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Nicolas Cage Is None Other Than Count Dracula

Nicolas Cage in Vampire's Kiss, will star in Renfield

The wish you never knew you made came true: Nicolas Cage is Dracula in Universal Pictures’ monster movie Renfield. The cult favourite actor joins Nicholas Hoult – who stars as the titular character, the vampire count’s infamous henchman and former inmate – in the feature directed by Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, The Lego Batman Movie), with Rick and Morty’s Ryan Ridley penning the script based on a story from The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman. The movie was originally set to be directed by Dexter Fletcher.

The character of Renfield began as an asylum patient obsessed with drinking blood, believing that by consuming animals’ blood he was also absorbing their life force, so that he might find immortality. Dracula offers him a deal: that if Renfield worships him, he will grant him everlasting life. It’s unclear how closely Renfield will follow the dynamics of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, as plot details are currently being kept dead quiet, but we do know that the project is being described as a modern-day adventure story that is comedic in tone.

This marks Cage’s big return to blockbusters movies, having strayed from the mainstream after 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and starring in a number of excellent indie films such as Color Out Of Space, Mandy, and Pig. This won’t be Cage’s first time sporting some fangs, having previously starred in the 1988 horror-comedy Vampire’s Kiss.

Renfield is part of Universal’s ongoing attempt to revive its cult ‘Universal Monsters’ franchise from the 1930s-50s, with planned projects so far including a Dracula film from Jennifer’s Body director Karyn Kusama, another Dracula take from Chloe Zhao, a Frankenstein adaptation from James Wan, one starring Ryan Gosling as the Wolfman, to name but a few.

Nicolas Cage Renfield

STAR WARS: AHSOKA Adds Ivanna Sakhno To Cast

Pacific Rim: Uprising actress Ivanna Sakhno has been cast opposite Rosario Dawson and Natasha Liu Bordizzo in the Disney+ series Star Wars: Ahsoka. A spinoff from the hit show The Mandalorian, the series chronicles the continuing adventures of Jedi warrior Ahsoka Tano; it stars Dawson as the titular character, while Bordizzo takes on Sabine Wren, a character previously confined to the animated realm in Star Wars Rebels.

Deadline, who broke the news, report that Sakhno will play a newly created character, though there is no further information as to who they might be. The series is currently looking to begin production in March of next year and is also expected to see Hayden Christensen reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker (though most likely in flashbacks, given the timeline).

Sahko is best known for Uprising, The Spy Who Dumped Me, and for this year’s horror-thriller Let It Snow.

For now though, Star Wars fans can look forward to the imminent release of The Book of Boba Fett.

ahsoka

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Isn’t Going Anywhere

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Avengers: Infinity War

Despite rumours that Spider-Man: No Way Home would mark Tom Holland’s last banner outing as Peter Parker within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, producer Amy Pascal confirmed this would not be the case.

In a recent interview with Fandango, Pascal emphasised that “this is not the last movie that we are going to make with Marvel – [this is not] the last Spider-Man movie.” She continues, “we are getting ready to make the next Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland and Marvel. We’re thinking of this as three films, and now we’re going to go onto the next three. This is not the last of our MCU movies.”

Reportedly however, Sony insiders state that despite good intentions, there are still no officials plans for another trilogy at this point in time. Now, not to dive back into the deep end of intellectual property law, but a quick recap of the whole Sony/Marvel custody battle over our favourite web-slinger: Sony has controlled the film rights to Spider-Man for a while, having made five films starring the Queens native between 2002 and 2014. In 2015, Sony and Marvel unveiled an exciting and unprecedented partnership which allowed Spider-Man to appear in the MCU, beginning with Captain America: Civil War, and would continue with a series of Marvel-produced Spider-Man films to be released by Sony. Still with us?

Here’s where things get a little more complicated. Not long after the release of Tom Holland’s second standalone Spider-Man film under the Marvel/Sony deal, Far From Home, the deal between the studios appeared to fall apart. Then in September 2019, Sony and Marvel revealed they had reached a new agreement, one which would allow Holland to wrap up his existing standalone trilogy (in which No Way Home would be the last of the three) and also appear in one more MCU film.

Pascal’s comments give fans hope that Sony and Marvel may re-negotiate and further expand their Spider-Man deal, hopefully with Holland still attached. After all, the ties between both studios’ universes keep growing more complex. Sony has its own universe of Marvel characters that are becoming increasingly entangled with Marvel’s MCU: Jared Leto’s Morbius is due next year, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson is set to star in a Kraven the Hunter film (yes, the same Taylor-Johnson who played the not-so-Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron – but let’s cross that bridge when we get to it). Then of course there’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage, in which the post-credits scene sees Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock enter the MCU, and the fact that a bunch of non-MCU Marvel villains will soon be making their comeback in No Way Home.

In short, there’s a lot to be excited about, and plenty of cause for optimism that Holland’s involvement will be long and prosperous… wait, that’s not it.

Anyway, Spider-Man: No Way Home releases in UK cinemas December 15th, and everywhere else December 17th. Check out the trailer here.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Horror Channel Kicks Up a Gory Song and Dance at Christmas

Christmas Day is usually a day of peace and goodwill and in keeping with that spirit, Horror Channel will be hosting the channel premiere of the riotously gory musical comedy horror Anna and the Apocalypse.

The film, directed by John McPhail and based on the late Ryan MacHenry’s 2010 short Zombie Musical, won the hearts and accolades of fans and critics during the 2017 festival season and is set to do the same when it airs on Horror Channel.

It stars Ella Hunt as the titular character who is looking forward to getting away from everything when she finishes high school but instead has to battle the undead in her otherwise quiet Scottish town.

With enough gore to keep the hardcore happy and banging tunes to win over the musical lovers, it’s an unmissable treat. Anna and the Apocalypse screens at 9pm on December 25th.

For more information, head over to http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk

Tune in on Sky 317, Virgin 149, Freeview 68, Freesat 138.

More Jules Verne Series Adaptations Are Coming!

David Tennant stars in BBC One adaptation of Jules Verne novel Around the World in 80 Days

It’s already been confirmed that the upcoming series adaptation of Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days, which stars David Tennant, will be returning for a second season! With the news also came the announcement that the project’s producers would be teaming up on another adaptation of a Verne classic, this time Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

In the upcoming eight-part series, Tennant stars as the intrepid adventurer Phileas Fogg, alongside Ibrahim Koma as his French valet, Passepartout, and Leonie Benesch as young journalist Abigail ‘Fix’ Fortescue, as the trio attempt to circumnavigate the globe in just 80 days. Abigail is an original character written for the show (more than likely replacing Detective Fix from Verne’s original work), which suggests the BBC period drama will be taking some artistic liberties with its adaptation.

It might well be that Abigail is inspired in part by Nellie Bly, a journalist who in 1888 (fifteen years after Verne’s novel was published) suggested to her editor at the New York World that she attempt to turn the fictional trip around the world into fact, for the very first time. Bly succeeded in making the trip in just over 72 days, setting a world record.

Now, whether the story will be split over two seasons or whether its second season will invent a whole new story with the same characters, we do not know. Journey to the Centre of the Earth, meanwhile, is classic Jules Verne science fiction: the story follows eccentric scientist Professor Otto Lidenbrock, who believes there are volcanic tunnels that reach to the earth’s core. Along the way he, his nephew, and their guide face many strange scenes, including a prehistoric realm where Mesozoic and Cenozoic-era creatures still roamed. No word yet on who might be involved in this adaptation, but fingers crossed it makes it to production!

The first season of Around the World in 80 Days is due to premiere on January 2nd on BBC One. You can watch the preview below:

Around the World in 80 Days Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Hayao Miyazaki Updates On Studio Ghibli Return

Spirited Away, a studio Ghibli film by Hayao Miyazaki

Beloved anime director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki has provided updates on his latest project, once again confirming he is out of retirement (the man loves to play with our emotions) to make a feature animated film. The initial announcement came in 2018, where he revealed his upcoming film would be based on How Do You Live?, a 1937 novel by Genzaburo Yoshino which follows the story of a 15-year-old boy in Tokyo, who moves in with his uncle after his father dies. Miyazaki cites How Do You Live? as one of his favourite books.

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Miyazaki provided a rare update; though the film is already four years in the making, it still has some way to go. This unfortunately means we likely won’t see a release for at least a couple more years, later than originally thought. And as for whether it will carry the same title as the novel on which it’s based, he did not answer in the affirmative. Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli’s co-founder, has described the upcoming film as “fantasy on a grand scale”.

Though this upcoming venture has been widely dubbed the director’s “swan song,” we know Hayao Miyazaki has a long history of changing his mind about retirement. The first time fans saw him retire was in the late 1990s, only to return a year later for the Oscar-winning – and arguably his best film to date – Spirited Away. He announced his retirement again in 2013 before returning for the short film Earwig and the Witch (which was developed into a feature-length film by his son, released earlier this year) then retired again shortly after. So yes, take any statements about How Do You Live? being the filmmaker’s last with a pinch of salt.

When asked why he would be returning to direct this film, Miyazaki had a very simple answer: “Because I wanted to.” Can’t argue with that.

How Do You Live? Studio Ghibli

Scarlett Johansson Returns To Marvel

In what might come as quite a surprise to anyone aware of Scarlett Johansson’s legal dispute with Disney, the MCU actress has recently confirmed she would be returning to the world of Marvel with a top-secret project.

Speaking on Marvel Studios and its parent company Disney, Johansson emphasised that despite the breach of contract lawsuit over Black Widow’s dual release strategy (the suit was settled out of court in September), “I have had some of the best times of my career working for both of those studios. I feel really excited that I get to continue my work with Disney and with my Marvel family.” She added that she is already working on Tower of Terror and “some other projects that we’re working on” at the House of Mouse. Kevin Feige then confirmed that one of said projects was “another non-Black Widow-related top-secret Marvel Studios project with her as a producer.”

Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow

Now, what exactly this project might be is a great big question mark. It would make sense for it to be something Black Widow-adjacent, considering Scarlett Johansson’s first producing credit with Marvel was on her standalone film. Perhaps a film or series centred on Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), or… a Young Avengers project?

Just saying, that team is already well on the way: we’ve got Kate Bishop taking up the Hawkeye mantle; Eli Bradley (who becomes Patriot) was introduced in Falcon and the Winter Soldier; Cassandra Lang had reached teenagehood in Endgame; Wanda and Vision’s kids, even though they were later erased, did have their introduction (plus the WandaVision post-credit suggestion they’d be back); Kid Loki was last seen at the End of Time; America Chavez is confirmed to make her MCU debut in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness; Hulkling and Marvel Boy could well be introduced in the upcoming series Secret Invasion; and of course, we’ve been introduced to Kang the Conqueror, who was previously Nathaniel Richards, aka Iron Lad. Long story short, please just give us the Young Avengers!

MCU

Cover Reveal: PLUTO SHINE

We have a bit of treat for everyone this Friday.

A cover reveal of the novel Plutoshine, a Lucy Kissick.

The plot involves a mysterious accident on Pluto has left one girl mute, her father comatose, and her brother damaged and altered. But their barren world is changing around them, and secrets can’t be kept forever…

Sounds amazing to us.

Dr Lucy Kissick has a PhD in planetary geochemistry from the University of Oxford and now lives in Cumbria, UK, as a nuclear scientist. Plutoshine is her first novel and in 2019 won the inaugural Bloomsbury Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers’ Prize.

The cover certainly looks interesting.

The book comes out March 17th, 2022, and can be pre-ordered here.

Full blurb:

Terraforming – the megascale-engineering of a planet’s surface to one more Earth-like – is now commonplace across the Solar System, and Pluto’s is set to be the most ambitious transformation yet. Four billion miles from the Sun and two hundred degrees below zero, what this worldlet needs is light and heat. Through captured asteroids and solar mirrors, humanity’s finest scientists and engineers are set to deliver them.

What nobody factored in was a saboteur – but who, and why?

From the start, terraformer Lucian is intrigued by nine-year-old Nou, silent since a horrifying incident that shook the base and upended her family into chaos. If he could reach her, perhaps he could understand what happened that day – and what she knows about the secrets of Pluto.

Nou possesses unspoken knowledge that could put a stop to the terraforming. Gripped by her fears, unable to trust her family, there is no one she can talk to. Only through Lucian’s gentle friendship will she start to rediscover her voice – and what she has to say could transform our understanding of the Universe.

New Project From TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE Makers Confirmed

In a Bloody Disgusting exclusive, actor Devon Sawa revealed that the makers of Texas Chainsaw Massacre have an upcoming movie. Now, it’s unclear whether this could be the “makers” behind the original 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a true pillar of the modern horror genre (sadly unlikely), or the creatives behind any of the seven subsequent franchise films following Leatherface – and that’s not including next year’s entry starring Nell Hudson and Elsie Fisher.

Speaking with The Boo Crew Podcast, Sawa teased his next horror project:

“It’s basically about… it’s the makers of Texas Chainsaw Massacre… some of the makers, there’s a lot of makers of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I’ve learned. My character is out in the woods, kidnapping hikers, killing them and rotting their bodies to feed to this monster. And I pick up a couple of hikers… it’s just the three of us in this bunker.”

He continues, “it’s got a very psychological… my guy’s almost like a Kurtz character in Apocalypse Now… he’s gone a little bit kooky and it’s really cool. It’s a cool project.”

Sawa, probably best known for his turn in Final Destination, has been having a busy year: he stars in the ongoing Chucky television series, appears in the comedy-horror Black Friday!, and horror western Death Rider in the House of Vampires.

It’ll be interesting to see exactly which makers of which Texas Chainsaw Massacre film are behind this mystery project. Filming on the unnamed horror has reportedly wrapped, so it’s likely that fans can expect further updates very soon.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Watch The Series Trailer For The Russo Brothers’ Horror Sci-Fi FROM

Harold Perrineau in From, the horror sci-fi television series

Epix has released the first full-length trailer for its upcoming sci-fi horror series, the mysteriously titled (and not at all search-friendly) From. Created by Crater’s John Griffin and executive produced by the Russo brothers, the show is set to premiere on February 20th, 2022.

From unravels the mystery of a nightmarish town in middle America that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and continue to search for a way out, they must also survive the threats from the surrounding forest… including the terrifying creatures that come out once the sun goes down. And by “terrifying creatures,” we do mean creepy old ladies knocking at the window.

The show boasts a great cast, including Harold Perrineau (Lost, The Matrix Reloaded), Eion Bailey (Once Upon A Time, Stalker), Catalina Sandino Moreno (Falling Skies, A Most Violent Year), Avery Konrad (Sacred Lies), Hannah Cheramy (Van Helsing), and Ricky He (The Good Doctor).Veteran Jack Bender, whose credits include Lost, Game of Thrones and Mr. Mercedes, directs the first four of the ten episodes.

Outside of the United States, From will be distributed by Netflix as an original series, though it’s unclear whether the streaming date will be the same as its broadcast premiere.

Watch the trailer for From below: