'Blade Runner 2099': Amazon Cyberpunk Spinoff Series Adds 'Civil War' & 'Annihilation' Cinematographer Rob Hardy
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‘Blade Runner 2099’: Amazon Cyberpunk Spinoff Series Adds ‘Civil War’ & ‘Annihilation’ Cinematographer Rob Hardy

Amazon Prime Video and Alcon are behind a new spinoff streaming series set within the world of “Blade Runner” (50 years after the events of “Blade Runner 2049”) that has Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”) attached to star in an undisclosed role and has “Shōgun” director Jonathan van Tulleken involved on “Blade Runner 2099” as well.

The Ronin can confirm that Rob Hardy (“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”) has joined the crew of “Blade Runner 2099” as a director of photography. Hardy is likely best known as the cinematographer of a bunch of Alex Garland movies such as “Ex Machina,” “Annihilation,” the FX series “DEVS,” the folklore horror pic “Men,” and his most recent film, “Civil War.”

Based on the Philip K. Dick novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,” the original 1982 film focused on a group of replicants who have escaped the off-world colonies to Earth, where their presence is considered illegal. Authorities have sanctioned their termination by hiring a retired Blade Runner, Deckard, to quickly silence the situation by killing them on sight once they’ve been confirmed as replicants and not the humans they’re pretending to be. After being introduced to a non-violent replicant who isn’t aware they are one, Deckard decides to whisk off with her toward the end, leading the hunter to become the hunted.

We haven’t seen the nine off-world colonies in the main two movies (they have been teased/shown in tie-in shorts), and it would be quite the jump for the franchise for events to transpire in a non-Earthbound setting.

'John Wick' Spinoff Movie Focused On Donnie Yen's Caine Announced By Lionsgate & Shoots Next Year In Hong Kong
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‘John Wick’ Spinoff Movie Focused On Donnie Yen’s Caine Announced By Lionsgate & Shoots Next Year In Hong Kong

Today, Lionsgate made it official (via Variety) that their next “John Wick” franchise spinoff film will focus on Donnie Yen‘s standout character from “John Wick 4,” Caine. This project’s announcement isn’t exactly a shocking turn of events as it was first teased at the end of the last “John Wick” installment when it looked like Akira was about to get her revenge on the blind assassin after killing her father at the Osaka Continental.

Robert Askins (“The Umbrella Academy”) is writing the developing action pic with plans for filming to begin sometime next year in Yen’s homestead of Hong Kong. Presumably, the idea is to shoot in Hong Kong, not only as a new location in the Wick-a-verse to explore but also would likely be a more comfortable production stay for the film’s star as well, compared to Germany or NYC.

We’ll have to wait for a director to be named, as one isn’t mentioned at this time.

When we’re first introduced to Caine, he’s a bit of a reluctant pursuer of Wick. However, he, like many other characters in the franchise, is beholden to The High Table to keep his daughter safe from harm. It’ll be interesting to see if the Triads will play a role in this spinoff, given the Hong Kong location would be a perfect excuse to explore that criminal syndicate, who are expected to have a seat at The High Table.

Caine is pretty much another shade of John Wick, although being blind adds an extra element to his action sequences. He’s also an obvious homage to the likes of the beloved cinematic Japanese swordsman, Zatoichi, a samurai franchise character who is incredibly skilled and is most often underestimated by strangers he encounters.

The yet-to-be-titled film isn’t the only spinoff movie on the horizon as “Ballerina” starring Ana de Armas and Norman Reedus, is expected to debut next summer after some extended reshoots in Budapest with the franchise’s new overseer, Chad Stahelski, deeply involved.

SOURCE: VARIETY

'Fantastic Four': Natasha Lyonne Latest Addition To Matt Shakman's Superhero Reboot
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‘Fantastic Four’: Natasha Lyonne Latest Addition To Matt Shakman’s Superhero Reboot

“Russian Doll” and “Poker Face” star Natasha Lyonne has reportedly joined the growing cast of Marvel Studios’ reboot of the “Fantastic Four” that is expected to begin shooting this summer at Pinewood Studios UK. The comedic actress is one of a handful of recent additions to the latest MCU project alongside Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, John Malkovich, and Paul Walter Hauser, with the former playing the planet-eating supervillain, Galactus.

While Deadline announced the news first, their report fails to mention who exactly Lyonne is playing in “Fantastic Four” and how large the role actually will be.

Previously confirmed by Marvel back on Valentine’s Day, the main cast consists of Pedro Pascal as Dr. Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing.

“Fantastic Four” is tentatively set for release in theaters on July 25, 2025, and I’m sure we’ll keep getting neato casting updates throughout the next couple of weeks as we get closer to the film’s production start.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Edgar Wright To Direct Sony's 'Barbarella' Remake Starring Sydney Sweeney As The Cosmic Heroine
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Edgar Wright To Direct & Jane Goldman To Co-Write Sony’s ‘Barbarella’ Remake Of Sexy Comic Book Flick Starring Sydney Sweeney

After months of rumblings that Edgar Wright (“Last Night In Soho,” “Baby Driver”) is indeed returning to the world of comic book movies after giving us the Toronto-set “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” and developing “Ant-Man” for Marvel Studios (before exiting as director over creative differences), as Deadline and other trades are now backing up claims that he’s attached to helm Sony Pictures‘ remake of the classic 1960s sci-fi movie “Barbarella.”

That’s not only it; veteran genre screenwriter Jane Goldman will co-write with her daughter, Honey Ross.

The original pic from 1968 that starred a young Jane Fonda was an adaptation of the French comics from Jean-Claude Forest and attempted to infuse the sexual liberation movement as Barbarella, a secret agent who had multiple romantic partners on a bizarre alien planet while trying to find an evil scientist named Duran Duran and stop his dastardly plans. Actress Sydney Sweeney (“Euphoria”) had been previously tapped by the studio to play the titular heroine.

The setting is the planet Lythion in the year 40,000, when Barbarella (Fonda) makes a forced landing while travelling through space. She acts like a female James Bond, vanquishing evil in the forms of robots and monsters. She also rewards, in an uninhibited manner, the handsome men who assist her in the adventure.

Goldman is best known for her many collaborations with director Matthew Vaughn and isn’t new to comic book adaptations, having worked on “X-Men: First Class,” “Kick-Ass,” and “Kingsmen: The Secret Service.” She also helped develop the “Game of Thrones” spinoff pilot “Bloodmoon” with the aim to become the showrunner and was expected to explore the origin of the White Walkers, but wasn’t picked-up by HBO.

This isn’t the only remake that Wright is attached to, as the British filmmaker is also behind Paramount’s “The Running Man,” which has Sweeney’s recent “Anyone But You” co-star Glen Powell (“Twisters”) in the lead role for the dystopian sci-fi action flick based on the Stephen King novel. However, it looks like “The Running Man” is expected to happen first, given Wright is said to be already in the prep stages on the film.

Both Nicolas Winding Refn (“Drive”) and Robert Rodriguez (“Alita: Battle Angel”) previously tried to make their own versions of “Barbarella” that clearly never got further than the development stages, as Sony, I’m sure, is hoping this one sticks and actually goes in front of cameras.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

George Miller Open To Idea Of Working With Chris Hemsworth Again On Marvel's 'Thor 5'
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George Miller Open To Idea Of Working With Chris Hemsworth Again On Marvel’s ‘Thor 5’

Will we ever actually get “Thor 5” from Marvel Studios? That seems like a huge question mark after the lackluster effort from “Thor: Love & Thunder,” and while lead actor Chris Hemsworth seems gung-ho about donning the cape once more, what the studio actually wants to do is another matter entirely. Yet, there is a glimmer of optimism thanks to his “Furiosa” director, George Miller, who recently responded to Comic Book about his interest in working with the fellow Aussie again for a possible fifth “Thor” movie.

“I would work with Chris on anything. I really would. He’s a wonderful actor. He’s got the full range of all the skills,” the director said of the potential of working with Hemsworth again on “Thor 5” at Marvel Studios. “I mean, you’ve got to be athletic, physically. But, you also gotta be athletic emotionally and intellectually to take on these very, ultimately fairly complex, any role really. So, I was very lucky with all my cast, and particularly in the way that Anya and Chris matched each other. Particularly towards the end of the month.”

Hard to imagine that Kevin Feige wouldn’t be completely thrilled if Miller came into the Marvel offices to declare his intentions to direct a film for them. While there are certainly a bunch of hurdles to jump to get to the point of Miller actually getting involved with the MCU and the next “Thor” movie, we can’t completely dismiss the idea.

George Miller's Unmade Justice League Movie: Cast Photo Revealed - IGN

There was a time when Miller nearly made his own big studio comic book movie with “Justice League Mortal” (long before Zack Snyder’s version), and there have been reports of Warner Bros. at various times pursuing him again to tackle DC characters like Superman and Green Lantern. Perhaps something like a fifth “Thor” movie might be a little more appealing to the filmmaker, given his last three movies have very much had a fantasy/fairytale angle to them, not to mention already working with “Thor” cast members like Hemsworth on “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” and Heimdall (currently kicking it in Valhalla with Jane Foster) actor Idris Elba was his co-lead in his genie pic “Three Thousand Years of Longing.”

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It’s not lost on us the handful of references in these last two “Fury Road” connected films that have mentioned Valkyries and Valhalla as part of the Citadel’s wasteland warrior culture, seemingly adding elements of the Norse myths.

However, it’s worth noting despite all the online rumors concerning early “Thor 5” development and Hemsworth’s willingness to make one more movie to get things right alongside a potential death scene, Marvel Studios hasn’t shared any official plans for a fifth movie or that they’re even keen to make it after the mixed reactions to “Thor: Love & Thunder.”

The Ronin has theorized where a hypothetical version of “Thor 5” could go and hopefully would incorporate a bunch of the unused comic and Norse mythology as a final solo outing.

SOURCE: COMIC BOOK

'The Mandalorian & Grogu': Sigourney Weaver In Talks For Secretive Part In Jon Favreau's 'Star Wars' Movie
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‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’: Sigourney Weaver In Talks For Secretive Part In Jon Favreau’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie

Writer/director Jon Favreau is gearing up to shoot the very first live-action “Star Wars” movie to be released in theaters since “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” back in 2019. His feature film spinoff of the Disney+ series, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” is assembling a cast that could feature veteran actress Sigourney Weaver in a mysterious role as The Hollywood Reporter is backing up claims she’s in the mix for the project.

Weaver isn’t unfamiliar with sci-fi or franchise roles, having played Lt. Ellen Ripley in the “Alien” franchise (her “Aliens” co-star Michael Biehn already appeared in the TV series incarnation of “The Mandalorian” in that Ahsoka episode) in four feature films (a fifth installment from Neill Blomkamp was scrapped by Ridley Scott/20th Century Fox), is a key figure from the “Ghostbusters” movies, featured as a villain in the Netflix/Marvel Television series “The Defenders,” and is currently part of James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise including those other three sequels.

You might remember that “The Mandalorian” originally started out in the first season as an original bounty hunter tale focusing on Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin. But quickly pivoted toward becoming a full-blown fan-service cameo factory for Dave Filoni’s animated characters from “Clone Wars” and “Rebels” to make their live-action debuts. This led to Bo-Katan and Ahsoka becoming key figures in the television realm, eventually removing the bounty hunter element altogether from “The Mandalorian” in the process.

Returning cast members from the series are sort of dwindling after the passing of Carl Weathers (“Predator”), the sexual misconduct allegations levied against comedian Horatio Sanz that likely pulled him from the “Star Wars” franchise entirely, and the very public firing of Gina Carano by Disney for some bizarre antisemitic posts connected to her own defense of posts understood to be transphobic in nature.

Meanwhile, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is able to reprise his role as Captain Carson Teva in the film. There is an expectation that folks such as Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan and Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon will be back though.

Disney’s Bob Iger had previously announced that “The Mandlaorian & Grogu” would be heading into theaters on May 22, 2026.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

'Fantastic Four': Ralph Ineson To Play Planet-Eating Villain Galactus In Marvel's Reboot
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‘Fantastic Four’: Ralph Ineson To Play Planet-Eating Villain Galactus In Marvel’s Reboot

We have our Galactus! Marvel Studios has reportedly landed on veteran character actor Ralph Ineson to play the iconic planet-eating bad guy in their upcoming “Fantastic Four” reboot that is gearing up to start filming this summer at Pinewood Studios UK in England. Making this the actor’s second MCU role after appearing in James Gunn’s “Guardians of The Galaxy” as a Ravager pilot.

This casting update comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter, as they’ve also added John Malkovich in another undisclosed part. You might remember that Malkovich was once in the mix to play The Vulture in Sam Raimi’s never-made “Spider-Man 4.”

The two new additions to the “Fantastic Four” cast will join Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, and Paul Walter Hauser. Matt Shakman directs after tackling the Disney+ series, “WandaVision,” which also played with period production design.

Ineson is likely known for roles in genre projects like “Game of Thrones,” “The Witch,” “The Creator,” “The Green Knight,” and will be part of Robert Eggers’ remake of “Nosferatu.”

While the reboot is expected to take place in the 1960s, some retro-futuristic skyline in promo artwork might have telegraphed that the movie is set in another universe, outside of Earth-616. “Fantastic Four” has a release date of July 25, 2025, and with casting in full swing, we’ll likely keep hearing new names being added over the coming days/weeks. So, stay tuned for those updates.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

'Blade Runner 2099': Michelle Yeoh To Star In Amazon's Cyberpunk Spinoff Series
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‘Blade Runner 2099’: Oscar-Winner Michelle Yeoh To Star In Amazon’s Cyberpunk Spinoff Series

Amazon Prime Video is riding high after their latest series “Fallout” has become their second biggest viewed show on the streaming service behind “Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power,” and one of their other ambitious projects looks to help expand the “Blade Runner” universe with “Blade Runner 2099.”

Best Actress Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”) is the first actor to join the limited cyberpunk series, according to various trade reports, including one from Variety. That would suggest that Yeoh is taking a lead role, but there aren’t any concrete plot or character details about who exactly the actress is playing in “Blade Runner 2099.”

The world of “Blade Runner” hails from the Philip K. Dick novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” but properly fleshed-out thanks to Ridley Scott in 1982 with the original movie and then Denis Villeneuve’s sequel “Blade Runner 2049.” As the title would suggest, there is going to be a 50-year time jump with this new streaming series, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed we’ll finally see some of these off-world colonies (nine colonies established back in 2049).

While both feature films have had a huge influence from both Japanese and Chinese atheistic, we really haven’t seen what these Asian countries look like in this universe. However, there is the assumption that various Asian countries like Japan are behind the effort to populate the off-world colonies, and Earthbound nations might be just as sparse as the United States.

One of the other impressive hirings for the spinoff series is director Jonathan van Tulleken, who most recently worked on the massive FX hit streaming series, “Shogun,” and helmed two episodes.

Yeoh has made her presence in Hollywood’s genre realm well-established going back to the 1990s when she joined the James Bond franchise with “Tomorrow Never Dies,” which nearly led to her own spinoff film but ultimately didn’t materialize. Some of those other genre projects include “Shang-Chi & The Legend of The Ten Rings,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Danny Boyle’s sci-fi thriller “Sunshine,” “American Born Chinese,” “The Witcher: Blood Origin,” had a brief cameo in “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2,” “Morgan,” “The Mummy: Tomb of The Dragon Emperor,” and James Cameron’s highly-anticipated “Avatar” sequels to the two previous multi-billion dollar successes.

An exciting development on a streaming project that could help add to the “Blade Runner” mythology.

SOURCE: VARIETY

Jack O'Connell Enlisted For Role In Danny Boyle's '28 Years Later'
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Jack O’Connell Enlisted For Role In Danny Boyle’s ’28 Years Later’

Writer Alex Garland (“Civil War”) and director Danny Boyle (“Trance”) have had a long-established working relationship going back to the late 1990s (first working on “The Beach”) and will be reuniting for a sequel to their action-horror pic, “28 Days Later,” with a continuation movie that will launch a trilogy at Sony Pictures. A new report from Deadline has revealed that Jack O’Connell is the latest addition to this third movie, “28 Years Later,” joining Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Bullet Train”), Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”), and Ralph Fiennes (“No Time To Die”).

Details about the sequel and these new characters are being kept under wraps, but it is said to be a direct sequel to the original and could skew toward a military angle, given that most of the United Kingdom has been overrun by the infected (hosts of the rage virus). While “28 Weeks Later” (could be removed from franchise canon) was indeed a sequel, the project didn’t have Garland or Boyle’s creative involvement as they would be focusing on their sci-fi thriller “Sunshine,” which also starred Cillian Murphy (attached to executive produce this new trilogy and might return as Jim alongside co-star Naomie Harris).

The Ronin previously revealed the film’s crew will consist of cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (“Dredd”) and production designer Mark Tildesley (“No Time To Die,” “Sunshine”), who previously worked on the original installment.

O’Connell most recently signed on to play the villain in Ryan Coogler’s period vampire action pic that stars Michael B. Jordan and takes place in the South in the 1930s. Other credits include the WWII pic “Unbroken” helmed by Angelina Jolie, “Starred Up,” Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” the military thriller “’71,” “Black To Black,” and “300: Rise of An Empire.”

Sony Pictures has yet to give “28 Years Later” an official release date, but stay tuned for that update down the line.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

'The Death Of Robin Hood': Hugh Jackman & Jodie Comer Star In Reimagining Of Classic Outlaw With Cameras Rolling Next February
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‘The Death Of Robin Hood’: Hugh Jackman & Jodie Comer Star In Dramatic Reimagining Of Classic Outlaw With Cameras Rolling Next February

While British actress Jodie Comer (“The Last Duel”) is gearing up to shoot Danny Boyle/Alex Garland’s “28 Years Later” this year, she’s being announced for a new period pic and will be co-starring alongside Hugh Jackman (“Prisoners”). Titled “The Death of Robin Hood,” the original feature film is a reimagining of the fictional English outlaw coming from Michael Sarnoski (“Pig,” “A Quiet Place: Day One”), who will both write and direct.

“The Death of Robin Hood” heads to the Cannes Film Market with WME Independent handling sales. Lyrical Media and Ryder Picture Company are behind the project as the pair are also involved with the upcoming Adam Wingard (“The Guest”) film “Onslaught” that recently landed at A24 Films.

That report from Deadline also features a brief idea of what to expect from the film that will keep its period angle in place, “The film will see the title character grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, a battle-worn loner who finds himself gravely injured and in the hands of a mysterious woman who offers him a chance at salvation.”

Some modern incarnations of the outlaw have had varying success with audiences. Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood” from 2010 tried to infuse historical events into the fictional tale with a stellar cast led by Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett. While the franchise starter spent a good amount of time lining up sequels didn’t have the kind of impact Universal Pictures was hoping for, given the cost.

“It has been an incredible opportunity to reinvent and freshly innovate the story we all know of Robin Hood,” Sarnoski said in a statement on his retelling of the Robin Hood tale. “Securing the perfect cast to transform the script to screen was essential. I could not be more thrilled and trusting in Hugh and Jodie to bring this story to life in a powerful and meaningful way.”

Jackman recently shot “Deadpool & Wolverine,” reprising his iconic role of the beloved “X-Men” team member, and it sounds like this would be more of a dramatic take on Robin Hood, allowing the Aussie actor to flex those acting skills.

Filming on “The Death of Robin Hood” is expected to begin in February of next year.

SOURCE: DEADLINE