Tom Hardy & Zazie Beetz To Star In Apple TV+’s Serial Killer Series ‘Lazarus’

Apple TV+ has been positioning itself as the streaming service for adults and it’s reflected with the projects they’ve secured since launching back in 2019. This is only highlighted with of the their latest television series acquisition that has been announced as Lazarus that will see Øystein Karlsen write, executive produce and direct the serial killer thriller.

The news first broke at Deadline with the outlet revealing the show’s two high-profile leads will be Tom Hardy (Taboo) and Zazie Beetz (Altanta) with Hardy playing the serial killer at the center of the show that is said to be similar to Silence of The Lambs with Beetz playing a detective that goes undercover in a hospital to learn fate of her sister. Lazarus is a co-production between A+E Studios and Range Studios based on the Joona Linna book series by Lars Kepler that has been popular enough to sell 17 million copies and they’ve provided a synopsis which you can read below.

An emaciated young man is found wandering along a train track. Thirteen years earlier, he and his sister went missing, presumed victims of the notorious serial killer Jurek Walter. To find the sister, police detective Saga Bauer must go undercover in the maximum-security psychiatric hospital where Walter has been kept since his arrest years ago. 

This pairing is certainly not something we would have cooked-up but I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if their scenes together are electrifying. The two actors have comic book projects in common as Beetz is currently working on the sequel to the billion-dollar hit Joker and Hardy is leading his third Venom movie that recently promoted franchise screenwriter Kelly Marcel to director. It’s unclear when Lazarus is expected to being production as that information wasn’t mentioned.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

‘Deadpool 3’: Zazie Beetz Hopeful She’ll Reprise Domino & Wants A Solo Movie – “I Would Love To Revive The Role”

After some really bad information circulating last year that Marvel/Disney wouldn’t be making Deadpool 3 (at all) or keep it’s R-rating, it was announced that Marvel Studios had indeed hired sibling screenwriters Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin  tasked to pen a script. They are also dead-set on keeping the third installment for mature audiences, which was something both Marvel and Disney brass has been stating publicly for years.

There has been some hints the film would be continuation of the franchise but it’s still unknown if anyone outside of Ryan Reynolds will be reprising their roles such as Josh Brolin’s Cable or Zazie Beetz’s Domino are currently in limbo concerning the sequel. The three actors had been expected to team-up again for an X-Force movie that was going to be written and directed by Drew Goddard. Of course, these plans were being put together well before the merger with Disney killed a bulk of the Marvel projects in development at Fox such as Gambit, X-23 aka Laura, and the Doctor Doom film.

Zazie Beetz was recently promoting her upcoming Amazon animated series Invincible (also extremely mature) when asked by Collider about her status on Deadpool 3 and if she has spoken to Marvel Studios/Disney about reprising the Domino role. She hasn’t talked to anyone about Domino but is interested in returning and even mentioned a desire to make a Domino movie.

BEETZ: “No, I haven’t [heard about Domino’s return]. I would love to revive the role. That was always in the world of what was potentially going to happen. I haven’t had any specific conversations around it. But I’m interested. Not only would I love to revive the role, I would love to figure out a way to make a Domino movie or something like that. We’ll see what happens, but I haven’t had any personal conversations.”

While a solo Domino movie might be a hard sell given how busy the Marvel feature film schedule tends to be, I could totally see the mutant character getting her own series either on Disney+ or Star (their new mature arm on Disney+) to help expand the Deadpool/X-Men universe.

We don’t really know the direction or plot of the third film outside of the brief comment on Twitter from Ryan suggesting they originally wanted to make a road trip film with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. However, at that point Hugh had retired the X-Men character after Logan and would explain why their focus pivoted to X-Force after the release of Deadpool 2. It’s possible they’ve scrapped all that stuff and are doing something completely different as they’ve replaced former screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

Deadpool 3 doesn’t have release or production dates as a director has yet to be chosen, but there is a really good chance depending on Ryan’s busy schedule that Marvel Studios could begin shooting the sequel sometime in 2022 for a release in 2023-2024.

SOURCE: COLLIDER

Michael Shannon Is The Latest Addition To Brad Pitt’s Assassin Movie ‘Bullet Train’

Deadline reports that Man of Steel actor Michael Shannon has joined the growing cast of David Leitch’s (Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde, John Wick) upcoming assassin film Bullet Train for Sony Pictures. His other credits includes The Shape of Water, Knives Out, Bad Boys 2, and Boardwalk Empire.

The film focuses on a group of assassins on Japanese bullet train in Tokyo.

Shannon is the latest addition to a cast that consists of recent Oscar winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood), Joey King (The Dark Knight Rises), Andrew Koji (G.I. Joe Origins: Snake Eyes), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla, Kick-Ass, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla vs Kong, Widows, Joker, Eternals), and Zazie Beetz (Joker, Deadpool 2).

Sony Pictures hasn’t given Bullet Train an official release date and filming is taking place in Los Angeles, California.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Zazie Beetz Reunites With ‘Deadpool 2’ Director By Joining The Cast of Brad Pitt’s ‘Bullet Train’

Deadline reports that Joker actress Zazie Beetz has joined the cast of Sony’s Bullet Train, an action film about assassins set on a Japanese bullet train. She’ll be reunited with Deadpool 2 director David Leitch and actor Brad Pitt who played the Vanisher in a brief cameo.

Bullet Train’s cast also includes Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Andrew Koji.

Zazie also worked with Brian Tyree Henry on the FX series Atlanta.

Filming is said to be taking place in Los Angeles, California.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Regina King, Zazie Beetz, Lakeith Stanfield, and Delroy Lindo Join ‘The Harder They Fall’ – Netflix Western Led By Idris Elba and Jonathan Majors

Deadline reports a large group of additions to the cast of Netflix’s all-black western titled The Harder They Fall, which stars The Suicide Squad’s Idris Elba and Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors. 

Outlaw Nat Love (Majors) who discovers that the man (Elba) who killed his parents two decades ago is being released from prison, he reunites with his gang to track his enemy down and seek his revenge.

The new additions to the cast are Oscar-winner Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), Zazie Beetz (Joker), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out), Danielle Deadwyler (Watchmen), Edi Gathegi (X-Men: First Class), and RJ Cyler (White Boy Rick). 

Majors and Lindo played father and son in Spike Lee’s fantastic Da 5 Bloods that was also released by Netflix. Delory’s performance in that film will likely be in consideration for an Oscar.

Jeymes Samuel will be directing the western from a script penned by Samuel Yakin and Boaz Yakin. 

SOURCE: DEADLINE