Paramount Developing Two New TRANSFORMERS Movies

Transformers Soundwave

With Paramount eager to move forward with further Transformers movies, now comes word that the studio is at work on two further outings for the property.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has brought in Joby Harold and James Vanderbilt to put together the screenplays for these two pictures. Army of the Dead’s Harold will pen one movie, while Zodiac’s Vanderbilt will write the other feature. Neither of these films have yet to find a director – although both films will be in production at the same time.

To date, the cinematic Transformers franchise has been made up of four main movies and the stunning Bumblebee spin-off/prequel. At this stage, it’s not known what direction these new films will take – whether they’ll be a continuation of Michael Bay’s four movies, whether they’ll pick things up in the aftermath of Bumblebee, or whether the picture will even start afresh. That said, there is some speculation that one of these films will be some sort of Beast Wars project.

Not only is Paramount still very much in the Transformers business, but the studio is also in various stages of development for Visionaries, ROM, Micronauts, and of course another G.I. Joe offering. The early word is that this is all to be part of a shared universe of films.

As ever, expect more on all of these properties as they continue to develop.

Sony’s MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE Delayed… Again!

Masters of the Universe

I HAVE THE POWER!!!!… to be once again delayed.

Having spent what feels like an age spinning its wheels in development hell, Sony’s long-gestating Masters of the Universe movie has yet again stalled.

As part of a rejigged release schedule from Sony, Masters of the Universe hasn’t just been pushed back by a few weeks or a few months, but currently the picture has been completely removed from Sony’s schedule.

If you remember, this is a project that has been in some sort of development since as far back as 2014. Since then, McG, David Goyer, and Justin Lin are just three of the directors who have at one point been associate with Masters of the Universe. At the last count, Band of Robbers’ Aaron and Adam Nee were signed on to direct the movie from a script by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum – with The Fosters’ Noah Centineo on board to play He-Man.

Following this further blow for Masters of the Universe, there’s even rumblings that Sony could ultimately end up selling the film to Netflix. That’s merely online scuttlebutt right now, yet that could well be one avenue to explore – particularly with Kevin Smith currently overseeing a Masters of the Universe animated series for the on-demand streaming service that will serve as a sequel to the original carton, plus a CGI-driven He-Man show also in development.

As ever, expect more on all things Masters of the Universe as we get it.

Blumhouse and Universal Developing New THING Movie

The Thing

It was a couple of years ago now that a never-before-seen version of John W. Campbell Jr.’s Who Goes There? was discovered. And now, comes a huge update to say that this Thing-driven tale is being brought to big-screen life.

Who Goes There? is of course the story that was the basis for Christian Nyby’s 1951 The Thing from Another World and John Carpenter’s 1981 The Thing. Back in 2018, John Betancourt announced plans to take to Kickstarter to fund a wider release of this newly-discovered, extended work, to be titled Frozen Hell.

In an update on all of this, Blumhouse and Universal are now adapting Frozen Hell as a movie. Betancourt took to his Facebook page to confirm the news, explaining that he will be serving as executive producer on the project.

The early word on Frozen Hell has it pegged as:

Frozen Hell expands the Thing story dramatically, giving vital backstory and context to an already incredible tale.

During its initial appearance, Who Goes There? was simply an abridged version of Frozen Hell which was cut down due to the constraints that so often come with the publication process. And now, it looks as if we’ll be getting to dive deep on the greater story initially conjured up by John W. Campbell Jr.

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

Two Upcoming Animated Marvel Shows Get Cancelled

Howard the Duck

While this week brought confirmation of the full voice cast for Marvel TV and Hulu’s animated M.O.D.O.K. series, it’s slightly less great news for two other Marvel animated shows.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel has decided to cancel their planned Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler animated offerings.

If you remember, it was nearly a year ago that Marvel TV and Hulu announced plans for four new animated series – M.O.D.O.K., Howard the Duck, Tigra & Dazzler, and Hit Monkey – which would be followed by a team-up special titled The Offenders.

From what we’re hearing, the decision to pull Howard the Duck and Tigra & Dazzler was solely the call of Marvel, and Hulu was still keen to move forward with the two shows. To reiterate, M.O.D.O.K. and Hit Monkey are both still happening.

Creative differences actually saw Tigra & Dazzler put on hold earlier this year, and Marvel went as far as releasing the entire staff from the project ahead of plans to start afresh on the project.

Kevin Smith was tasked with developing Howard the Duck with Dave Willis, and Kev has taken to Twitter to comment on this latest news.

Expect more on all of this as and when we get it.

Columbia Developing New Big-Screen ANACONDA Movie

Anaconda

Well, this is a little out of left-field. Yes, as the headline suggests, the Anaconda franchise is returning to the silver screen.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia Pictures is at work on a new Anaconda movie that will indeed get a big-screen release.

To be penned by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Evan Daugherty, this fresh Anaconda offering is being described as “an all-new and all-modern take” on the original 1997 movie. Seemingly, this new film will be a reimagining of sorts for that ’97 feature, with this expected to be a big budget affair similar to The Meg.

Since Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and Co. battled for survival in Anaconda, the property has received four straight-to-video follow-ups, a novel, and even several video games. And now, it looks as if the franchise is finally going to be slithering its way back to cinema screens.

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

Jim Carrey Open to a New MASK Movie

The Mask

With The Mask having recently returned to its dark roots in the comic-book I Pledge Allegiance to The Mask series, now comes some intriguing news about a possible new big-screen outing for the IP.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Jim Carrey has revealed that he’d be open to the idea of at least discussing a new The Mask movie.

As the star of the 1994 film explained, “It would depend on a filmmaker. I don’t want to do it just to do it, but I would only do it if it was some crazy visionary filmmaker.”

His role as Stanley Ipkiss in The Mask earned Carrey his first Golden Globe nomination, and he was instantly approached to return for a sequel. The actor later revealed that he turned down a $10 million payday for a follow-up picture, as this was at the time when Jim Carrey decided not to do any sequels following his outing in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls.

Since then, Carrey’s stance on sequels has obviously changed, with 2014 seeing him back in the Lloyd Christmas saddle for Dumb and Dumber To.

Of course, there was a sequel to The Mask – Jamie Kennedy starring in the utterly awful Son of the Mask in 2005.

As ever, expect more on any potential new The Mask movie if and when anything more comes of this.

Bill Murray Confirmed for GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE

Bill Murray

In some fantastic news for Ghostbusters fans, Bill Murray has confirmed that he’ll be returning as Peter Venkman for this year’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Murray revealed that he’ll be reprising the Venkman role for Jason Reitman’s picture. While the actor didn’t reveal just what part Venkman will have to play in the larger story, he did discuss the fact that the absence of Harold Ramis’ Egon Spengler – with Ramis having sadly passed away back in 2014.

As Murray put it, “Well, we are a man down. That’s the deal, and that’s the story that we’re telling. That’s the story they’ve written.”

From the Afterlife footage seen so far, it appears that Finn Wolfhard’s Trevor and Mckenna Grace’s Phoebe are the grandchildren of Egon.

In addition to Bill Murray, Ghostbusters favourites Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts are all returning for this bustin’ job. Murray has reiterated, however, that these names will all be involved in meaningful, yet minimal roles in this new movie.

Taking the lead alongside Wolfhard and Grace will be Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd when Ghostbusters: Afterlife hits screens on July 10th.

Jodie Whittaker Confirms Another Season for Her Doctor

Jodie Whittaker

In some news that’s sure to put a smile on the face of many while simultaneously having some others angrily logging into their Twitter accounts, Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor is sticking around for just a little while longer.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Whittaker confirmed that she’ll be returning as the Doctor for at least one more season.

As the Thirteenth Doctor herself enthused, “Yes, I’m doing another season. That might be a massive exclusive that I’m not supposed to say, but it’s unhelpful for me to say [I don’t know] because it would be a massive lie! I absolutely adore it. At some point, these shoes are going to be handed on, but it’s not yet. I’m clinging on tight.”

Since taking on the role of the iconic Time Lord in 2018, Whittaker has certainly split opinion amongst fans – which seems like a given these days – and if you have an opinion on how good or bad this incarnation of the Doctor is, there’s a whole host of people ready to aggressively shut you down and label you an idiot.

Doctor Who returned on New Year’s Day to commence its currently ongoing Season 12. And we now know that Jodie Whittaker will at least be sticking around for Season 13.

 

Disney+’s Kenobi Series Put on Indefinite Hold

Obi-Wan Kenobi

After hearing rumblings that Disney+’s Ewan McGregor-headlined Obi-Wan Kenobi series had been cancelled, and then likewise hearing rumblings that the show was definitely still moving ahead, now comes an update on all of this. And for Star Wars fans, it’s sadly a worrying update.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Disney and Lucasfilm have moved to put the to-be-titled show on indefinite hold.

Pre-production has been halted on this hotly-anticipated series, with that being down to Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. Kennedy has so far been unhappy with the screenwriting work put forward for this project.

As a result of this, crew members who recently turned up at London’s Pinewood Studios to begin setting up for production were told to go home by the studio.

The Mandalorian and Better Call Saul’s Deborah Chow was previously brought in to direct this Kenobi offering, and Drive and 47 Ronin’s Hossein Amini has been on writing duties. While Chow and star McGregor are still attached to the project, although there’s no concrete news just yet on whether Amini is still on board.

In terms of what we know about the premise of this series, the last we’d heard was that the action would pick things up with Kenobi eight years after the events of Revenge of the Sith – meaning that we’d find Obi-Wan/Ben on Tattoine, where he was residing to keep an eye on a young Luke Skywalker.

This series was initially pegged to be an six-episode arc, although this latest report claims that the episode count has been cut back to four episodes. Remember, this whole thing was originally planned to be a big-screen movie. That was until Solo: A Star Wars Story underperformed, and so all anthology films were thus canned by Lucasfilm.

So, the good news it that the Obi-Wan Kenobi series is still supposedly happening. The bad news is that the planned start date of July looks to have zero chance of happening.

As ever, expect more on all things ‘a galaxy far, far away’ as we get it.

 

Rosario Dawson to Headline HBO Max’s DMZ Adaptation

Rosario Dawson

With a live-action adaptation of Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli’s DMZ comic book series in development for HBO Max, it looks as if the show has found its lead.

Via Deadline, Rosario Dawson has signed on to star as Alma Ortego in the DMZ pilot that’s being directed by A Wrinkle in Time’s Ava DuVernay and has Sons of Anarchy’s Roberto Patino on board as showrunner.

This won’t be Dawson’s first time involved in a comic book-driven project, of course, with the actress having previously appeared in Sin City, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Netflix’s Marvel TV shows, and provided the voice of Wonder Woman in a slew of recent DC animated movies – including last October’s Wonder Woman: Bloodlines.

For those unfamiliar with DMZ, the premise of the comic book title reads:

In the near future, America’s worst nightmare has come true. With military adventurism overseas bogging down the Army and National Guard, the U.S. government mistakenly neglects the very real threat of anti-establishment militias scattered across the 50 states. Like a sleeping giant, Middle America rises up and violently pushes its way to the shining seas, coming to a standstill at the line in the sand: Manhattan. Or as the world now knows it, the DMZ.

DuVernay’s Array Filmworks banner is producing the DMZ series with Warner Bros. TV.