MNN (Labyrinth Gets a Reboot; Term Life Trailer Starring Cain Velasquez)

MOVIE NEWS AND NOTES Vol. 35

Welcome to Movie News and Notes, the most comprehensive and up to date movie news in Sherdog.


Notice:

Due to the Sherdog migration to the new forum software last December 16, a lot of the posts in the MNN threads are ruined (videos not showing, articles cut short, and gibberish symbols appearing). My apologies if it's a mess to read.

Post #721 and onwards are after the migration, meaning they are all readable.








Link to previous thread: MOVIE NEWS AND NOTES Vol. 34

 

Cobie Smulders to Join Tom Cruise in JACK REACHER Sequel



After playing Agent Maria Hill in the blockbuster Avengers movies, Cobie Smulders is poised to add another action franchise to her resume, as she’s in early talks to play the female lead opposite Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher 2, multiple individuals familiar with the project have told TheWrap.

Ed Zwick is set to direct from a script by Richard Wenk that Zwick recently rewrote with longtime collaborator Marshall Herskovitz. Rosamund Pike played the female lead in the original Jack Reacher, but as evidenced by his Mission: Impossible franchise, Cruise likes to switch up his female leads to keep things fresh. Smulders may not have an official offer yet but multiple insiders say she has landed the coveted role of Danika, though character details remain under wraps.

Christopher McQuarrie directed the first Jack Reacher movie, which grossed $218 million worldwide. The sequel will be based on author Lee Child’s Never Go Back, in which Reacher travels to the headquarters of the U.S. Army Military Police Corps and finds his commanding officer has been arrested. Production is slated to start in November, as Paramount intends to release the sequel in late 2016.

Smulders starred on the long-running sitcom How I Met Your Mother before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill, a character she reprised in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. She has also been challenging herself as an actress with leading roles in indie films such as Andrew Bujalski’s Results with Guy Pearce and Kris Swanberg’s Unexpected with Anders Holm.


‘Avengers’ Star Cobie Smulders to Join Tom Cruise in ‘Jack Reacher 2’ (Exclusive)

 

THE KEEPING ROOM Trailer Starring Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld



Drafthouse Films has released the first trailer for Daniel Barber’s The Keeping Room, which stars Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld, Sam Worthington, Kyle Soller and newcomer Muna Otaru. Based on a 2012 Black List screenplay written by Julia Hart, The Keeping Room is a tense and uncompromising tale of survival that also shatters both gender and genre conventions.

In this radically reimagined American Western set towards the end of the Civil War, southerner Augusta (Marling) encounters two renegade, drunken soldiers (Worthington, Soller) who are on a mission of pillage and violence. After escaping an attempted assault, Augusta races back to the isolated farmhouse that she shares with her sister Louise (Steinfeld) and their female slave Mad (Otaru.) When the soldiers track Augusta down intent on exacting revenge, the trio of women are forced to take up arms to fend off their assailants, finding ways to resourcefully defend their home — and themselves — as the escalating attacks become more unpredictable and relentless.

This first look is but a glimpse of the horrors of war and savagery The Keeping Room has to offer, making it a great tease for the full film. The Keeping Room will open in limited release on Sept. 25 with a nationwide expansion throughout October.




The Keeping Room’ Trailer Starring Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfeld

 

Tobias Menzies Joins UNDERWORLD: NEXT GENERATION Cast



Tobias Menzies has been set for a major role in Underworld: Next Generation for Sony Screen Gems and Lakeshore. That film is directed by Anna Foerster, who helmed Menzies in the season finale of Outlander that created a ton of buzz as Menzies’ character tortured and repeatedly sexually assaulted the show’s main character, played by Sam Heughan. In the fifth installment of Underworld, Menzies will play Marius, a mysterious new Lycan leader. Kate Beckinsale stars in the film series. The Underworld V script reportedly centers on a younger generation of vampires and Lycans. The film is expected to begin shooting this fall.

Since plunging the knife into Julius Caesar as Brutus in HBO’s Rome, Menzies has been turning in memorable performances in shows that have included Honourable Woman, and Game Of Thrones, and he will also be seen in the upcoming limited series The Night Manager opposite Tom Hiddleston.

This deal wasn’t easy to make and the fact that Outlander is a Sony show and Screen Gems is a sister company probably made this possible. Essentially, the producers of the show allowed Menzies to shoot the movie while he is also shooting the new season of Outlander (aside from the diabolical buggerer Black Jack Randall, Menzies also plays the contemporary character Frank Randall).


Outlander's Tobias Menzies Joins Underworld V, Reteams with Director Anna Foerster

 

Colin Trevorrow Confirmed to Direct STAR WARS: EPISODE IX



Disney and Lucasfilm continue to nab the hottest young directors for Star Wars films, bringing on Jurassic World helmer Colin Trevorrow to direct Episode IX. Disney made the announcement at D23 Saturday.

Jurassic World was a massive hit for Universal when it opened earlier this year, breaking opening weekend records for the biggest global take of all time and the biggest domestic opening of all time. It also became the fastest movie in history to hit $1 billion globally. The Chris Pratt-starring film has earned $1.6 billion worldwide to date.

Trevorrow had only directed a short film and the 2012 comedy Safety Not Guaranteed before signing on to the massive Jurassic World. He's already stated that he would not be returning for the next Jurassic film, and is attached to next direct Book of Henry.

Disney and Lucasfilm have collected a slew of hot directors for the Star Wars universe, many of whom have only directed one or two big-budget films before signing on to work in a galaxy far, far away. J.J. Abrams is directing Episode XII, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which will hit theaters in December. Looper director Rian Johnson is attached to write and direct Episode XIII. When he signed on, he was also going to write a treatment for Episode IX, which Trevorrow will direct. Lego Movie helmers Phil Lord and Chris Miller are going a Han Solo stand-alone film and Godzilla director Gareth Edwards is also doing a stand-alone project.


'Star Wars: Episode IX' Sets 'Jurassic World' Director Colin Trevorrow to Helm

 

First Cast Photo for STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE Officially Released

Lucasfilm announced the castmembers and crew who will make up Star Wars standalone Rogue One on Saturday, accompanied by the film's first cast photo. The Gareth Edwards-directed film focuses on resistance fighters who unite to steal plans to Death Star.

Castmembers include Oscar-nominated Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk and Riz Ahmed.

"Rogue One takes place before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope and will be a departure from the saga films but have elements that are familiar to the Star Wars universe," producer Kathleen Kennedy said in a release. "It goes into new territory, exploring the galactic struggle from a ground-war perspective while maintaining that essential Star Wars feel that fans have come to know."




Gareth Edward's 'Star Wars: Rogue One' Cast Revealed, First Official Photo Released

 

STAR WARS Theme Parks Announced for Disneyland and Disney World

The Star Wars universe is ready to invade ours. Disney chairman Bob Iger announced the creation of two Star Wars-themed lands. The 14-acre parks will feature humanoids, aliens and droids. He called it the company's "largest single-themed land expansion ever."

One of the single-themed lands will be featured at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida, with the other coming to Disneyland in Anaheim. Iger said attractions would include a Millennium Falcon ride and iconic settings like the Creature Cantina.

"Everything we create will be part of our storytelling," said Iger, who added every store in these parks would be operated by local inhabitants — in other words, actors in character as aliens or droids.

"Nothing in the land will be out of character or stray from the mythology." Iger said guests will "truly become a part of their favorite Star Wars stories."

"These new lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will transport guests to a whole new Star Wars planet, including an epic Star Wars adventure that puts you in the middle of a climactic battle between the First Order and the Resistance," said Iger.














STAR WARS Theme Parks Announced for Disneyland and Disney World

 

Full Description on CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR D23 Footage



The new Avengers are in buildings overlooking a crowded market in what appears to be a third-world country. “Eyes on target, folks,” Captain America says. Falcon says, “Red Wing, launch,” and a small drone hovers free and dives down to the street, swooping beneath a truck, which is loaded with explosives. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson is in a caf

 

DOCTOR STRANGE Concept Art and Plot Details Revealed at D23



“The first one I’m going to talk about today is Doctor Strange,” Feige said during Marvel D23 event. “The goal is to continue expanding what a comic book movie is, what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is. The comics traverse these dimensions, and film by film, we try to do that in a cinematic way,” Feige said.

Tilda Swinton is playing The Ancient One, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is co-starring as Mordo, while—everyone knows—Benedict Cumberbatch will be the good doctor. “He’s an extraordinary character, brings in a whole other dimension—hmm, multiple dimensions—to the Marvel universe,” Cumberbatch said in a video intro. He promised a “mind-blowing experience… Girls, cars, explosions, astral projection into multiple realms. The usual.”

Doctor Strange doesn’t start shooting until November, so there’s no footage to show, Feige says. But he is reluctant to appear before people who camped out all night for the panel empty handed. Here comes a collection of concept art. Stephen Strange's costume was revealed for the first time during the D23 Expo, and while it likely won't be officially released on line for some time, it looks to have been ripped straight from a comic book page.

Images in the concept art reel reveal the classic origin story: a wounded surgeon seeking alternate ways to heal his destroyed hands finds his way to a mystical Eastern sanctuary that leads him to an order that holds the keys to another dimension. [We see] cars levitated into the air; buildings turning over Inception-style, Benedict Cumberbatch in the red cape. Tilda and Chiwetel in costume, bizarre otherworldly dimensions. Insane colors. No creatures, alas. But there will be. Final shot of [concept art shows]: Strange [with gray temples] doing energy blasts from his hands. grey temples. Also of note, the art for The Ancient One was an old asian dude. Pre-Swinton casting or are we getting something weird?




Doctor Strange Promises "Girls, Explosions, Multiple Dimensions"

 

Orlando Bloom Returns for PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 5



Last December, Orlando Bloom said he might return for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and today at D23 he confirmed it. During the studio’s live-action presentation where they dishes on Marvel, Star Wars, and other upcoming films, Bloom came out on stage to let everyone know that his character Will Turner will be returning to the franchise. Disney also released the first logo for the film.

You may recall that when we last left Will, he had basically signed away his life to be the captain of the Flying Dutchman, and can only visit his beloved Elizabeth once every ten years. He’s got an interesting character arc, and while he’s not as colorful as Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), he helps ground the films with real stakes. Take him out of it, and you get Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which proves that Jack absolutely shouldn’t be a lead character

That may still be the case, but at least Will will be around in some capacity, hopefully to balance out Jack rather than just a small role. It’s a brief glimmer of hope that they might know how to manage this franchise and are aware that even though On Stranger Tides tore up the box office, it was a pretty weak film.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales opens July 7, 2017, and also stars Javier Bardem, Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), Brenton Thwaites (The Giver), and Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone), with Geoffrey Rush, Kevin R. McNally, and Stephen Graham reprising their roles as Barbossa, Gibbs, and Scrum.

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Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush Return for 'Pirates of the Caribbean 5'

 

New Details on Disney's MOANA Starring Dwayne Johnson



Moana is the next film from the directing team of Ron Clements and John Musker, who you know from the Disney animated classics The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, and Aladdin. The film was originally aimed at a 2018 release, but got bumped up two years which might be a vote of confidence.

Moana is the daughter of her people’s chief Tui, and despite her desire to go voyaging into the sea, her father won’t let her. She has this fire burning in her to voyage out to sea thanks to the tales that her grandmother has told her about a demigod named Maui (Johnson), as well as the voyages of the past. But we’ll get to Maui a little later.

The adventure is set in motion after Moana’s grandmother dies (the filmmakers said, “I’m sorry, this is a Disney movie&#8221, inspiring her to voyage out past her homeland’s reef for the first time with her trusty pet pig Pua coming along for the ride. Oh, and there’s a crabby rooster named Hei Hei who has stowed away on the ship who should make for some amusing moments.

Moana hopes to find the long lost island she’s heard about in stories in order to connect with her heritage. On this journey she’ll have to battle bad monsters of the deep and confront a vengeful land spirit, who will be visualized with volcanic black skin and lava hair. A very brief proof of concept clip showed the lava oozing out of the land spirit, erupting with its emotions.

But thankfully, Moana won’t be alone on this journey, because she encounters the demigod Maui. Dwayne Johnson was on hand to talk about his own character, talking about how he’s strong and handsome, but he has some issues after being born human but raised by gods. He finds himself stuck in the middle, trying to please both sides. And since this is a Disney movie, both he and Moana have something to learn from each other.

Like Johnson himself, Maui is covered in tattoos. But Maui’s tattoos are animated and move on his skin, and he can also shapeshift into birds and other animals. In addition, he also carries with him a gigantic and mighty fish hook, not unlike the reliable hammer Mjolnir carried by Thor.

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Disney Animation's ‘Moana’ Looks and Sounds Absolutely Gorgeous

 

First Image from Pixar's FINDING DORY; Full Cast Announced

Ellen DeGeneres, the voice of everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, took a dip with D23 EXPO attendees this afternoon, celebrating Disney

 

First Posters for ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS Released

Disney revealed at their D23 expo the first posters for Alice Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. And the bottom line is, whether you loved or hated the movie, it made a pile of money (over $1 billion worldwide), so a sequel shouldn

 

Disney Announces Jack and The Beanstalk Movie Titled GIGANTIC

Walt Disney Pictures will produce its version of Jack and the Beanstalk, titled Gigantic, John Lasseter announced on Friday. The Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios announced at Disney’s D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center in California on Friday that the film is currently in production.

“We hope this will be the definitive version of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk,’ with comedy and deep emotion,” said Nathan Greno, the animated film’s director who also directed Tangled. Greno also revealed that Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who wrote songs for “Frozen,” will do the same for “Gigantic.” The Oscar-winning duo was then invited to the stage to sing a song from the upcoming film.

Beyond that, Greno shed some light on the plot of Gigantic, which will take place in Spain during the Age of Exploration. Adventure-seeker Jack will ascend the beanstalk and find a whole new world up in the sky as he discovers giants hidden within the clouds. One other animated character in the film is Inma, an 11-year-old, 60-foot-tall girl whom Jack vows to help find her way home. Gigantic hits theaters in 2018.







Disney to Produce Jack and The Beanstalk Movie ‘Gigantic’

 

Official Logo and Plot Details for Disney's PETE'S DRAGON Revealed

From the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif., Walt Disney Studios has released the official logo for the Pete's Dragon reboot. Some plot details were also release that make the film sound quite different from the 1977 musical. Bryce Dallas Howard will play a park ranger, and in this version Pete is a feral child kept alive by his dragon. The dragon itself is furry and much more comparable to the dragons of Game of Thrones or The Hobbit than to the whimiscal animated dragon of the original. Pete's Dragon is directed by David Lowery, and stars Oakes Fegley, Oona Laurence, Robert Redford, Bryce Dallas Howard, Wes Bentley and Karl Urban.







Logo and Plot Details for Disney's PETE'S DRAGON Revealed

 

Jon Favreau's THE JUNGLE BOOK Poster Released; D23 Panel Highlights

From the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif., Walt Disney Studios has released a new poster for The Jungle Book. In The Jungle Book, based on the original story by Rudyard Kipling and inspired by Disney's 1967 animated adaptation, after a fearsome tiger threatens his life, Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves, leaves his jungle home and, guided by a stern panther and a free-spirited bear, sets out on a journey of self-discovery.

The Jungle Book is directed yb Jon Favreau (Iron Man), written by Justin Marks, and stars Neel Sethi, Emjay Anthony, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Christopher Walken, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Lupita Nyong'o.




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Disney Releases First Poster for Jon Favreau's THE JUNGLE BOOK

 

Pixar Announces New Film COCO from the Filmmakers of TOY STORY 3

John Lasseter took the stage to introduce Pixar's upcoming film Coco, the movie that used to be an untitled Dia De Los Muertos project from the filmmakers behind Toy Story 3. Director Lee Unkrich and Producer Darla K. Andersen, took the stage next. They talked about researching for the film. "They leave gifts for the spirits of their family members; it's like a family reunion that spans the divide between the lifving and the dead," Andersen told the crowd. Unkrich started thinking about what questions he would ask the family members and ancestors who were dead before he ever met them, and that made him start thinking about the film.

Several trips to Mexico informed the characters and story of the film. The main character Miguel is "a spirited 12 year-old boy growing up with a big family in rural Mexico." He discovers a generational mystery that "forever changes his fate." The filmmakers revealed a clip showing people lighting candles at a cemetery. Suddenly, dancing, singing skeletons having a party. A skeleton mask falls off Miguel, and the other skeletons gasp. Disney Pixar has released a teaser poster. Coco is slated for a 2017 release.




Pixar Announces COCO from the Filmmakers of TOY STORY 3; New Story Details Revealed

 

As far as I know, there's no Fury Road re-release in theaters.

Jurassic World though is returning for one week in IMAX beginning August 28.

 

SAN ANDREAS Sequel in the Works with Dwayne Johnson Returning



Brace yourselves: New Line and Dwayne Johnson want to make the earth move for you one more time. The company has hired Neil Widener and Gavin James to write a sequel to San Andreas, the Johnson-starring earthquake disaster movie that grossed over $473 million worldwide last year.

A good chunk of the team is due to return for the second installment. Johnson is swinging back to the sequel, as is producer Beau Flynn, producing via his Flynn Picture Co. banner. Brad Peyton, who directed the movie, is also returning.

The 2015 movie saw Johnson as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot who teams up with his estranged wife (Carla Gugino) to save their daughter (Alexandra Daddario) when a series of quakes crush Los Angeles and San Francisco. Gugino, Daddario and Paul Giamatti, who played a seismologist, are also expected to return. (Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore as well as Carlton Cuse wrote the original's script.)

Plot details for the new installment are being sheltered, but the sequel is expanding the disaster locales by going global, focusing on the infamous Ring of Fire. The ring circles the Pacific Ocean with fault lines and volcanoes and, according to scientists, is home to about 90 percent of the world's earthquakes.

'San Andreas' Sequel in the Works From Dwayne Johnson, New Line (Exclusive)







Christian Bale and Scott Cooper Reuniting for Western Drama HOSTILES



Christian Bale and Scott Cooper are teaming up for Western drama Hostiles. Bale will star in the film which Cooper, who directed the actor in 2013's Out of the Furnace, will helm. The plan is to shoot this summer.

The story centers on a Native American-hating soldier, nearing retirement, who is given one last assignment: to escort an Indian chief back to his Montana reservation. In the process, which includes coming across a young widow and fighting back attacks by Comanche tribes, he learns to respect the race he hates.

The screenplay was penned by late scribe Donald Stewart, who won an Oscar for co-writing the 1982 Jack Lemmon drama Missing and also worked on The Hunt for Red October (1990) and Patriot Games (1992). Cooper rewrote the script.

Bale is riding the awards circuit with his nomination for best supporting actor for his work inThe Big Short. Cooper last directed the Johnny Depp crime drama Black Mass.

Christian Bale and Director Scott Cooper Tackling Western Drama 'Hostiles'