Tag: Willow

Posted on in Film News, News

Tony Revolori Reunites With Director Wes Anderson For New Film Currently Shooting In Spain

Despite already being in production on his new film in Spain, director Wes Anderson has added another familiar face to the untitled project.

Deadline reports that actor Tony Revolori (Dope) has secured a role making this the third time he’s worked Anderson after previous projects such as The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch.

Revolori is likely best known as Flash in the Jon Watts-directed Spider-Man films and recently nabbed a part in Lucasfilm’s Willow sequel series that will air on Disney+ sometime next year.

The new movie already has an impressive cast that consists of Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit, Isle of Dogs), Jason Schartzman (Fargo, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Rushmore), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Drive, Trumbo, Argylle, Isle of Dogs), Jeffrey Wright (The French Dispatch, Westworld, The Batman), Hope Davis (Your Honor, American Splender), Liev Schreiber (Spotlight, Isle of Dogs), Rupert Friend (Death of Stalin, Obi-Wan Kenobi), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Bill Murray (Rushmore, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The French Dispatch, Isle of Dogs, The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom), Tilda Swinton (Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch), Adrien Brody (The Darjeeling Limited, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch) and Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan, Road To Perdition) in a cameo.

Plot details have been kept under wraps and might be a while before we know what it’s exactly about or who the cast will be playing. I’m sure fans will be interested to know if Wes is attempting something more in the way of genre filmmaking (western or sci-fi) or still continue in the realm of quirky character-driven comedy.

It’s assumed that Anderson will make a distribution deal with Searchlight Pictures.

The French Dispatch brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in a fictional 20th-century French city. It stars Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, Stephen Park, Bill Murray, and Owen Wilson.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

EXCLUSIVE: Lucasfilm’s ‘Willow’ Series Adds ‘Outlander’ Director Stephen Woolfenden

The Ronin can exclusively reveal that British director Stephen Woolfenden has joined Lucasfilm’s Willow series with production officially taking place in Wales. It’s unclear how many episodes he’ll be helming. The director’s television credits include Outlander, The Spanish Princess, Poldark, Doctor Who, Strike Back, and Fate: The Winx Saga.

Woolfenden also has an extensive career as a second unit director working on massive studio films such as Harry Potter & The Order of The Phoenix, Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows 1-2, Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts 3, Detective Pikachu, and The Legend of Tarzan.

Willow is a direct sequel to Ron Howard and George Lucas’ original 1988 fantasy film but is set decades after those events.

Warwick Davis is reprising the role of Willow Ufgood with new additions like Erin Kellyman (The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Green Knight) in the role of Jade, Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals) playing Dove, Ruby Cruz (Castle Rock) taking the role of Kit after replacing Cailee Spaeny, and Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dope, Spider-Man: Homecoming) in an undisclosed part.

Jonathan Entwistle, who is attached to direct the Power Rangers reboot at Paramount Pictures, is set to helm the pilot after Jon M. Chu (In The Heights, Crazy Rich Asians) exited the fantasy series to focus on a big screen adaptation of Wicked.

Willow is said to debut on Disney+ sometime in 2022.

WILLOW – Enter the world of Willow. Journey to the far corners of your imagination, to a land of myth and magic, where dream and reality live side by side … to a place that never existed, a time that never was. It is a world where a young man named Willow lives out an adventure that explodes beyond the boundaries of his own hopes and fears.

Posted on in Film News

Paramount’s New ‘Power Rangers’ Movie Aiming For A 2023 Release Date According To Hasbro

Paramount Pictures and Hasbro are teaming up for a new feature film reboot of the Power Rangers, after Hasbro was able to get their hands on the rights from Saban alongside various stuff like My Pet Monster. The project won’t be continuation of the previous installment from Lionsgate and will likely see a new group of actors in the lead roles instead of having the previous lineup reprise their roles.

Jonathan Entwistle had been hired to direct the Power Rangers reboot, who is currently working on Lucasfilm’s Willow series that is filming in Wales and will debut on Disney+ sometime next year. He’s also apparently going to be involved in a Power Rangers series as well.

Well, it sounds like Hasbro has an idea of when Paramount might release the new movie.

What looks to be like an official press release from Hasbro for a Licensing Convention in Brazil (spotted on by fans on Twitter), briefly mentions that the next film will be released in 2023. The screenshot comes of the event’s website.

Here is a rough English translation.

Power Rangers is a global phenomenon! A unisex brand with more than 90% knowledge, present in over 180 countries since the 90s! With more than USD 10 billion in retail sales in the most diverse categories, Power Rangers has in its DNA a lot of Action, Emotion, Teamwork, Diversity and Humor! With a movie release planned for 2023, Power Rangers is a streaming success, with more than 26 seasons and 900 episodes available on Netflix and has a very active fan community with over 2.8 million followers on Facebook, 330,000 on Instagram and another 140,000 on Twitter! Its 29th season, called Dino Fury is ready to be released!

However, until Paramount Pictures adds the film to their 2023 release slate we should treat this as a rumor for the moment.

SOURCE: LICENSING CON

Posted on in News

Erin Kellyman Keen To Reprise Her ‘Star Wars’ Character Enfys Nest – “I Would 100% Do It”

Erin Kellyman is having quite the career thanks to Disney as the British actress has appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story as Enfys Nest, is currently seen playing Karli Morgenthau on Marvel’s The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, and has a lead role in the Willow sequel series at Disney+ that is filming in Wales.

The young actress is doing some press for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier when she was asked by Screen Rant about the possibility of reprising the role of Enfys Nest in a future Star Wars project. In her response, admitting she hasn’t spoken to the studio about it but would be willing to play her again.

KELLYMAN: “I would love if that was the case. I haven’t heard anything, but I would love to play Enfys Nest again. If Disney came to me and said, ‘Will you play her again?’ I would 100% do it. She was such a fun character to play.”

While the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series takes place around the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story (follows Han Solo over multiple years), her other commitments to Willow would likely prevent her from appearing even if that was an option. However, depending when the upcoming Lando series is set within the Star Wars timeline, it could allow Kellyman to at least cameo as Nest down the road.

A much older version of the character could appear in The Mandalorian era shows on Disney+, but would likely mean they’d have to hire an older actress or keep Nest in the helmet.

We’ll have to wait and see if Lucasfilm ultimately has her return to the Star Wars universe.

SOURCE: SCREEN RANT

Posted on in Television News

‘Willow’: Ruby Cruz Replaces Cailee Spaeny In Disney+ Fantasy Series – Will Play A Character Named Kit

Deadline is reporting that Castle Rock actress Ruby Cruz has replaced Cailee Spaeny in he role of Kit in the Disney+ sequel series based on the 1988 Ron Howard-directed fantasy film Willow.

The rest of the cast includes Warwick Davis reprising the role of Willow Ufgood, Erin Kellyman (The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Green Knight) is said to be up for the role of Jade, English actress Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals) as Dove, and Tony Revolori from the Spider-Man films is in talks for a role.

Jonathan Entwistle, who is attached to direct the Power Rangers reboot, is set to direct the pilot after Jon M. Chu exited the fantasy series from Lucasfilm.

According to Lucasfilm, production on Willow is set to begin this March in Wales.

WILLOW – Enter the world of Willow. Journey to the far corners of your imagination, to a land of myth and magic, where dream and reality live side by side … to a place that never existed, a time that never was. It is a world where a young man named Willow lives out an adventure that explodes beyond the boundaries of his own hopes and fears.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Film News

Warner Bros. Taps Jon M. Chu To Direct ‘The Greatest Chinese Art Heist’ – Based On Real Museum Robberies In Europe Targeting Chinese Antiquities & Art

Warner Bros. has hired director Jon M. Chu for a heist film the studio is developing based on a GQ article by Alex W. Palmer according to a report from Deadline. Titled The Greatest Chinese Art Heist, the film will be focusing on a rash of real-life crimes where a group in Europe stole a bunch of Chinese antiquities and art that might have been connected to the Chinese government.

The article follows a slew of museum art robberies that occurred in Europe, in which Chinese antiquities were stolen, chiefly those that came from the country’s old Summer Palace which was raided in 1860 by French soldiers. No one knows who the thieves are, but the works of art continually wind up back in China. Essentially, there’s a new generation of wealthy Chinese people who are collecting artifacts from the old Summer Palace. Is China’s government behind the art theft wave? The feature questions who gets to own art, and who gets to own history and culture. The GQ piece also poses the question whether there’s some sort of coordinated effort to reclaim Chinese art.about.

Meanwhile the museums are remaining quiet about the robberies. The thefts put museums in a vulnerable position: Everyone questions their security, no one wants to donate works or materials, and their insurance rates spike as many would question an art institution’s credibility.

The studio is currently seeking a screenwriter to pair with the filmmaker.

Chu previously directed Crazy Rich Asians and the upcoming musical In The Heights. He recently exited the Lucasfilm series Willow, instead attaching himself to the feature film adaptation of the stage musical Wicked for Universal Pictures.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

‘Willow’: Lucasfilm Hires ‘Power Rangers’ Director Jonathan Entwistle To Helm Disney+ Series

Lucasfilm has finally found their replacement for Jon M. Chu on their sequel series Willow on Disney+. This news from The Hollywood Reporter comes after the Crazy Rich Asians director announced his exit from the project citing an upcoming baby as the reasoning behind leaving directing duties on the fantasy show’s pilot.

The studio has now reportedly hired Jonathan Entwistle for the pilot but it’s unknown who else will be directing episodes.

Jonathan is likely best known for the series End of The F***ing World, and he was recently hired to tackle the latest feature film reboot of the Power Rangers as Hasbro has big plans for the franchise after acquiring the property. 

The cast includes Warwick Davis reprising the role of Willow Ufgood, Erin Kellyman (The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Green Knight) is said to be up for the role of Jade, Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Bad Times At The El Royale) playing Kit, English actress Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals) as Dove, and Tony Revolori in talks for a role.

According to Lucasfilm, production on Willow is set to begin this March in Wales.

WILLOW – Enter the world of Willow. Journey to the far corners of your imagination, to a land of myth and magic, where dream and reality live side by side … to a place that never existed, a time that never was. It is a world where a young man named Willow lives out an adventure that explodes beyond the boundaries of his own hopes and fears.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Posted on in Television News

‘Willow’: ‘Spider-Man 3’ Actor Tony Revolori In Talks To Join Lucasfilm’s Fantasy Series

Deadline is reporting that Spider-Man franchise actor Tony Revolori is now in talks with Lucasfilm to take an unknown role in their Disney+ series Willow. A direct sequel to the 1988 film directed by Ron Howard, who will executive produce the series and will see the return of Warwick Davis as Willow Ufgood.

Tony is currently working Marvel’s Spider-Man 3 and will be seen next in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch.

Others starring in the series include Erin Kellyman (The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Green Knight) is said to be up for the role of Jade, Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Bad Times At The El Royale) playing Kit and English actress Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals) as Dove.

According to circulated casting information for the series, it revolves around a group on a mission to save a kidnapped prince. The members of the team include Dove (Bamber), whose backstory resembles that of Willow from the movie. Dove is an unassuming kitchen maid who proves that she is the “chosen one” as she embarks on the journey. She is joined by Kit (Spaeny), the princess whose twin brother was abducted. She is destined to be a leader and ultimately the queen. Kellyman plays Jade, a servant who is Kit’s best friend and moral compass. She is on her way to becoming the best young warrior in the kingdom. Also part of the group is a guy who echoes Val Kilmer’s character in the movie. A thief and liar, he joins the quest in exchange for getting out of prison.

Filming was supposed to begin this March in Wales before they lost director Jon M. Chu.

WILLOW – Enter the world of “Willow.” Journey to the far corners of your imagination, to a land of myth and magic, where dream and reality live side by side … to a place that never existed, a time that never was. It is a world where a young man named Willow lives out an adventure that explodes beyond the boundaries of his own hopes and fears.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Posted on in Television News

‘Willow’: Director Jon M. Chu Announces His Exit From Lucasfilm’s Fantasy Series For Disney+

The Willow series was about to begin shooting soon in Wales as it’s director Jon M. Chu has taken to Twitter to announce because the pandemic and the pregnancy of his wife he’ll be stepping down to focus on his family.

You can read Chu’s own words below explaining his departure from Willow.

According to Lucasfilm’s press release for the Disney Investor Day, they had planned on starting production in March and release the series on Disney+ sometime in 2022.

Willow, coming to Disney+, will be set decades after Ron Howard’s 1988 movie, continuing the spirit of adventure, heroics, and humor of the original film. Warwick Davis will return in the role of the great sorcerer, Willow Ufgood. Willow begins shooting next March in Wales and will debut on Disney+ in 2022.

They had been in the middle of casting the fantasy series with reports that actresses were in the mix for lead roles. Those names included Erin Kellyman (The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Green Knight) for the role of Jade, Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Bad Times At The El Royale) playing Kit and English actress Ellie Bamber (Nocturnal Animals) as Dove.

The original film was directed by Ron Howard, who is a executive producer on the new Disney+ series which is said to be a continuation of the the 1988 film rather than a reboot.

WILLOW – Enter the world of Willow. Journey to the far corners of your imagination, to a land of myth and magic, where dream and reality live side by side … to a place that never existed, a time that never was. It is a world where a young man named Willow lives out an adventure that explodes beyond the boundaries of his own hopes and fears.

SOURCE: JON M. CHU

Posted on in News

Disney Will Reportedly Announce New Projects From Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm At Investor Day 2020 On December 10th

In a report from Deadline, Mike Fleming claims that Disney will make announcements at Investor Day 2020 on December 10th concerning new projects (theatrical films and television) from Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and Pixar.

Details aren’t mentioned or what those “new” projects will be.

Disney on December 10 will announce its upcoming slate. While the studio will solidify what Deadline revealed recently – that the Tom Hanks-starrer Pinocchio, Peter Pan and the Emma Stone-starrer Cruella will bypass movie theaters to become Disney+ releases, the studio will also announce new projects from Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar that will encompass TV as well as theatrical. It will be a gesture toward not abandoning the exhibitors. 

Fans will be curious to hear if Disney will attempt a similar day-and-day model that was recently announced by WarnerMedia for their entire 2021 film slate, as delayed Marvel films such as Black Widow and Shang-Chi could be part of that hypothetical announcement seeing large theatrical films landing on Disney+.

Collider recently suggested that Disney might be considering merging Disney+ and mature content from Hulu into a single service, another big update from Disney that could be announced (if true) at Investor Day this week.

Kevin Feige would likely confirm castings concerning Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight and Tatiana Maslany as She-Hulk. A Nick Fury series was announced to be in develop, which we assume will star Samuel L. Jackson and possibly include Skrulls/S.W.O.R.D. but that would need to be confirmed. They could also announce their plans for an MCU reboot of Fantastic Four on the film side or updates concerning things we know are happening officially like Ant-Man 3, Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2, Deadpool 3 and Blade.

Concerning Lucasfilm, we know that Star Wars shows such as Boba Fett, Cassian Andor, Kenobi, The Mandalorian (Season 3), and a series coming from Leslye Headland are in varying stages of prep/production. There are a couple of films in development from Taika Waititi and Rian Johnson as well.

They’re also about to begin shooting their Willow sequel series in Wales with director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and we might finally get a concrete update on James Mangold’s Indiana Jones 5.

Hopefully, we get some new details on December 10th and we’re not hearing new information for projects already made known.

SOURCE: DEADLINE