Not content with voicing Superman in this summer’s animated Teen Titans GO! to the Movies, now comes word that Nicolas Cage has landed a role in the hotly-anticipated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse picture.
We’d heard a rumour earlier in the week that this may be the case, but we thought we’d hold off until something more concrete comes of if. As initially reported by Discussing Film and now confirmed by Collider, Cage will be voicing none other than Spider-Man Noir in the animated Into the Spider-Verse.
Across the span of multiverses and alternative Earths, Spider-Man Noir is one of the many different incarnations of Spider-Man out there. From the Great Depression era, this version of Peter Parker carries a gun in addition to having his regular Spidey superpowers.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will largely focus on the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man, with Shameik Moore providing Miles’ vocals. A slew of familiar (and not so familiar) comic book characters will also be appearing, including the standard 616 Peter Parker, too.
To be directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman, Into the Spider-Verse is set for a December 14th release.
Following the news earlier this week that MGM were planning reboot the Child’s Play franchise, creator Don Mancini has moved to confirm that he is indeed still moving forward with his Child’s Play TV series.
The news of a cinematic reboot for everyone’s favourite Good Guy doll came a tad out of nowhere, and the early world is that the movie will centre on a group of young children who are terrorised by a “technologically-advanced” doll.
Long before that, franchise creator Mancini had been developing a Child’s Play TV series, and he’s now reiterated that this redo is not getting in the way of that.
As Mancini told Bloody-Disgusting, “We’re still working on the series and also plan to continue the film franchise with Universal. We intend to stay true to the universe we’ve created.”
It was also confirmed to Bloody-Disgusting that Brad Dourif – the longtime voice of Chucky – will be a part of the TV effort, essentially ruling him out of working on MGM’s big-screen reboot. Additionally, the outlet reports that MGM has reached out to Mancini and franchise producer David Kirschner to offer them executive producer credits on their restart, but this offer was turned down.
To clarify things a little here for you, then, while MGM is going to be rebooting Child’s Play with their new movie, Mancini and Kirschner are not only developing a Child’s Play TV series, but the pair are also still making plans for further films that will continue the established narrative and canon of the Child’s Play pictures to date.
How is this all possible? Well, apparently there’s some loophole with the Child’s Play rights, and that’s the reason that MGM is able to develop their rebooted film despite Universal owning the home entertainment rights to the franchise.
Previously, the film franchise was already loosely rebooted with 2013’s Curse of Chucky. That film was pegged as a reboot for the series, before it was cleverly revealed to dovetail nicely with the existing franchise; Curse serving as both a reboot and a continuation. Following that, last year gave fans Cult of Chucky, which was again largely well received by audiences.
As ever, expect more on all things Child’s Play as we get it.
With Legendary Pictures never afraid to bring a larger-than-life property to life, now comes word that they’re adapting Gundam for the big screen.
Legendary and Gundam’s Sunrise announced the news at the 2018 Anime Expo, with Legendary’s Cale Boyter overseeing the live-action movie.
Beginning life nearly forty years ago, Gundam is a Japanese sci-fi extravaganza that centres on space colonies, intergalactic civil war, and some giant robots. To date, the property has ventured in to the realm of TV shows, novels, manga efforts, plentiful toys, and a whole host of other mediums.
No further details are known on this live-action Gundam film, but expect more on all of this as we get it.
Dresden Pictures, the London-based production company, has taken to Kickstarter to help fund a proof-of-concept short for their next film Metroplex, and you can get involved.
The campaign has gotten off to a flying start – even being selected by Kickstarter to feature in their ‘Project We Love’ section. They have had previous Kickstarter success with their films Biopunk and The Fitzroy, and Metroplex is set to be an ambitious urban sci-fi fantasy heist film described as Heat meets The Lord of the Rings.
Directed by Liam Garvo, written by Andrew Harmer, and produced by Rebekah Renford, the official synopsis is:
Set in 2050, the world is co-inhabited by humans, trolls, elves, dwarves, and dragons. Official governments no longer exist, instead, laws are enforced by mega-corporations through private security forces. Large sprawling cities called METROPLEX’S are divided into autonomous districts, each self-governing and at odds with one another.
The film centres around Avin Sull, a hardened career criminal that leads a team of mercenaries on a heist to steal the CODEX, a mysterious virtual book buried deep inside the Disconnect, a digital world representing all that is left of the shattered remains of the internet and fiercely controlled by virtual and real armed guards. Betrayed by Yamada Kitashiano, a lawyer to the Yoko-gumi Yukuza clan, who initially gave them the job, they must now all fight to stay alive at all costs.
Concept art by Vincentius Matthew
The team are looking to raise £25,000 to produce a 10-minute proof of concept short film. This will showcase the world the film is set in and the ambitious nature of the project – as well as proving to would-be investors and distributors the huge potential audience for the project. In exchange for getting involved, there are some fantastic perks on offer that include posters, T-shirts and even a chance to be in a unique version of the film! Your photo (or that of a friend, should you wish) will replace an existing one in your very own HD download of the film. Not only that, but you can get a credit on IMDb and much more.
There’s already a wealth of talent signed up for the project, including visual effects artists Territory Studio, who worked on the likes of Blade Runner 2049, Ready Player One, and Avengers: Infinity War. Practical effects will be handled by Dan Martin (A Field in England, ABCs of Death 2). Joseph Trapanese (Tron Legacy, Oblivion) will be providing the music. The atmospheric concept art for the main image is by Sam Silverman
Check out the teasers for Dresden Pictures other films below to see the very high standard they’ve already achieved.
Head over to Kickstarter to find out more and help independent artists and be part of something really exciting.
With Jamie Foxx now on board to headline Todd McFarlane’s Spawn reboot, the one-time Electro could well find himself joined by Jeremy Renner.
Treat this as purely a rumour at this stage, but That Hashtag Show is reporting that the Hawkeye actor will be playing Twitch Williams in the movie. The Twitch character is a detective who often teams up with the titular vigilante.
As for Spawn himself, he first appeared back in 1992 when he headlined McFarlane’s Spawn #1. A dark and brutal character who was so often deemed an antihero, Spawn quickly became a cult favourite and was often cited as one of the poster boys of the darker books of the day. In terms of powers, his Hellspawn abilities allow him to shape-shift, teleport and get all kinds of nasty with a vast array of weapons.
This won’t be the first cinematic outing for Spawn, for Michael Jai White starred as the character in 1997’s dud Spawn. Here’s hoping this next big screen adventure for this hugely popular character is at least far superior to that balls-up. Given Todd McFarlane’s enthusiasm and passion, and Jamie Foxx’s impressive credentials (the god-awful Amazing Spider-Man 2 withstanding!), this could turn out to be something quite special if all goes according to plan.
Mark this down as merely a rumour right now, but the Alien franchise could well be heading to the small screen.
Following the so-so (at best!) reaction to Alien: Covenant last year, Omega Underground is now reporting that 20th Century Fox is now making plans to develop a TV show set in the universe we know and (mainly) love from the Alien movies. The outlet claims to have heard just such a story from certain reliable Fox sources.
There are no further details regarding what sort of route or timeframe an Alien TV series could take or be set in, and as alluded to, it’s likely best to just take this news with a large dose of salt for the time being.
Of course, we’re currently waiting for Disney’s impending purchase of plentiful key Fox elements to go through – which is something that will play in part in the future of the Alien franchise, be it on the big screen or small screen.
As ever, expect more on all of this if and when it develops further.
With Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer long confirmed to be returning for Top Gun 2, now comes word that Miles Teller will be joining them in this curiosity-stirring sequel.
As per Variety, the Whiplash star has beaten out competition from Nicholas Hoult and Glen Powell to land the role of Goose’s son. Goose, as played by Anthony Edwards, was the best pal of Cruise’s Maverick in that first Top Gun – with the character famously killed off in a tragic accident. In Top Gun 2, Goose’s son is all grown up and will have a pivotal part to play in the follow-up’s plot.
Where said plot is concerned, however, all is being kept relatively hush-hush at this stage. All that we do know is that the film will be set in the current climate of drone technology and fifth generations fighters, with the sequel also taking a look back at the end of the “dogfighting” era.
Oblivion’s Joseph Kosinski is on directing duties for Paramount, and Peter Craig, Justin Marks, and Eric Warren Singer are currently penning the sequel’s screenplay. The Top Gun 2 title is merely a working title right now, with an official title to be revealed down the line.
At present, the Top Gun follow-up is booked in for a July 12th, 2019 release.
It seems that barely a week goes by these days without news of some sort of comic book adaptation on the way, and now comes word that Image Comics’ Skyward has been optioned by Sony Pictures.
As per Variety, not only has Sony picked up the rights to the property, the studio has also already brought in Brad Peyton to direct. In recent years, Peyton has impressed many with the Dwayne Johnson-starring duo of San Andreas and Rampage.
The first issue of Skyward was only actually published this past April, with the title the creation of Joe Henderson and Lee Garbett. Set twenty years in the future, the landscape of the planet has been altered by the small fact that the Earth has lost part of its gravitational pull. Central character Willa was born after the infamous G-Day, and she has now stumbled across a plot to restore the planet’s gravity back to normal.
Henderson – who is also known for his stint as Lucifer’s showrunner – will both write and executive produce the big-screen take on Skyward.
Expect more on all of this as it continues to develop.
With last year’s Cult of Chucky having largely split opinion amongst Child’s Play fans, now comes word that the franchise is about to get rebooted.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, MGM is moving forward with a fresh start for this iconic horror franchise. Not only that, but Polaroid’s Lars Klevberg has been brought in to direct the redo. This is in addition to franchise creator Don Mancini’s ongoing plans to create a Child’s Play TV series that is canon to what we’ve seen in the movies to date.
Reportedly, the Child’s Play remake is to start shooting this September. As well as Klevberg directing, Kung Fury 2’s Tyler Burton Smith is on writing duties. IT’s David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith are producing.
For this redo, rather than focussing on just a solitary child – as in Andy Barclay in that original movie (and several of the sequels) – the action will actually centre on a group of children and a “technologically-advanced” doll.
Previously, the film franchise was already loosely rebooted with 2013’s Curse of Chucky. That film was pegged as a reboot for the series, before it was cleverly revealed to dovetail nicely with the existing franchise; Curse serving as both a reboot and a continuation.
Due to a loophole with the rights for the Child’s Play franchise, MGM is able to develop this new rebooted film despite Universal owning the home entertainment rights to the franchise. This allows MGM to create this restart for the franchise at the same time that Don Mancini is able to still develop that aforementioned TV series.
Right now, it also appears that Brad Dourif – the longtime voice of the murderous Chucky – won’t be involved in the movie restart; with him more likely to return for Mancini’s TV effort.
As ever, expect more on all things Child’s Play as we get it.
Ross Marquand has proved to be a huge favourite of many a genre fan as he’s become a pivotal part of AMC’s The Walking Dead. And now, the hugely talented Marquand has his eyes on a certain Marvel superhero.
In case you weren’t aware, Marquand has actually already appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as he portrayed the Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War. But now, he’s thrown his hat into the ring for Moon Knight.
When asked about what superhero he’d like to play during his ComiCONN appearance, Marquand explained (via SyFy), “Oh yes, Moon Knight! It’s tough because a lot of my friends have said Moon Knight is essentially just Marvel’s answer to Batman, but I don’t agree with that. I agree that there are similarities, but Moon Knight was a mercenary – kind of a gun for hire who didn’t really have much regard for people before he had his moment of awakening, I guess. And Bruce was always a good guy – even as a kid, he was torn by revenge, but he wasn’t this bloodthirsty killer like Moon Knight was. So I think that, coupled with what they’ve been doing the last 15 years with the character – going into the dissociative identity disorder, really calling in to question if everything happening is all in his head, is he actually a vigilante killer or did he die in Egypt? It brings up a slew of questions, and that to me has never really been delved into in any comic book character before – the idea of, is any of this actually happening? Is he crazy? Is he killing good people? Is he actually dead in Egypt? Those are such amazing questions and I don’t feel like any comic book series before or since has really tapped into that. So for me, playing a crazy superhero would be awesome. So Moon Knight, Moon Knight for sure.”
As alluded to, Moon Knight has indeed undergone some changes over the past decade or so; most notably donning a white suit and mask combo after Warren Ellis gave the character a refresh a few years ago.
Whether anything ever comes of this, we’ll have to wait and see. Given Marvel Studios’ propensity to continually expand their shared cinematic realm, though, it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see Moon Knight appear at some point down the line. Similarly, the character may even be a better fit for the small-screen, ala Marvel’s Netflix-exclusive shows.
Expect more on all of this if and when it develops further.
