Angelina Jolie in Talks for Marvel’s THE ETERNALS

Angelina Jolie

With Marvel Studios currently at work on an Eternals movie, now comes word on a huge name potentially joining the project.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Oscar winner Angelina Jolie is in talks to headline the Chloe Zhao-directed Eternals. There are no solid details on who Jolie may be being lined up to play at this stage, although speculation suggests that the Girl, Interrupted actress could be in negotiations to play Sersi.

Created by the iconic Jack Kirby back in 1976, the Eternals comic book title was based around a race of age-old humans created by the alien Celestials with the plan being for these humans to serve as Earth’s protectors against the nefarious Deviants. The big-screen Eternals will reportedly be based around the Sersi character who is an energy-manipulating being who is pretty much immortal.

Expect more on The Eternals as it continues to develop as the MCU progresses further and further through the stars. Like so many upcoming MCU movies, it’s expected that more details on this project will be made public once the landscape-changing Avengers: Endgame his screens next month.

Jim Jarmusch’s Star-Studded THE DEAD DON’T DIE Gets June Release

Bill Murray Zombieland

Jim Jarmusch’s zombie movie The Dead Don’t Die has quietly amassed a stunning ensemble cast, and now the film has been booked in for a confirmed release.

To be distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures International, the star-studded offering has been set for a June 14th release. Despite having a release date now set, plot details are still completely unknown for The Dead Don’t Die.

What we do know, however, is that the film will star Bill Murray (pictured zombified in Zombieland), Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Steve Buscemi, Chloe Sevigny, Danny Glover, Rosie Perez, Sara Driver, Caleb Landry Jones, Carol Kane, Tom Waits, Selena Gomez, RZA and Iggy Pop.

As ever, expect more on The Dead Don’t Die as we get it.

Legendary Developing a BITTER ROOT Movie

Bitter Root

Barely a week goes by where we don’t get news of another comic book title being adapted for the big or small screen, and now comes word that Bitter Root is getting the movie treatment.

Courtesy of Deadline, Legendary Entertainment has picked up the rights for Chuck Brown, David F. Walker and Sanford Greene’s Bitter Root title that debuted for Image Comics last year.

In terms of premise, Bitter Root focuses on African-American family the Sangeryes and the life in 1920s New York City. A once powerful force, the now-divided family have to put their problems to one side to battle a supernatural invasion that thrives on prejudice and hate.

At this stage, the movie adaptation is currently on the search for a writer and director, although we do know that Chuck Brown, David F. Walker and Sanford Greene will executive produce alongside Big Machine’s Sean Owolo, Jon Silk and Disney Hall.

Expect more on this Bitter Root film as it continues to develop.

Voice Cast Revealed for BATMAN: HUSH

Batman Hush

For longtime fans of DC’s animated offerings, one project that many have been hugely looking forward to is the upcoming adaptation of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Hush. And now, we have confirmation on what the voice cast will be for that movie.

We’ve previously heard rumours of who’ll be lending their vocals to the picture, but now it’s been made official by Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment.

To break it down, the confirmed cast reads like:

Jason O’Mara – Bruce Wayne/Batman

Sean Maher – Dick Grayson/Nightwing

Peyton List – Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy

Stuart Allan – Damian Wayne/Robin

James Garrett – Alfred Pennyworth

Jennifer Morrison – Selina Kyle/Catwoman

Bruce Thomas – Commissioner Gordon

Jerry O’Connell – Clark Kent/Superman

Rebecca Romijn – Lois Lane

Rainn Wilson – Lex Luthor

Vanessa Williams – Amanda Waller

Jason Spisak – The Joker

Geoffrey Arend – The Riddler

Adam Gifford – Bane

Dachie Alessio – Lady Shiva

Maury Sterling – Thomas Elliot

Tara Strong – A reporter

For those not familiar with the Hush arc, it’s a twelve-part 2003 story from the beloved pairing of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee. A who’s who of Batman, the tale features a ridiculous amount of heroes and villains within its pages and introduces a brand new villain in the form of the mysterious Hush. A rogue who seemingly knows everything there is to know about Batman – including his identity as Bruce Wayne – Hush is forever one step ahead of the Caped Crusader as this story unravels in a truly stunning way. Oh, and then there’s that tease that left readers absolutely shell-shocked!

In terms of modern-day arcs – hell, does 2003 really even count as modern by this point? – Hush is one of the very best, and, in case you hadn’t guessed, your humble scribe counts this as arguably his favourite ever Batman story. Heavy praise indeed, right? So now, let’s just hope the marvellous source material can be successfully translated to a feature film.

To be directed by Justin Copeland, Batman: Hush is set to be released at a to-be-confirmed date later this year.

John Simm Amongst GAME OF THRONES Prequel Series Additions

John Simm

As the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel series continues to flesh out its core cast, now comes word on several new additions for the hotly anticipated Naomi Watts-headlined offering.

Courtesy of Deadline, we now have word that genre fave John Simm is leading this most recent batch of casting announcements, with the Human Traffic and Doctor Who star joined by Luke Cage’s Marquis Rodriguez, Collateral’s Richard McCabe, Brexit’s John Heffernan and relative newcomer Dixie Egerickx. In addition to the aforementioned Naomi Watts, the show already has Josh Whitehouse, Miranda Richardson, Denise Gough, Jamie Campbell Bower and Alex Sharp on board.

At this stage, there are no details whatsoever on just which characters any of these names are playing, and details of the prequel effort itself are being kept hush-hush for now. What we do know, however, is that Jane Goldman and George R.R. Martin have developed a story that is set thousands of years before Game of Thrones, with Goldman penning the series. Given the timeline of the prequel show, that means that no existing Thrones characters will be appearing.

If you remember, this is just one of several other Game of Thrones shows in development right now. The Goldman and Martin-crafted series is the only one with any cast in place right now, but a further three further prequel shows set in different periods are also in development.

As for Game of Thrones itself, the main show will return for its final season in only a matter of weeks.

Michael B. Jordan to Headline Warners’ METHUSELAH

Michael B. Jordan

Having been spinning its wheels for over a decade now, Warner Brothers’ long-gestating Methuselah movie has added Michael B. Jordan to its ranks.

As first reported by Deadline, the Black Panther and Creed actor will take on the picture’s lead role that was originally pegged for Tom Cruise.

When Methuselah was first being developed by The WB, the plan was for Cruise to star as a man who has lived for over a century; using that time on Earth to become all-knowledgeable. With Jordan now taking over headlining duties, the film is to be redeveloped to fit around the Chronicle favourite.

The current word on this project is that the hope is for it to be the launching point for a Highlander-esque franchise.

In addition to starring, Jordan and his Outlier Society banner will produce the film along with Jeremy Clifford and David Heyman.

At this stage, the hunt is on for a new writer for Methuselah.

Zoe Lister-Jones to Tackle THE CRAFT

The Craft

With it now known that Blumhouse and Columbia Pictures are remaking 1996’s The Craft, now comes an update on who’ll be handling the redo.

Courtesy of Bloody-Disgusting, it’s been confirmed that Zoe Lister-Jones will be writing and directing this new take on The Craft. Lister-Jones is likely best known for writing and starring in the likes of Lola Versus and Band Aid.

If you remember, a new Craft movie has been being talked about for several years now, with Honeymoon’s Leigh Janiak working on a sequel three years ago. Janiak has long since left the project, but it appears that the notion of a new Craft picture is something that’s been kept gestating.

For those not familiar with the original ’96 movie, the Andrew Fleming-helmed effort centred on Robin Tunney as she makes friends with a trio of young witches played by Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Rachel True.

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

Black Mass Hits Kickstarter Target in 3 Weeks

mass

Black Mass, the latest project from writer/director Scott Lyus, responsible for festival hits Silently Within Your Shadow and Echoes of the Passed, has taken over Kickstarter and there’s still a few days left to join the gothic horror army and help bring this unique and terrifying horror to life.

Having smashed their target in less than 3 weeks, becoming the number 1 horror film project on Kickstarter, and rising to the 5th most popular film project in the world during their second week, the filmmakers now look to hit their ever important stretch goals and go above and beyond in the creation of their new horror icon Darkness.

For those unaware, Black Mass is a dark and atmospheric story about a demonic presence that haunts a bereaved Father and his two adopted daughters. The film promises to be Lyus’ most ambitious project to date, and he has assembled an incredible cast and crew to bring it to life.

Black Mass is a film that is born out of my own personal battle with depression and the depths it has taken me to. For me, it has been the darkest and scariest period of my life, and while it’s a battle I still suffer with, it’s something I’m ready to be open about and help shine a light on. The story is a passionate take on a very tough subject and I don’t want to shy away from or sugar-coat what people with depression go through and horror is the perfect genre to explore that story. I promise Black Mass will be the scariest and darkest film I have ever made.

The film also has one hell of a cast, with Johnny Vivash, Charlie Bond and Sophia Eleni stepping in front of the camera to bring this terrifying gothic horror to life.

Johnny has featured in multiple award-winning productions such as Book of Monsters, Charismata and The Creature Below. Charlie has been a stalwart of British indie films, having appeared in The Rise and Fall of a White Collar Hooligan, Hellriser and King Lear. Sophia is most well known for her roles in American television series Tyrant and romantic comedy feature Finding Fatimah, as well as upcoming TV mini-series Whatever After.

The film will be produced by both Lyus and Chris Nials of The London Horror Society; Director of Photography is Neal Parsons, who was part of the crew behind 2017’s Oscar-winning short film A Silent Child behind the camera and musician Mitch Bain creating a unique and spine-tingling score. And helping to bring Darkness to life is VFX guru Ryan J. Thompson, who has worked on a bunch of cult horror hits, including horror mega hit The Birch which was picked up by Eli Roth’s CryptTV and has hit a record breaking 15 million views on YouTube alone.

With Black Mass already a runaway success, the question now is how much of a Kickstarter success story is this little film going to be? Having an award winning team behind it, and a strong message about depression and mental illness at its core, this is one horror project you will want to be a part of. Darkness is Coming horror fans.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scottlyus/black-mass-a-gothic-horror-film

Yahya-Abdul Mateen II is NOT Replacing Tony Todd in CANDYMAN…

Candyman

While it was previously reported that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II had signed on to take the title role in Nia DaCosta’s upcoming Candyman movie, now comes a slight update on that matter.

Originally, it was believed that Abdul-Mateen II – recently seen as the nefarious Black Manta in Aquaman – was taking on the Daniel Robitaille/Candyman role played so famously by Tony Todd in the three Candyman pictures to date. Now though, DaCosta herself has clarified that that isn’t technically the case.

Speaking to Collider, DaCosta explained, “Well, it’s been slightly misreported. I can’t say what’s happening in the film because we want it to be a surprise, but he’s not replacing Tony Todd. That’s been reported, and I was just like, ‘I don’t know what to say about this. This is not right.’”

What we do know is that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is definitely signed on to star in what’s seemingly just titled Candyman right now. One school of thought is that Abdul-Mateen II is playing a new character who somehow ends up taking on the moniker of Candyman. And if that is indeed the case, well, that certainly throws up the opportunity to have Tony Todd make an appearance in the film…

To be produced by Jordan Peele, Candyman will see the feature return to the area that once housed the Cabrini-Green housing projects. This time out, we find a new group of poor souls wishing to explore the legend of the infamous Candyman. Which we all know, we likely not end well for the majority of those involved.

At this point, Candyman is booked in for a June 12th, 2020 release.

GOLLUM Video Game in Development

Lord of the Rings: Gollum

With the recent Shadow of Mordor games wowing gamers, now comes word on an interesting new Lord of the Rings game in development. And yes, as the headline suggests, the focus of the game will be on the ever-troubled Gollum.

As announced by Daedalic Entertainment, a narrative-based adventure effort titled Lord of the Rings: Gollum is being worked on for a 2021 release. The game won’t be directly based on the Lord of the Rings movies, per se, but will instead take inspiration from the written works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Lord of the Rings: Gollum

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Daedalic CEO Carsten Fichtelmann enthused, “We have the story that we all know from the book, but everything that happens to him before he appears in the book are the main things we will see in our game. We will tell the story before he first appears in the books.”

Fichtelmann added, “You already have the big conflict in the character, two voices talking to you continuously, which means there is a good reason there are decisions to make in the game: the Smeagol decisions of the Gollum decisions.”

To be released on PC and all major consoles, Lord of the Rings: Gollum is expected to be released to coincide with Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series.