Three More Join Guillermo del Toro’s PINOCCHIO

Cate Blanchett

With Guillermo del Toro currently at work on his Pinocchio picture, now comes word of three new additions for the stop-motion animated musical offering.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Thor: Ragnarok’s Cate Blanchett, Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard, and The Incredible Hulk’s Tim Blake Nelson have joined Pinocchio.

Pinocchio has actually been filming since last autumn, and this trio of new additions join a cast that includes newcomer Gregory Mann as Pinocchio, Ewan McGregor as Jiminy Cricket, David Bradley as Gepetto, and roles for Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Christoph Waltz, and Burn Gorman.

For del Toro’s take on Pinocchio, the movie will take place during the rise of fascism in the Italy of Mussolini. At a time when so many films have been put on hold, Pinocchio has actually managed to continue production uninterrupted during the ongoing global pandemic.

Pinocchio will be simultaneously released in cinemas and made available on Netflix, with Fantastic Mr. Fox’s Mark Gustafson co-directing with Guillermo del Toro.

Rachel Weisz to Headline DEAD RINGERS TV Show

Rachel Weisz

In addition to the news that Morgan Creek Entertainment is working on an Exorcist reboot, the company is also developing a Dead Ringers TV series.

Via Deadline, The Mummy’s Rachel Weisz has already signed on to headline a TV take on David Cronenberg’s 1988 Dead Ringers. Amazon has moved quickly to give a straight-to-series order for the project.

From the outlet, Many Moons’ Alice Birch is writing what’s being pegged as a gender-swapped reimagining of Cronenberg’s Jeremy Irons-headlined film.

The early word from Deadline on the project describes how “the Mantle twins, played by Weisz, are the most successful, brilliant and extraordinary people you’ve never met. Identical from head to toe, these two OB-gyn’s are on a mission to change the way women birth, starting with Manhattan. Drugs, pioneering but very much illegal medical research, sex and falling in love, this drama based on the David Cronenberg ‘80s cult classic, takes us to darker and stranger territory than we could have possibly imagined.”

As ever, expect more on this Dead Ringers series as it continues to develop.

Plans Afoot for an EXORCIST Reboot

The Exorcist

Yes, you did read that headline right – there are indeed seemingly plans afoot for a new Exorcist movie!

Via Deadline, Morgan Creek is at early work on a reboot for The Exorcist that would hit the silver screen in 2021. By seeing the term reboot there, we’d take that as a relaunching of the franchise rather than any out-and-out remake of William Friedkin’s 1973 movie.

Since The Exorcist terrorised moviegoers in ’73, horror hounds have been given follow-ups in the form of The Exorcist II: The Heretic, The Exorcist III and then the whole farce of 2004’s Exorcist: The Beginning and 2005’s Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist – the latter two which were essentially two different versions of the same film.

More recently, FOX aired two seasons of a TV spin on The Exorcist. Despite some initial trepidation, the show garnered plenty of praise across its two years, although it didn’t garner hit enough ratings to be given a third season.

As ever, expect more on this new Exorcist movie as we get it.

Smith and Hart to Headline PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES Remake

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

In Hollywood, so often it’s a case of what was once old is now new again – and today that has been reiterated by the news that Planes, Trains & Automobiles is getting remade with Will Smith and Kevin Hart.

Via Deadline, Paramount Pictures is now in development on a fresh spin on John Hughes’ beloved 1987 road trip movie. In Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Steve Martin and John Candy starred as unlikely travel partners who were forced together after their flights home for Thanksgiving were cancelled.

For this redo, Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Aeysha Carr has already been brought in on writing duties, and Smith and Hart will serve as producers on the picture through their respective Westbrook Studios and Hartbeat Productions banners.

As ever, expect more on this new Planes, Trains & Automobiles as we get it.

SCREAM 5 Adds VIDA’s Melissa Barrera

Melissa Barrera

With Scream 5 having already confirmed the return of a couple of franchise favourites, now comes word on the first new face to join the action.

Via Deadline, Vida and In the Heights’ Melissa Barrera has signed on to be a part of Scream 5. While Barrera’s character has yet to be revealed at this early stage, it’s believed that the actress has landed a key role in the picture.

As alluded to, franchise veterans Courteney Cox and David Arquette have already been confirmed to be returning for Scream 5, with Neve Campbell in talks to do the same.

Ready or Not duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are directing Scream 5 for Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures, with Zodiac’s James Vanderbit and Ready or Not’s Guy Busick having developed the movie’s screenplay.

The current plan is for Scream 5 to slice its way to the silver screen at some point in 2021.

Jensen Ackles Joins THE BOYS

The Boys

With Supernatural soon to shoot its final seven episodes before coming to a close, now comes word on what’s next for Supernatural star Jensen Ackles.

In a press release from Amazon Prime Video, it’s been revealed that Ackles will be joining The Boys for the show’s third season. Ackles will be playing Soldier Boy in the series, with the actor taking to his Instagram page to confirm this news.

 

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I keep wondering what I’ll do….when @cw_supernatural finally ends this year. Then it hit me. *volume ⬆️

A post shared by Jensen Ackles (@jensenackles) on

Directly from the pages of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys comic book series, Soldier Boy is the original superhero. Having featured in World War II, Soldier Boy became the first celebrity hero and a mainstay of US culture for decades in the realm of The Boys.

Season 3 of The Boys is expected to air towards the end of 2021, but before that we’ve got Season 2 premiering this September 4 on Prime Video.

Tig Notaro Replaces Chris D’Elia on ARMY OF THE DEAD

Tig Notaro

With Chris D’Elia previously announced as starring in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Army of the Dead, the actor has been replaced by Star Trek: Discovery’s Tig Notaro.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, with this change coming in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against D’Elia. With so much of Army of the Dead already shot, the movie will now go through a batch of reshoots to incorporate Notaro into scenes previously featuring D’Elia.

Given the varying restrictions in place across the globe right now, these reshoots will feature Notaro working alongside an acting partner and will utilise green screen and CGI to insert Notaro into the already-shot action.

From director Snyder, Army of the Dead will see a zombie plague hit Las Vegas. After Vegas is walled-off as an infected zone – a move which successfully contains the plague solely to Vegas – the film picks up six years later, where a group of soldiers are hired by a casino owner to head to this warzone to retrieve a hefty wedge of cash.

Army of the Dead also features Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Theo Rossi, Omari Hardwick, Ana De La Reguera and Rich Cetron, with the film expected to premiere on Netflix next year.

Jim Mickle to Direct FROM A BUICK 8

From a Buick 8

With a whole host of Stephen King adaptations consistently in the works, now comes an update on the in-development movie take on King’s From a Buick 8.

As first reported by Slash Film – and originally revealed on The Kingcast – We Are What We Are and Stake’s Jim Mickle has been brought in to direct the movie.

For those unaware, an adaptation of 2002’s From a Buick 8 has been on the table for years now, and both George A. Romero and Tobe Hooper were at points pegged to direct the picture. More recently, The Boy’s William Brent Bell was to helm the film, before late last year saw From a Buick 8 land with Renegade Entertainment.

Renegade Entertainment is the production banner put together by actor-director Thomas Jane and producer Courtney Lauren Penn. In fact, it was Jane speaking on The Kingcast who revealed Jim Mickle as now on board to direct From a Buick 8 for Renegade. Jane, of course, is no stranger to the works of Stephen King, with the one-time Punisher having starred in three movie adaptations of King’s work – those being Dreamcatcher, The Mist, and 1922.

The synopsis for the From a Buick 8 novel reads:

From a Buick 8 centres around the rural town of Statler, Pennsylvania where the state police have kept a mysterious 1954 Buick Roadmaster in the shed behind the barracks for over twenty years. When the town is plagued by strange and supernatural events, it turns out the Buick isn’t what it seems to be.

Expect more on Renegade Entertainment’s From a Buick 8 as it continues to develop.

Four New Blumhouse Movies Hitting Prime Video in October

Welcome to the Blumhouse

Well, this is certainly some fun news for horror hounds. As the headline suggests, Blumhouse are sending four new movies to Amazon Prime Video for free this October.

Placed under a Welcome to the Blumhouse banner, this collection will be made up of films centred around family, the home, and some sinister shenanigans. These pictures will air as double-features, with The Lie and Black Box arriving on October 6, and then Evil Eye and Nocturne airing on October 13.

The full information on each of these movies can be found below:

The Lie

When their teenaged daughter confesses to impulsively killing her best friend, two desperate parents attempt to cover up the horrific crime, leading them into a complicated web of lies and deceptions.

Director: Veena Sud

Starring: Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard and Joey King.

Black Box

After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonising experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.

Director: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr

Starring: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Troy James, Charmaine Bingwa

Evil Eye

A seemingly perfect romance turns into a nightmare when a mother becomes convinced her daughter’s new boyfriend has a dark connection to her own past.

Director: Elan Dassani, Rajeev Dassani

Starring: Sarita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, Omar Maskati, Bernard White

Nocturne

Inside the halls of an elite arts academy, a timid music student begins to outshine her more accomplished and outgoing twin sister when she discovers a mysterious notebook belonging to a recently deceased classmate.

Director: Zu Quirke

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Madison Iseman, Jacuqes Colimon, Ivan Shaw

What’s more, these four initial Welcome to the Blumhouse offerings will be followed in 2021 by a further four similarly-themed pictures. Details on the 2021 releases have yet to be revealed at this early juncture, though.

Batman to Head to the ’70s in SOUL OF THE DRAGON

Batman: Soul of the Dragon

Batman? In the ‘70s? Slapping people around with his martial arts pals? Consider us sold!

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Batman: The Animated Series’ Bruce Timm is executive producing a new animated Bat-flick titled Batman: Soul of the Dragon. Set in the 1970s, the movie will see Bruce Wayne teaming with former classmates Lady Shiva, Bronze Tiger, and Richard Dragon to face a deadly threat from their past.

Not just is the legendary Bruce Timm involved in this project, but modern-day favourite Sam Liu is on directing duties. Liu is likely best known for directing offerings such as Superman: Red Son, The Death of Superman, Batman: The Killing Joke, and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract.

Joining Timm and Liu on Soul of the Dragon will be Jeremy Adams, who most recently penned the script for this year’s beautifully brutal Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge.

Cast-wise, Grimm’s David Giuntoli is on headlining duties as the Caped Crusader, while Michael Jai White will reprise his Arrow role of Bronze Tiger for the picture. Elsewhere, White’s Arrow co-star Kelly Hu will be voicing Lady Shiva and The Crow: Stairway to Heaven star Mark Dacascos is lending his vocals to Richard Dragon.

Batman: Soul of the Dragon has yet to be given an official release date at this early juncture, but it’s expected that the film will hit digital and Blu-ray early next year.