John Woo Remaking THE KILLER with Lupita Nyong’o

The Killer Lupita Nyong'o

It seems that remakes, reboots, reimaginings, and recalibrations are facing you wherever you turn these days, and now comes word on another upcoming redo.

As per Deadline, Universal Pictures are working on a new take on John Woo’s 1988 The Killer… to be directed by none other than Woo himself. Interestingly, in place of Chow-Yun Fat as the lead of the film will be Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o. The Black Panther actress will be playing “the assassin who puts her own life on the line to save a woman whom she accidentally blinded in her last hit.”

Collide’s Eran Creevy has been working on the film’s screenplay, having taken over an initial draft by 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Josh Campbell and Matt Stuecken.

The current plan is for this new incarnation of The Killer to start production in France and Germany later this year.

THE BOYS Brings in 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE Director

The Boys

With the upcoming adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys having now amassed quite the impressive cast, it’s been confirmed who’ll be directing the show’s pilot episode.

As per Variety, Dan Trachtenberg has been brought in to helm the debut outing for the adaptation. Trachtenberg is likely best known to genre fans for directing 10 Cloverfield Lane for Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot.

On this news, executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg enthused, “Dan’s a massive fan of the comic like us, and we’re massive fans of his, we’re excited to have his more talented skill brought to the show.”

For those not familiar with The Boys, the comic series ran from 2006 up until 2012, focussing on a group who keep superheroes in check when needed. With plenty of R-rated adult-driven action, the series soon became a favourite of many comic book fans, particularly for how it often gave skewed and alternative views on a whole host of superhero staples.

Supernatural’s Eric Kripke has created the series and will serve as showrunner, with Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen previously pegged to direct some episodes. Goldberg and Rogen, of course, having already brilliantly adapted Preacher for the small screen.

The Boys will premiere its eight-episode first season on Amazon Video next year.

Season 2 of AMERICAN GODS Starts Production

American Gods

In some news that’s sure to please many a genre fan, production is now underway on American Gods’ second season. In fact, production actually began last week.

The official press release on this can be found below:

Starz, a Lionsgate company, and FremantleMedia North America’s (FMNA) sophomore season of the critically-acclaimed show, American Gods, will be giving fans what they have been waiting for – a meeting of the gods. Production kicked off last week on American Gods Season 2 at the Wisconsin roadside attraction, The House on the Rock, which is a quintessential location in Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed contemporary fantasy novel from which the series is adapted. The location is home not only to many unique collections but also serves as a backdrop to a pivotal moment in the series and book.

“The first season was all about getting to the House on the Rock,” says executive producer Neil Gaiman, “It’s amazing to see everyone back, and to be entering the next stage of the story with the best bunch of actors around, along with some inspired filmmakers.”

The cast includes Ricky Whittle (The 100, Austenland) as Shadow Moon, Ian McShane (Deadwood, Ray Donovan) as Mr. Wednesday, Emily Browning (Sucker Punch, Legend) as Laura Moon, Pablo Schreiber (Orange is the New Black, The Brink) as Mad Sweeney, Orlando Jones (Madiba, Sleepy Hallow) as Mr. Nancy, Yetide Badaki (Aquarius, Masters of Sex) as Bilquis, Bruce Langley (Deadly Waters) as Technical Boy, Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) as Mr. World, Cloris Leachman (Malcom in The Middle, Raising Hope) as Zorya Vechernyaya, Peter Stormare (Fargo, Prison Break) as Czernobog, Mousa Kraish (Superbad, Fast & Furious) as The Jinn, Omid Abtahi (“Argo”) as Salim, Chris Obi (Snow White and the Huntsman, The Counselor) as Anubis, and Demore Barnes (Waco, 12 Monkeys) as Mr. Ibis.

American Gods has been translated into over 30 languages and earned numerous accolades including Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker Awards for Best Novel. The plot posits a war brewing between old and new gods: the traditional gods of mythological roots from around the world steadily losing believers to an upstart pantheon of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. Its protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and traveling partner to Mr. Wednesday, a conman but in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities.

American Gods is produced by FremantleMedia North America. Jesse Alexander (Hannibal, Heroes) will serve as showrunner and executive producer this season. FMNA’s Stefanie Berk is executive producing the series along with Neil Gaiman, Ian McShane, Craig Cegielski and Scott Hornbacher.  Chris Byrne (Star Trek Discovery, Hannibal) is directing the premiere episode and will co-executive produce along with Heather Bellson and Rodney Barnes. Lisa Kussner will produce. Senior Vice President of Original Programming Marta Fernandez and Manager of Original Programming Kathleen Clifford are the Starz executives in charge of American Gods.

Expect more on American Gods’ second season as we get it.

New GRUDGE Movie Brings in Four More Names

Ju-on The Grudge

With a new Grudge movie currently in development, the film has moved to bring in several new additions to its ranks ahead of filming starting later this month.

As per Deadline, The Mist’s William Sadler, Glow’s Betty Gilpin, Animal Kingdom’s Jacki Weaver, and Coming to America’s Frankie Faison have joined the picture. The foursome join the already announced John Cho, Lin Shaye, Andrea Riseborough, and Demian Bichir on this return for an old horror favourite.

The Eyes of My Mother’s Nicolas Pesce is on board to write and direct this refresh of the property, with Pesce reworking a script previously put in place by Midnight Meat Train’s Jeff Buhler. Genre icon Sam Raimi is producing.

The Grudge, of course, was originally released in 2002 under the Ju-on title. That Japanese horror was then given a more Western skew with the 2004-starring Sarah Michelle Geller remake. That, though, was not simply it for the franchise, with a whopping eleven Ju-on or Grudge movies to date, plus several short films, video games, and graphic novels.|

New Plot Details for THE PREDATOR

The Predator

One of the most hotly anticipated films of 2018 for longtime genre fans is the return of the famed Predator. And now, we’ve been given a little bit more official info on what to expect from the return of this genre fave.

Titled simply The Predator, 20th Century Fox has now released the below synopsis for the picture:

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home in Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a young boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.

So, genetic modification, eh? Sounds like the pour souls who run across this most lethal of threats are in for quite the battle.

On board for The Predator are Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfie Allen, Thomas Jane, Yvonne Strahovski, Sterling K. Brown, Edward James Olmos, and Room’s Jacob Tremblay as the aforementioned young boy at the centre of the action. In terms of timeline and canon, the movie will take place within the continuity of the first two Predator films, seemingly ignoring the Alien vs Predator movies and 2010’s Predators.

With a script from Shane Black and his longtime writing partner Fred Dekker, The Predator is booked in for a September 14th release.

 

STRANGER THINGS’ Third Season Starts Production

Stranger Things

In some news that’s sure to please a whole host of genre fans, production is now underway on Season 3 of Stranger Things.

Netflix has released the following announcement video to let this splendid news out of the bag:

For said third season, the series has added Saw’s Cary Elwes, Starship Troopers’ Jake Busey, and Little Women’s Maya Thurman-Hawke to the action.

If you’ve been living under a rock and have yet to have the chance to check out this hugely enjoyable genre effort, the official blurb on Stranger Things reads:

A love letter to the ‘80s classics that captivated a generation, Stranger Things is set in 1983 Indiana, where a young boy vanishes into thin air. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl.

Season 3 of Stranger Things has yet to be given a set premiere date, although hopefully we’ll get to see this new season a little later in the year.

S.J. Clarkson to Direct the New STAR TREK Movie

SJ Clarkson

With CinemaCon having delivered some pretty major news stories over this past week, now comes some pretty major news on the Star Trek franchise.

As reported by Variety, Paramount Pictures has used the event to announce that S.J. Clarkson has been brought in to direct the fourth outing for the revamped cinematic Star Trek series. Clarkson is likely best known to genre fans for her work on the likes of Heroes, Dexter, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, and Marvel’s The Defenders. This marks the first time in history that a female has been tasked with helming an installment in the Star Trek franchise. Godzilla vs. Kong’s J.D. Payne and Star Trek Beyond’s Patrick McKay are on screenplay duties.

Previously, the last we’d heard was that Quentin Tarantino was being eyed to write and possibly direct this fourth ‘new’ Star Trek film, although that’s seemingly now not the case. The current word is that QT is still in line to develop a Star Trek movie down the line, but that is now taking a backseat for the S.J. Clarkson-helmed effort.

In terms of plot, this next outing for the cinematic franchise will reportedly see Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk travel through time and end up meeting his father, who will once again be played by Chris Hemsworth.

As ever, expect more on this new Star Trek movie as it continues to develop.

Season 2 of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY Starts Production

Star Trek: Discovery

With Star Trek: Discovery proving a huge hit with genre fans, those same fans will be ecstatic to hear that production is already underway on the show’s second season.

Netflix has sent out a press release to confirm that production actually started last week on Season 2 of Discovery, and executive producer and co-creator Alex Kurtzman is tasked with directing the premiere episode of this new season.

The early word on Star Trek: Discovery’s return reads:

Star Trek: Discovery follows the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new life forms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself.

As ever, expect more on Star Trek: Discovery’s second season as it continues to develop.

First Plot Details for JOHN WICK 3

John Wick

With a third John Wick picture currently in development, we’ve finally got our first solid plot details for the threequel.

As revealed by Collider, the early synopsis for John Wick: Chapter 3 reads as follows:

John Wick is on the run for two reasons… he’s being hunted for a global $14 million dollar open contract on his life, and for breaking a central rule: taking a life on Continental Hotel grounds. The victim was a member of the High Table who ordered the open contract. John should have already been executed, except the Continental’s manager, Winston, has given him a one-hour grace period before he’s ‘Excommunicado’ – membership revoked, banned from all services and cut off from other members. John uses the service industry to stay alive as he fights and kills his way out of New York City.

With Keanu Reeves once again kicking all kinds of ass as the titular Wick, John Wick: Chapter 3 is currently booked in for a May 17th, 2019 release, with Laurence Fishburne, Ruby Rose and Common all expected to be back in action. On the villain front, The Wolverine’s Hiroyuki Sanada is reportedly playing the ‘big bad’.

Aardman Developing a CHICKEN RUN Sequel

Chicken Run

With Aardman Animations having recently given us the fun Early Man, now comes word that the studio is developing a Chicken Run sequel.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Aardman is teaming up with StudioCanal and Pathe to develop the follow-up.

Chicken Run holds an important place in Aardman’s history, with it being the first full-length feature that the studio had put out when it was released back in 2000. Given the huge success of the movie, a sequel has long been discussed over the years – and no it’s finally happening.

Known plot details are at a minimum right now, although we have some information on whose already on board the project. ParaNorman’s Sam Fell is directing, with Chicken Run’s Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell penning the screenplay.

At present, Aardman is working on their Shaun the Sheep sequel, with that hitting the big screen later this year. Following that, their full attention will switch towards the Chicken Run follow-up.