KINGSMAN Prequel Pushed Back to 2020

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

With Kingsman: The Great Game having started to amass its cast, now comes news that the prequel effort has been pushed back a tad.

Previously, the third in the Kingsman series was set for a November 2019 release. Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, however, the picture has now been pushed back for a February 14th, 2020 release.

As mentioned, this next Kingsman movie will actually be a prequel effort set in the early 1900s that showcases the origins and roots of the Kingsman agency; the film pegged as more of a period drama than a spy thriller.

Trust’s Harris Dickinson is heading up the cast as a cocky kid eager to serve his country in the aftermath of World War I. Joining him in the film will be Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Gemma Arterton, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode, Daniel Bruhl, Charles Dance, Tom Hollander and Rhys Ifans.

Franchise director Matthew Vaughn is back to direct Kingsman: The Golden Game, and elsewhere there’s also an eight-episode Kingsman TV series is in the works, not to mention a straight-up sequel to Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

IN HER OWN WORDS Launches

Words

Here at Starburst Towers we receive invitations to a broad range of events. One of the most unexpected is the In Her Own Words Exhibition, currently being held at the Mayfair branch of Peter Harrington Books.

As the name suggests, a selection of female-authored books and related items are on display, and the range of subjects covered is astonishing, covering arts, science, politics and history amongst others.

A lavishly illustrated catalogue details all 179 items, of which around 60 have been curated into a display of particularly noteworthy items. What has made it to display includes a first edition of Mary Shelley’s first book – History of a Six Week’s Tour, as well as a three-volume first edition of her Valperga, with a portion of a handwritten letter from Shelley herself nestled between them. On the opposite wall Jocelyn Bell’s co-authored first edition Observation of a Rapidly Pulsating Radio Source takes pride of place, just along from a copy of Rosalind Franklin’s paper on DNA. This is a fascinating display, open to the public until March 15th, and well worth perhaps an hour of your time if you’re at a loose end in London.

Peter Harrington Antiquated Books can be found at 43 Dover Street, Mayfair, W1S 4FF, and is open Monday to Friday 10 am to 7pm, and on Saturdays from 10am to 6pm. For more information, visit www.peterharrington.co.uk

 

Hungry for More GREMLINS? New TV Show in Development!

Gremlins

A continuation of the film franchise has been in development at Warner Bros for many years, but beyond several scripts being drafted, Gremlins 3 remains a fantasy to this day. Odd, considering how beloved the first two movies are and how much merch the moon-eyed mogwai shifts each year, from action figures to plush dolls, to T-shirts and novelty handbags. While there’s still no news on the elusive threequel, the creature’s custodians have reportedly greenlit a revisit in the form of an animated series that will explore Gizmo’s pre-Peltz days when he was knocking around with a younger Mr. Wing, the owner of the antique shop seen in the opening moments of the 1984 original. (Considering Wing had the poor little fella locked in a cage for those two movies, here’s hoping he was a little more relaxed in his earlier days otherwise there’s going to be sod all scope for adventure!)

The Gremlins animated series will be handled by Gotham and Once Upon a Time writer Tze Chun for Amblin and Warner Bros, with the show set to help launch the latter’s streaming service in 2020. (That’s right, another one…) Should it be a sizable success, we can pretty much guarantee that the wait for a big-screen return for the characters will grow shorter by the day. (Just don’t reboot it, guys – it rarely goes well. And easy on the CGI.)

More news as it multiplies!

Original Source: Variety

BATWOMAN Adds Elizabeth Anweis

Elizabeth Anweis

As Batwoman continues to flesh out its core cast, now comes word that Elizabeth Anweis has joined the Ruby Rose-headlined show.

Courtesy of Deadline, Anweis is to play the stepmother of Rose’s Kate Kane. The actress is likely best known for guest spots on the likes of Twin peaks, NCIS: Los Angeles and 9-1-1.

The character of Catherine Hamilton-Kane will be portrayed as the stepmother of Kate and also the mother of Nicole Kang’s Mary Hamilton.

For Batwoman, the early word on this comic book character has her pegged as somebody who “made her fortune as a savvy, bullheaded defense contractor, and all those billions position her as one of Gotham’s most powerful residents”. Catherine will be married to Dougray Scott’s Jacob Kane and will seemingly be butting heads with Kate Kane.

Elizabeth Anweis finds herself joining a cast that currently features the aforementioned Ruby Rose as Kate Kane/Batwoman, Rachel Skarsten as the sinister Alice, Camrus Johnson as tech genius Luke Fox, Meagan Tandy as Kate’s one-time love Sophie Moore, Nicole Kang as Kane’s BFF Mary Hamilton, and Dougray Scott as Jacob Kane.

Production is due to start shortly on the Batwoman pilot, with the show seemingly nailed-on to be picked up for a full series order as part of The CW’s beloved Arrowverse.

John Krasinski Confirmed to Direct A QUIET PLACE 2

A Quiet Place

For the past several months, we’ve heard rumblings of a sequel to the stunning A Quiet Place, and now comes confirmation that John Krasinski is indeed returning to direct just such a follow-up.

In addition to directing the first movie, Krasinski starred in the picture and co-wrote the film with Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. When A Quiet Place 2 was first mentioned as a possibility, it was unclear whether Krasinski would be involved at all. Now, though, the hugely talented Krasinski has taken to his Instagram to confirm that he will be back to direct in addition to penning the follow-up’s screenplay:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

…time to go back. #PartII 5-15-20

A post shared by John Krasinski (@johnkrasinski) on

Interestingly, it also appears that we can expect to see A Quiet Place 2 getting a May 15th, 2020 release.

From reports, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe are all currently in talks to return for the sequel.

As ever, expect more on A Quiet Place 2 as we get it.

Netflix Reveals Cast for ALTERED CARBON’s Second Season

Altered Carbon

With Anthony Mackie long since confirmed to be taking over headlining duties from Joel Kinnaman for the second season of Netflix’s Altered Carbon, now comes word on who’ll be joining the Falcon actor in the show’s second year.

Netflix has taken the unique approach of announcing Altered Carbon’s new cast via a swanky video piece:

The official word on Altered Carbon’s second season reads:

Based on the classic science fiction novels by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon is an intriguing story of murder, love, sex, and betrayal, set more than 300 years in the future. In season one — currently available to stream on Netflix — society has been transformed by new technology: consciousness can be digitized; human bodies are interchangeable; death is no longer permanent. Takeshi Kovacs is the lone surviving soldier in a group of elite interstellar warriors who were defeated in an uprising against the new world order. His mind was imprisoned, “on ice”, for centuries until Laurens Bancroft (James Purefoy), an impossibly wealthy, long-lived man, offers Kovacs the chance to live again. In exchange, Kovacs has to solve a murder… that of Bancroft himself.

Laeta Kalogridis and Alison Schapker are on showrunner duties for Season 2, with that new season to comprise of eight episodes.

Amy Smart Amongst New STARGIRL Additions

Amy Smart

With a Stargirl series currently in development for the DC Universe streaming service, now comes word on some further new addition for the live-action show.

Courtesy of Variety, Amy Smart has joined Stargirl as Barbara Whitmore, the mother of the titular Courtney Whitmore. Smart is likely best known for the likes of The Butterfly Effect, MacGyver and Road Trip.

Elsewhere, Stargirl has also added Westworld’s Neil Jackson, Unfollowed’s Hunter Sansone and Robbie’s Trae Romano to flesh out its central cast.

These new additions join a cast that includes Brec Bessinger as Stargirl, Luke Wilson as S.T.R.I.P.E., Henry Thomas as Doctor Mid-Nite, Joel McHale as Starman, Brian Stapf as Wildcat, Lou Ferrigno Jr. as Hourman, and roles for Anjielka Washington and Giancarlo Esposito. On the other side of the fence, the villains of the piece so far will be Neil Hopkins as Sportsmaster, Joy Omanski as Tigress, and Nelson Lee as Dragon as the series gets set to feature the nefarious Injustice Society to do battle with some of the JSA’s finest heroes.

The early synopsis on Stargirl reads:

Stargirl will follow the story of Courtney Whitmore (Bassinger) who is a smart, athletic and above all else kind girl. This high school teenager’s seemingly perfect life hits a major speedbump when her mother gets married and her new family moves from Los Angeles, California to Blue Valley, Nebraska. Struggling to adapt to a new school, make new friends and deal with a new step-family, Courtney discovers her step-father has a secret; he used to be the sidekick to a superhero. “Borrowing” the long-lost hero’s cosmic staff, Courtney becomes the unlikely inspiration for an entirely new generation of superheroes.

The iconic Geoff Johns is on writing and producing duties for Stargirl, with him famously having created the Courtney Whitmore character following the tragic death of his own sister.

As ever, expect more on Stargirl as it continues to develop.

SPACE JAM 2 Scores Release Date!

Space

People have been taking the piss out of this potential project for years, but today’s the day the naysayers can eat their words, Space Jam 2 is definitely happening, and it’s got a release date to prove it – we’ll see you courtside on July 16th 2021, sports fans!

The hotly anticipated (ish) sequel will star basketball legend LeBron James, who, if the story follows that of the 1996 original (and it will), is drafted into Bugs Bunny’s sports-based war with some pesky aliens. It remains to be seen if the likes of Bill Murray will return, with only the aforementioned ‘pesky wabbit’ and (his girlfriend?) Lola Bunny confirmed via the very early teaser poster that accompanied the release date news. That said, we fully expect all our Looney Tunes favourites to feature somewhere, which will mark their first big screen appearance in 16-years, their last being Joe Dante’s little seen Looney Tunes Back in Action.

As goofy as the whole film sounds, with Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler now named as producer and acclaimed indie filmmaker/artist Terence Nance calling the shots as director, it suggests that people are taking the project very seriously, as opposed to it being a quick knockabout cashgrab.  Will this translate into a richly deserved resurrection for the stable of classic characters? We sure hoop so!

Source: @SpringHillEnt

Chris Hemsworth to Headline Hulk Hogan Biopic

Wait, what?!?!

Yes, not only is a Hulk Hogan biopic on the way, but the Thunder God himself will be playing the Hulkster in the Netflix-bound feature film.

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Hemsworth has signed on to star in a movie that will look at the early days of Hulk Hogan’s pro wrestling career. The Hangover’s Todd Phillips is on directing duties, with the picture to be “an origin story of the Hulkster and Hulkamania”.

Okaaaaaay…

Hogan – real name Terry Bollea – made his in-ring debut in 1977, going on to become a household name and arguably the biggest name in wrestling history.

Upon signing for Vince McMahon’s then-World Wrestling Federation in 1983, Hogan went on to lead the charge of the famed Rock ‘n’ Wrestling years that saw the WWF go mainstream and begin to utterly dominate the wrestling world.

In more recent years, of course, Hogan has had his fair share of controversy after a sex tape (yep…) surfaced in which he was found using homophobic and racist language. Following that, the now-WWE terminated his ambassadorial contract in 2015 and removed him from their Hall of Fame.

Causing further controversy, the WWE brought Hogan back into the fold late last year as they had him be a part of their Crown Jewel PPV that was held in Saudi Arabia.

As for this to-be-titled Chris Hemsworth-starring movie, Hogan himself is on board as a consultant and executive producer.

Expect more on all this as it continues to develop, brother.

The CW’s LOST BOYS Begins to Assemble its Cast

The Lost Boys

As The CW’s Lost Boys pilot continues to develop, now comes a major update on the Santa Clara-set vamp action.

Courtesy of Deadline, we now know that Twilight’s Catherine Hardwicke will be directing the pilot offering. Not only that, but we have some casting news, too.

Leading the charge in The Lost Boys will be Teen Wolf’s Tyler Posey as Michael Emerson, Lost’s Kiele Sanchez as Lucy Emerson, Valley of the Boom’s Dakota Shapiro as the vampiric David, and Still Star-Crossed’s Medalion Rahimi as Stella, who will be loosely based on the 1987 Lost Boys movie’s Star.

Elsewhere on the casting front, we’ve also heard that the Frog brothers featured throughout the Lost Boys movie franchise will be reimagined here as the Frog sisters. Those siblings have yet to be cast, much like other key roles such as Sam Emerson, Grandpa and Max.

The official word on The CW’s small-screen take on The Lost Boys reads:

After the sudden death of their father, brothers Michael and Sam Emerson move to Santa Carla with their mother, Lucy, who hopes to start anew in the town where she grew up. But the brothers soon find themselves being drawn deeper and deeper into the seductive world of Santa Carla’s eternally beautiful and youthful undead.

From director Joel Schumacher, The Lost Boys is a ‘87 favourite of many a genre fan. Complete with a truly phenomenal soundtrack, the original movie starred Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Jamison Newlander, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes, Edward Hermann, Jami Gertz, Alex Winter and, of course, Kiefer Sutherland. Oh, and a rather sax-tastic cameo from Tim Cappello.

After constant rumblings of a sequel, Lost Boys: The Tribe was finally released in 2008. A so-so effort, that picture was followed by the slightly better (but still not great) Lost Boys: The Thirst  in 2010. In The Tribe, fans got to see Corey Feldman return as Edgar Frog and a brief cameo by Corey Haim as Sam Emerson. Joining Feldman in The Thirst, fans saw Jamison Newlander back as the other Frog brother, Alan.

Since then, a Frog-driven movie has been talked about and a TV series has regularly been speculated about. As mentioned, those TV plans were seemingly shelved in 2016; only now resurfacing. Additionally, along the way we’ve had several Lost Boys-based comics and books.