinator recently took fan questions (to celebrate the recent episode of Loki) from followers on Instagram stories and was asked about her desire to work on Marvel’s reboot of the X-Men franchise and said she’d love to. She has experience with the last era of X-Men, playing Death in the opening sequence of X-Men: Apocalypse alongside doing stunt work on X-Men: The Last Stand (doubling for Rebecca Romijn/Mystique) and The Wolverine. Garderton’s shared behind the scenes images of her work on previous X-Men films with her response.

Given how many female characters are connected to the X-Men franchise having her leading/overseeing the reboot’s stunt work and potentially direct second unit action sequences feels like something that is very likely going to happen, if she continues to work on Marvel projects for the foreseeable future.

While there is a script in development on Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3, Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige haven’t indicated officially that the main X-Men movies are coming anytime before 2025. There are plenty of unverified rumors about plans for the mutants, but we’ll have to wait a little longer for the studio to give us some real official updates.

Wade Wilson (possibly alongside other Deadpool character) is carrying over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as there has been strong indication from Kevin Feige they’ll be doing a hard-reboot with the main X-Men team like they’re doing with Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four.

Interestingly enough, I previously suggested that Marvel should consider Loki director Kate Herron for X-Men.

SOURCE: MONIQUE GANDERTON

Posted on in Film News

‘John Wick 4’: Hiroyuki Sanada Joins Keanu Reeves & Donnie Yen; Will He Play A High Table Member?

John Wick 4 is quickly becoming one of the most anticipated action films alongside The Matrix. Another big name in action films has joined the upcoming sequel, as Collider reports that veteran Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada has joined the growing cast and plays a mysterious character named Watanabe.

While Sanada better known to western audiences for his Hollywood parts in projects like The Wolverine, Westworld, The Last Samurai, and Avengers: Endgame, he started in Japanese cinema as an action star similar to Sonny Chiba and would likely be able to do action scenes with limited help from a stunt double. 

The cast already consists of Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, Donnie Yen, Shamier Anderson, Bill Skarsgard, and British singer-turned-actress Rina Sawayama.

He previously worked with Keanu Reeves in the fantasy film 47 Ronin.

It wouldn’t be shocking if Sanada is playing a member of The High Table as there is a seat from the Japanese Yakuza. Hiroyuki Sanada had been linked for a villain role in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, but had to drop out over scheduling issues. That part was High Table assassin Zero, who was played by Mark Dacascos.

Japan is also a confirmed filming location.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ended with John surviving the fall from the roof of The Continental hotel after Ian McShane’s Winston shot him, Winston’s motivations weren’t entirely clear as he didn’t seem shocked that Mr. Wick got away and could be giving The High Table a false sense of security. Wick eventually lands at the feet of Laurence Fishburne’s Bowery King, who had his organization taken away from him by The High Table and convinces John to go to war with him against the mysterious group of criminal syndicate puppet masters. 

Production will kick-off this month at Germany’s Babelsberg Film Studios and has a release date from Lionsgate for May 27, 2022.

Franchise director Chad Stahelski returns for the four installment as the studio is pursuing John Wick 5 and having Stahelski tackle a Highlander reboot that may star Henry Cavill.

SOURCE: COLLDIER

Posted on in Film News

Marvel’s ‘Shang-Chi’ Had ‘The Wolverine’ Cinematographer Ross Emery Working As The 2nd Unit Director

It looks like Shang-Chi won’t only have a connection to the Matrix trilogy, but the X-Men franchise as well. The Ronin can confirm that Marvel Studios indeed had Aussie cinematographer Ross Emery working as the second unit director alongside Destin Daniel Cretton on Marvel’s Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings.

If you’re unfamiliar with Emery, he was the director of photography on James Mangold’s gorgeous Japanese-set superhero flick The Wolverine and Ridley Scott’s popular sci-fi HBO Max series Raised By Wolves. He also previously worked as a second unit director on Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant and with Shang-Chi cinematographer Bill Pope on The Matrix trilogy.

Second unit directors normally handle a bulk of the action sequences, Shang-Chi is being billed as superhero martial arts film and should be action-packed if the teaser trailer is any indication.

Shang-Chi’s main production took place in Sydney at Fox Studios Australia and there was some exterior shots in San Francisco too with additional photography in Los Angeles and England.

There could be an argument made that The Wolverine is the prettiest X-Men film from the 20th Century Fox era. Emery isn’t the only former X-Men franchise cinematographer working on MCU films, as The Ronin first reported that John Mathieson (X-Men: First Class, Logan) was selected by the studio to tackle Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness for director Sam Raimi.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed that Marvel bringing in James Mangold’s cinematographers to the Marvel Cinematic Universe means that the X-Men filmmaker will get another chance to adapt more Marvel characters in the future. It doesn’t hurt Mangold is already working with Disney by writing/director their big sequel Indiana Jones 5, which just started shooting this week at Pinewood Studios in the United Kingdom.

Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings will hit theaters exclusively on September 3.

SHANG-CHI & THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS – Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Joining Simu Liu in the Marvel cast includes Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan, as well as Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu, and Ronny Chieng. Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and produced by Kevin Feige and Jonathan Schwartz, with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Charles Newirth serving as executive producers. David Callaham & Destin Daniel Cretton & Andrew Lanham wrote the screenplay for the film, and experience it in theaters on September 3, 2021.

Posted on in Film News

‘Indiana Jones 5’: Producer Frank Marshall Confirms That Director James Mangold Is Still Writing A New Script

While we’re bound to get some sort of update concerning Indiana Jones 5 later today from Disney, producer Frank Marshall has spoken with Den of Geek and provided an early update on the fifth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. Frank reiterates that Harrison Ford is indeed reprising the role something that Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy said last year that the sequel would be a continuation, not a reboot or prequel which had been reported at one point.

He also confirmed that director James Mangold (Logan, The Wolverine, Ford v Ferrari) is still working on a new script for the film and hasn’t even seen/read the thing. This could suggest that development isn’t as far along as imagined when it was announced that Mangold would be directing.

MARSHALL: “Yeah, we are working on the script. There will only be one Indiana Jones and that’s Harrison Ford. What I’m excited about with Jim is a great story. I think you see that in his movies like Ford Vs Ferrari. It’s all about characters and telling a good story. So I’m excited to see what he comes up with. I haven’t seen (the script) yet so I don’t know what to tell you.”

James Mangold took over directing duties after Steven Spielberg dropped-out after headaches trying to get the script in a good place. Previous drafts had been penned by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible, Spider-Man) and Jonathan Kasdan (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Willow) before this new version from James. Lucasfilm is in a tricky spot with the franchise as Harrison Ford is pushing 80 years old and the last film Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skulls was sort of ridiculed by audiences/critics. They’re really going to have to be very very careful not to repeat the mistakes of the last film part of this would be making sure the script is as strong as it possibly could be.

Mangold’s writing credits include Logan, Walk The Line, and his underrated cop drama Cop Land. Notably all character driven stories that run the gauntlet of genres.

I’m a little curious if this means they might not be able to hit the film’s targeted release date of July 29, 2022 or even begin shooting when they’re expected to later this year. Disney has changed the release date so many times I don’t think it even matters anymore.

SOURCE: DEN OF GEEK

Posted on in Television News

‘The Queen’s Gambit’ Showrunner Scott Frank Developing ‘Sam Spade’ Series Starring Clive Owen – Previously Adapted ‘Out of Sight’ and ‘Get Shorty’

Netflix drama series The Queen’s Gambit is becoming a massive hit for the streaming service thanks to showrunner Scott Frank and actress Anya Taylor-Joy. Frank has had really solid run as a screenwriter with films like Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, The Lookout, The Wolverine, and Logan.

He most recently worked on television projects for Netflix with the western Godless and now the chess drama The Queen’s Gambit.

Scott Frank was interviewed on The Watch podcast (spotted by The Playlist) and revealed he is developing a six-part series focused on Sam Spade, the hard-boiled private detective made famous from the John Huston-directed noir film The Maltese Falcon (1941) that starred Humphrey Bogart. Frank hoping he can land British actor Clive Owen (Children of Men) to play Sam Spade in the show.

FRANK: “What if you do Sam Spade later in life and he’s 60s years old?. He’s now an ex-pat living in the South of France. His past comes to his past and finds him in this small town. It’s going to be a six-episode series with Clive Owen.”

When and where this project will come together is a little unclear.

THE MALTESE FALCON: In this noir classic, detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) gets more than he bargained for when he takes a case brought to him by a beautiful but secretive woman (Mary Astor). As soon as Miss Wonderly shows up, trouble follows as Sam’s partner is murdered and Sam is accosted by a man (Peter Lorre) demanding he locate a valuable statuette. Sam, entangled in a dangerous web of crime and intrigue, soon realizes he must find the one thing they all seem to want: the bejeweled Maltese falcon.

SOURCE: THE WATCH PODCAST

Posted on in Film News

‘The Wolverine’s Hiroyuki Sanada Joins Brad Pitt In ‘Bullet Train’

Deadline reports that Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada (Westworld) has taken a role in Sony’s Bullet Train, an action film is set on a Japanese bullet train filled that happens to be filled with assassins with various motivations.

Hiroyuki Sanada is a legendary actor in Japan along with roles in Hollywood films such as The Last Samurai, The Wolverine, and had a brief cameo in Avengers: Endgame playing a Yakuza boss. I have to assume he would be playing some sort of Yakzua character in the film given the subject matter.

The rest of the cast consists of Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Joey King (The Dark Knight Rises), Andrew Koji (G.I. Joe Origins: Snake Eyes), Michael Shannon (Knives Out, Man of Steel), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla, Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla vs Kong, Widows, Joker, Eternals), Logan Lerman (Fury, Hunters), Lady Gaga (Gucci, A Star Is Born, Machete Kills), Masi Oka (Heroes), and Zazie Beetz (Joker, Deadpool 2).

Filming is taking place in Los Angeles with director David Leitch (Deadpool 2, John Wick, Atomic Blonde) at the helm.

SOURCE: DEADLINE