Reimagining Of THE PREACHER’S WIFE Is In The Works

Whitney Houston in The Preacher's Wife

A present-day reimagining of The Preacher’s Wife is reportedly in the works with Emmy winner Anthony Hemingway directing.

The 1996 film, starring Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, and Courtney B. Vance – who will also appear in this newest version, and produce under his Bassett Vance Productions banner – centred on a the suave angel Dudley (Washington) who comes to earth to help a preacher (Vance) and his wife (Houston) save their church and marriage. The film is a reliably endearing Christmas classic, and its soundtrack endures as the bestselling gospel album of all time. Penny Marshall’s The Preacher’s Wife was itself a remake of The Bishop’s Wife, the 1947 film starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven.

Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington in The Preacher's Wife

Hemingway’s reimagining will “creatively evolve the story in a new direction” whilst emphasising “the musicality” of the original, says producing partner Dwayne Johnson-Cochran. Hemingway and Angela Bassett will also produce. The director is perhaps best known for his work on American Crime Story and Underground. 

As far as we known, casting hasn’t yet begun, but our bet is on Cynthia Erivo being cast as the titular character Julia Biggs. Not only does the actress have the vocal talents required for a musically-heavy role, but she and Hemingway have previously worked together on the show Genius, in which Erivo played Aretha Franklin. In the same show, Vance also recurred as C.L. Franklin, the Queen of Soul’s father. Watch this space.

 

Sofia Boutella To Star In Zack Snyder Sci-Fi REBEL MOON

Sofia Boutella to star in Zack Snyder Netflix feature Rebel Moon. Still from Prisoners of the Ghostland

Sofia Boutella has been tapped to star in sci-fi adventure Rebel Moon, the first film under Zack Snyder’s new overall deal with Netflix following the success of Army of the Dead. Snyder is directing and co-writing the film with frequent collaborator Shay Hatten (whose upcoming projects also include John Wick: Chapters 4 and 5, and the Ana de Armas-starrer Ballerina) and Kurt Johnstad (Atomic Blonde, in which Boutella also starred, and Snyder’s 300).

Sofia Boutella to star in Rebel Moon. Still from Mars colony sci-fi Settlers

Rebel Moon is set in a peaceful colony on the edge of the galaxy that finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius. The colonists sends a young woman with a mysterious past (Boutella) to assemble warriors from neighbouring planets to help them make a stand against the Tyrant.

It sounds like the perfect role for Boutella, who has time and again proven that her dramatic talents are on par with her ability to kick ass, from her break-out role in Kingsman: The Secret Service to more recently in Prisoners of the Ghostland opposite Nicolas Cage, and in the pared-down sci-fi film Settlers. 

No further casting has yet been announced, though Deadline reports that Snyder is keen to get things moving quickly – so expect more news on Rebel Moon very soon.

 

Sci-Fear is Invading Horror Channel

sci-fear

From Saturday, November 20th to Friday, November 26th, Horror Channel with be hosting Sci-Fear Week with a host of extra-terrestrial shockers heading to the screens. Films getting their channel premiere include The Last Days on Mars starring Liev Schreiber and Olivia Williams, Saturn 3 with Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel, and Farrah Fawcett, and the much-loved cult classic Xtro.

 

The Last Days on Mars

The full line-up is:

Saturday, November 20th – The Last Days on Mars (2013)

Sunday, November 21st – Saturn 3 (1980)

Monday, November 22nd – Cell (2016)

Tuesday, November 23rd – Scanners (1981)

Wednesday, November 24th – Extraterrestrial (2014)

Thursday, November 25th – Kill Command (2016)

Friday, November 26th – Xtro (1982)

Saturn 3

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

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

MORBIUS Commits Identity Fraud In New Trailer

Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) in Columbia Pictures' MORBIUS.

Jared Leto’s Dr. Michael Morbius makes his debut in the official trailer for Morbius, the upcoming instalment in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters from director Daniel Espinosa.

The Marvel antihero, also known as the Living Vampire, is “one of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted characters.” Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed. Will good override evil – or will he succumb to his mysterious new urges?

Jared Leto in Morbius

And because we can sense you wondering, yes. Leto has previously teased that Morbius could appear alongside Blade in a future project, with Mahershala Ali cast in the role of vampire hunter for the MCU. Add to that the cheeky Venom name-drop (and that post-credits Let There Be Carnage scene), and we have a complicated ‘shared universes’ web forming. You can, of course, thank the Sony and Marvel studio mess for that.

As Morbius is heard explaining in the trailer, the character’s new abilities include “increased strength and speed, some form of ‘bat radar'”.  Yet this new-found power comes at a cost, a hunger to “hunt and consume blood” that he doesn’t quite understand, nor can he seem to control.

Leto is joined by Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson (in what is set to be a recurring role, the actor having signed a three-picture deal). Michael Keaton also reprises his role as Adrian Toomes / Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

 Morbius is set to release in cinemas January 28th, 2022. 

MIND FALL Casts Daisy Ridley

Daisy Ridley returns to sci fi genre with Mind Fall after Star Wars

Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley has been cast to star in Mind Fall, a science fiction film from La Haine‘s Mathieu Kassovitz, with a script from Graham Moore (The Imitation Game).

Taking place in London in a near future where memories have become the most sought-after, profitable and highly illegal drug, Mind Fall is follows top trafficker Ardis Varnado (Ridley). By physically removing memories from individuals desperate for cash, she can then resell them to wealthy clients. These memories become indistinguishable from their new host’s “real” memories.

Daisey Ridley to star in Mind Fall after Chaos Walking

Meanwhile, Varnado struggles with her own addiction to the memories, and struggles to separate her lived experiences from those she’s implanted. So, when she stands accused of murdering one of her buyers, she has no choice but to solve the crime herself and find out the truth.

Mind Fall will mark the respected French filmmaker and actor’s third English-language directorial effort – after supernatural horror Gothika and the Vin Diesel-starrer Babylon A.D. – and Kassovitz’s first time directing a feature in over a decade  (his last was L’ordre et la morale, 2011). Most recently, he starred in political thriller Le Bureau Des Légendes, even directing a handful of episodes in its last season, as well as Yvan Attal’s drama Les choses humaines. 

As for Ridley, this marks her first major genre project since she said goodbye to Rey, and since the release of the less-than-stellar Chaos Walking. 

HOST Director Rob Savage To Adapt Stephen King’s THE BOOGEYMAN

Short film The Boogeyman from director Gerard Lough

Writer-director Rob Savage, who quickly emerged as a beloved horror filmmaker with his pandemic Zoom thriller Host and the upcoming (hilarious and incredibly gory) Blumhouse film Dashcam, has been brought on to helm an adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, The Boogeyman. 

King’s 1973 story follows a man named Lester Billings, who visits a psychiatrist and recounts how his three young children were each killed by a nightmarish creature that emerged from their bedroom closets. The logline for this The Boogeyman movie adaptation, however, suggests slight deviations from the source material. According to Deadline, the official synopsis reads: still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, a teenage girl and her little brother find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house and struggle to get their grieving father to pay attention before it’s too late.

This particular adaptation has been in development for a few years, having passed from Akela Cooper (Malignant) to Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place), and onto Black Swan’s Mark Heyman. Casting is expected to happen soon, with filming set to begin early next year.

Host and Dashcam director Rob Savage directs The Boogeyman film

This is the latest in a string of Stephen King adaptation announcements. While Salem’s Lot  is expected soon in September 2022, the busy development slate also includes The Vigil director Keith Thomas’s Firestarter, starring Zac Efron, due next year; an untitled Pet Sematary sequel; Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum’s Netflix adaptation of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone; a remake of John Carpenter’s impeccable Christine; a Steven Spielberg-produced Netflix series The Talisman; a movie rendering of Elevation; a The Jaunt series from Fear The Walking Dead co-creator Dave Erikson; a Running Man remake from Edgar Wright; a series based on The Ten O’Clock People; The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon from director Lynn Ramsay; the never-before adapted The Long Walk; and a The CW series Revelations.

And that’s just a handful of examples, of which there are about fifteen more. Must be good to be Stephen King.

 

 

THE BOOK OF BOBA FETT Trailer Is Here!

the book of boba fett new poster

It’s been a long wait for Star Wars fans everywhere, but the official trailer for Disney+’s upcoming show, The Book of Boba Fett, is finally here!

After reappearing in The Mandalorian and joining with Mando and little Grogu on the planet Tython, it was revealed that the legendary Boba “I am not a bounty hunter” Fett (Temuera Morrison) had escaped Tatooine with mercenary Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen). Then, in a surprise post-credits scene, the duo returned to the sandy planet to storm Jabba the Hutt’s palace, killing its leader and taking the throne for themselves.

Still image from the book of boba fett official trailer

Every galaxy has an underworld, the trailer reminds us, and Boba looks to be taking over this one.

The series comes from The Mandalorian creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, who are teaming with Robert Rodriguez (who directed season 2’s excellent and Boba-focused episode, “Chapter 14: The Tragedy”). The Book of Boba Fett will precede Mando’s much-anticipated third season, which is currently in production.

The Star Wars universe is also due to expand further, with a series centred on The Clone Wars’ breakout hero Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), and another focused on Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, included amongst the slate.

The Book of Boba Fett begins streaming on December 29th. 

Phoebe Waller-Bridge & Fiona Shaw Join Krasinski Fantasy-Comedy

Phoebe Waller-Bridge joins ensemble cast for John Krasinski's unnamed fantasy comedy

Multi-award winning and multi-hyphenate creative Phoebe Waller-Bridge, along with veteran actress Fiona Shaw, have been cast in John Krasinski’s upcoming ensemble fantasy-comedy, writes The Hollywood Reporter. The pair previously worked together on both Fleabag and Killing Eve. 

After directing the immensely successful horrors A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II, Krasinski will also be writing and directing the as-yet-unnamed movie (though it was, at one time, titled Imaginary Friends). He is also set to star opposite beloved comedic actor Ryan Reynolds. Very little is known about the plot, though it was revealed that the story is based on a child’s journey to rediscover their imagination.

Fiona Shaw and Phoebe Waller-Bridge join John Krasinski's latest directorial effort

Waller-Bridge is currently in production on Indiana Jones 5 in an undisclosed role, and recently co-wrote the screenplay for Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond in No Time To Die. Shaw, meanwhile, is soon set to appear in the Star Wars series Andor, a prequel series to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which follows the adventures of Cassian Andor during the formative years of the Rebellion.

Krasinski’s film is set to release on November 17th, 2023, and is due to begin filming in summer next year. Stay tuned for further updates.

 

 

Ana de Armas In Talks For JOHN WICK Spinoff BALLERINA

Ana de Armas in No Time To Die

Ana de Armas, whose star is shining particularly bright after a fantastic outing in Knives Out and a scene-stealing turn in No Time To Die, is reportedly in talks to take on the lead role in Ballerina, the anticipated John Wick spinoff about a young female assassin seeking revenge against those who killed her family.

The ballerina-turned-assassin made a brief appearance in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, played at the time by Unity Phelan. Len Wiseman (Underworld) will direct the action thriller from a script by Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead, Parabellum). The latter is also attached to pen Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 of the Keanu Reeves franchise.

Ana de Armas in Knives Out, actress in talks for John Wick spinoff Ballerina

De Armas is currently in post-production on the Netflix and Russo brothers project The Gray Man (which sees her reunite with Knives Out co-star Chris Evans), as well as the Marilyn Monroe biopic, Blonde. 

The John Wick universe is also expanding down the television avenue, with Lionsgate’s upcoming series The Continental which will explore the origin behind the hotel chain for assassins and criminals. Meanwhile, John Wick: Chapter 4 is set to release in May 2022, with Reeves of course returning to the titular role, joined by Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick and Rina Sawayama. Production on the film began this summer, with Chad Stahelski directing.

 

 

Michael B. Jordan’s VAL ZOD Lands TRANSFORMERS 7 Writing Duo

Michael B. Jordan’s previously unnamed Black Superman project, now Val Zod, has found its writing team! Darnell Metayer and Josh Peters have signed on to write the series, whilst Jordan is currently attached to executive produce via his production company Outlier Society. The writing duo most recently worked on the seventh Transformers film, Rise of the Beasts, as well as Sam Raimi’s upcoming project The Nola. 

The titular Val-Zod is a Kryptonian who escapes to Earth 2 and who, like Superman, is sheltered on his adopted planet; he is also the second DC character to take on the mantle of Superman. At one point in the comics he is even pitted against a brainwashed, Earth-2 version of Man of Steel, though the latter is revealed to be a clone of the original Kal-El, weaponised by Darkseid.

Val Zod on Earth 2 comics

No word yet on whether Jordan will play the superhero in the upcoming limited series, or whether he’ll opt to stick to producing duties – he is currently in pre-production on Creed III, which he will both direct and star in as Adonis Creed. The actor will be next seen in Denzel Washington’s A Journal For Jordan. 

Val Zod is one of several other DC projects in the works at HBO Max, including a Black Canary movie from Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green, and a Batgirl film starring Leslie Grace and Brendan Fraser. Jordan is also producing Static Shock, about a teenage boy named Virgil Hawkins who possesses electricity based powers.

On his involvement with the DCEU, Jordan previously stated that “I’m proud to be a part of building a new universe centred around Black superheroes; our community deserves that.”