Wonder Womandirector Patty Jenkins has given an encouraging update on what was presumed to be a dead project, stating that she’s back in active development on her Star Wars film Rogue Squadron. The filmmaker is reportedly working on a draft script for Lucasfilm.
“When I left Star Wars to do Wonder Woman 3, and I started working on that, we talked about, ‘Well, maybe I’ll come back to Star Wars after Wonder Woman 3,’” she told the Talking Pictures Podcast. “So we started a deal for that to happen. So when Wonder Woman 3 went away,” she explains, referring to the appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran to captain the DCEU in new directions, “Lucasfilm and I were like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to finish this deal.’ We finished the deal right as the strike was beginning. So I now owe a draft of Star Wars. So we will see what happens there. Who knows? They have a hard job in front of them of, ‘What’s the first movie [since the sequel trilogy] they’re going to do?’ They have other directors who have been working, but I am now back on doing Rogue Squadron. We’ll see what happens. We need to get it to where we’re both super happy with it. The emotion of Star Wars and what it stands for is something so beautiful in this world,” Jenkins added. “Star Wars was born out of World War II … so in that way I’ve always wanted to make a fighter pilot movie. … So yes, I would love to do it.”
Jenkins was originally announced to direct Rogue Squadron in December 2022, though it was taken off of Lucasfilm’s production schedule less than a year later.
Capital P Book One is the first part of a twelve-issue comic book maxi-series from writer Sam Gardner Jr and artist Jerome Canty. The official tag line is “A hero with a no killing rule. A villain with a death sentence. And a lawman standing between them.”
It’s the story of a masked man with a no killing rule who subdues a criminal. Things get complicated when he hands him over to a justice system that may be at odds with his beliefs. The book was launched at DevCon Plymouth in March 2024 to an overwhelmingly positive reaction and continues to grow internationally online at www.capeversecomics.com and in person at events throughout the UK.
Here’s the full synopsis:
In the city of Chicago, cold winds aren’t the only thing that cut through the night. A killer is on the loose and a masked man with a Capital P upon his chest is first at the scene. Raised on four colour concepts of morality by the comic books that inspired his calling, this city’s newest protector must come to terms with a very chilling discovery. He’ll have to learn what that means for him in a world that’s a far cry from the pages of a superhero story. This is not a simple tale of good triumphing over evil.
Capital P is published by Capeverse Comics, a label set up by Sam and his wife, Chloe. You can find a video on their website in which Sam talks about the book and his passion for superheroes, while Jerome discusses his 2000 AD influences. The comic can be purchased digitally and in print through capeversecomics.com and followers can access the social media platforms through the website.
To get a truly immersive first look at the comic, a trailer has been created, complete with cinematic music and an American voice cast. You can view the trailer below.
Sam also took part in a Capital P talk at the Devcon event in Plymouth, which can be viewed on Facebook.
In an unexpected turn of events, Neve Campbell is confirmed to be returning to the Scream franchise, after several upsets to the production of Scream VII. It’s particularly surprising news considering she famously sat out Scream VI over a salary dispute.
Campbell took to Instagram to announce her involvement, adding that franchise veteran Kevin Williamson will be directing. Williamson is, of course, the creator of the franchise, having penned the script to Wes Craven’s original film, as well as Scream 2 and Scream 4. Guy Busick (who wrote the most recent Scream (2022)and Scream VI) is taking over script duties from James Vanderbilt, who had to withdraw from the project due to clashing obligations.
It’s all good news after Scream VII faced numerous setbacks that called the franchise’s future into question, from Jenna Ortega exiting the film, the controversial firing of star Melissa Barrera over comments made about the Israel-Hamas war, and the exit of director Christopher Landon.
Neve Campbell writes: “I’m so excited to announce this news!!! Sidney Prescott is coming back!!!! It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies. My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me, has never waned. I’m very happy and proud to say I’ve been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!! Well actually I could. While I’ve been so incredibly lucky to make these films with both the master of horror Wes Craven and the wonderfully talented Matt and Tyler team, I’ve dreamt for many years of how amazing it would be to make one of these movies with Kevin Williamson at the helm. And now it’s happening, Kevin Williamson is going to direct Scream 7! This was his baby and it’s his brilliant mind that dreamt up this world. Kevin is not just an inspiration as an artist but has been a dear friend for many years. To the amazing Scream fans, I hope you are as excited as I am.”
The highly anticipated remake of The Crow has its first trailer, which you can check out below.
The film stars Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven and FKA Twigs as Shelly Webster, the lovers brutally murdered by gangsters from Shelly’s past. Eric is brought back from the dead and given the chance to seek revenge and put things right.
Lead actor Bill Skarsgård said of his role: “I was a huge fan of the original film growing up as a kid and was so honoured to take on the role of Eric Draven. But really what drew me to it was what Rupert Sanders wanted to do with it. He wanted to completely reimagine the story and the character and tailor it towards a modern audience. It’s a character that I know many revere and have a strong connection to – he is unlike any I’ve ever taken on before. Working with the remarkably talented FKA Twigs was magical. I felt a responsibility to Eric’s story and endeavoured to stay true to the spirit of the source material; I can’t wait for the world to see the film, and hope it resonates with audiences as strongly as it did with those of us involved.”
FKA Twigs added: “I am so thrilled to be in The Crow alongside the talented Bill Skarsgård and extraordinary director Rupert Sanders. The love Bill and I share on screen is effortless and indicative of the authenticity and ease that I dreamed of bringing to the role of Shelly. Eric and Shelly’s unbreakable unity is so profound and beautiful, something I hope we all feel at least once as part of the human experience. I am so excited that the trailer is being unveiled and even more excited to have the world see the film this summer.”
Director Rupert Sanders said of the film: “The Crow is the original anti-superhero. His story is about tragic loss, about dealing with the pain of everything that comes with losing someone you love, something that all of us have or will encounter at some point in our lives. It is about the dark shadow of grief, about what we would do when something so meaningful is taken from us.
The original graphic novel is deeply meaningful for so many, and the character, his journey and his need for revenge has inspired a canon of films for the last three decades. Our version goes back to that graphic novel by James O’Barr, who I had the honour of meeting shortly before production, and explores the love story as the primary drive for our film.
What Alex Proyas did with the Crow in 1994 – and Brandon Lee’s iconic embodiment of that character – will forever impact that generation and others to follow. It was a culture-defining film that is beloved to this day and has inspired many other iterations both inside and outside the Crow Universe.
That film sparked a fire with the youth of that day, a youth who grew up on hard, alternative rock, punk and metal that binged on MTV and zines. It held a mirror to that generation in the aesthetic of the film, its smoky, rain-drenched streets, stylized and subverted sets, its leather-clad hero and chain-wielding villains. It expressed its time in a very specific, music-driven vision that spoke to a young audience who had never been spoken to in that way. It became a cult classic.
Our interpretation of James’ work also reflects this young generation, whose tastes and references have changed so dramatically from the original film. Hopefully it speaks to them in their language, with their style and music and hopefully will get them to discover Alex Proyas’ film and James O’Barr’s graphic novel, bringing a new audience to the source material. For this story is as universal as an epic poem or Greek myth, it deals with the very primal, naturalistic emotions of love, grief and rage and it also deals with the supernatural and physiological imaginings of heaven and hell, the dead and the undead. It explores the great positive force of love and the great negative force of rage and hate that stands in its shadow, it asks what we would do, but also what would we have become by doing so. When Eric slumps to the floor, covered in the blood of the slain, we look deep into his eyes and he asks us… why?
I am very pleased to have worked with two young actors whose performances are the backbone of this film. Bill Skarsgård is so committed and vulnerable, monstrously violent and delicately tender, he brings so many layers to the complex emotion of a man consumed with so much love and hate, but also a man who will do anything for the woman he loves. He fights, numb with pain and grief, killing and maiming for the one he loves…but to what end? FKA Twigs brings the same unique and wondrous talent that she does to her entire volume of work and her performance and the vacuum created by her absence undoubtedly gives reason for this Crow to be born.”
The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation is once again holding an awards programme to recognise excellence in the field of stop-motion effects. This year’s submission fees have also been reduced! Established in honour of the legendary master of stop-motion animation, submissions for animated films of all types within the following categories will be considered. Ensure you get your entry in before the May 31st, 2024 deadline!
Best Feature Film Animation – £30 submission fee
Best Short Film Animation – £20 submission fee
Best Student Film Animation – £10 submission fee
Best Children’s Film Animation – Free entry
There will also be the Harryhausen Hall of Fame Award. Previous recipients have been Phil Tippett (The Empire Strikes Back, RoboCop) and Janet Stevens (Clash of the Titans, Alien³).
Horror filmmaker Ari Aster has assembled a star-studded cast for his next collaboration with A24, Eddington, which begins production this week. Joker‘s Joaquin Phoenix, The Last of Us’ Pedro Pascal, recent Academy Award winner and Poor Things star Emma Stone, and Dune 2‘s Austin Butler are among those set to lead the feature.
Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward and Clifton Collins Jr. are also set to appear in the film. Eddington does not yet have a release date.
Aster is directing from his own script, which centres on a small-town New Mexico sheriff with lofty aspirations. Nothing more is known about the film’s direction, though a brief perusal of its IMDb page suggests it will mix elements of comedy, drama, and horror within a contemporary American Western film.
Two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Darius Khondji is aboard, while that Aster and Lars Knudsen are producing through their company Square Peg. A24 has released all three of Aster’s prior films, beginning with 2018’s Hereditary and continuing with 2019’s Midsommar and last year’s Beau Is Afraid. Eddington also marks the sixth collaboration overall between A24 and Aster, as the latter served as producer on the Nicolas Cage-starring Dream Scenarioand the upcoming filmDeath of a Unicorn, starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega.
AI is this year’s buzzword, both on Wall Street and in the movies – most recently, disaster pushes Jennifer Lopez to confront her ambiguous feelings about artificial intelligence in the teaser trailer for Netflix’s science-fiction feature, Atlas. In all honesty, it looks like the closest thing we’ll be getting to a Titanfall movie.
Due to release on the platform on May 24th, filmmaker Brad Peyton’s upcoming feature also stars Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsactor Simu Liu, recent Academy Award nominee Sterling K. Brown, Gregory James Cohan, Abraham Popoola, Lana Parrilla and Mark Strong.
Atlas centres on the titular Atlas Shepherd, played by Lopez, a brilliant but misanthropic data analyst who must set aside her deep mistrust of AI when she faces problems during a voyage to apprehend a renegade robot with which she has a shared history. It’s all very high stakes.
Rampagefilmmaker Peyton directs from a screenplay by Leo Sardarian, with rewrites by Aron Eli Coleite. Producers include Peyton, Lopez, Jeff Fierson, Joby Harold, Tory Tunnell, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina, Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter.
Watch the teaser trailer for Atlas below, ahead of the film’s release to the streaming platform on May 24th, 2024.
Arrow Video releases a new 2K restoration of the notorious nunsploitation classic Behind Convent Doors on April 29th and you check out the new trailer for the release now!
A lushly filmed exploration of the relationship between flesh and spirit from Polish provocateur Walerian Borowczyk, director of Blanche, The Beast, and Immoral Tales.
Behind the walls of an apparently serene convent, a zealous abbess tries in vain to keep order and prevent her sexually repressed charges from experiencing the sins of the flesh. When the unfortunate young nuns get out of control, the church inflicts cruel punishment for their carnal crimes.
Erotic, colourful and highly charged, Behind Convent Walls features striking handheld cinematography by Luciano Tovoli (Suspiria) and the final performance of Borowczyk’s wife, Ligia Branice.
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• New 2K restoration by Arrow Films from the original 35mm camera negatives
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
• Original lossless English and Italian mono audio options
• Optional English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
• Brand new audio commentary by film critic Justine Smith
• Anarchic Nuns and the Artistry of Desire, a new appreciation by film scholar Virginie Sélavy
• Brief Von Paris (1975), a short film by Walerian Borowczyk
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork options
• Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by film scholar Kat Ellinger and original press notes
Ankle Snatcher, another horror story from author Grady Hendrix, who previously wrote My Best Friend’s Exorcism, is getting a feature film adaptation courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Hendrix is due to write the screenplay and act as producer alongside Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Tony Shaw, and Adam Goldworm. As Deadline, who broke the story, reports, Ankle Snatcher was released in September 2023 as part of Amazon Original Stories’ Creature Feature collection, which comprised of six original stories written by New York Times bestselling authors Joe Hill, Josh Malerman, Paul Tremblay, Jason Mott, and Chandler Baker.
The story follows “Marcus, who grew up believing his father killed his mother — then blamed it on the boogeyman under the bed. Always leave the lights on, his father warned, or the boogeyman will get you. Marcus still heeds the superstition, especially when he invites his new girlfriend over. Is Marcus haunted by a creature or has he just inherited his father’s murderous delusions? The night will tell.”
Grady Hendrix has become one of horror literature’s trendiest authors, with adaptations of his other novels How to Sell a Haunted House, The Final Girl Support Group, and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampiresall at various stages of development at Legendary, Max, and HBO, respectively.
Servant actress Nell Tiger Free stars in the official trailer for The First Omen, the upcoming prequel to the 1976 horror classic about an American ambassador who believes his five-year-old son is the Antichrist.
In the film, “When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.” Sounds an awful lot like the synopsis of Immaculate, also coming soon, but we’ll see how similar the execution proves.
The new movie is directed by Arkasha Stevenson, based on characters created by The Omen’s David Seltzer, with a story by Ben Jacoby and a screenplay by Tim Smith & Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas (Firestarter). Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy also star, while producers include David S. Goyer, Keith Levine, Tim Smith, Whitney Brown, and Gracie Wheelan.
This prequel follows four movie instalments in the original franchise, a 2006 remake, and the ill-received 2016 series, Damien. The Omen was followed by Damien: Omen II, then 1981’s The Final Conflict, and 1991’s The Awakening. John Moore’s reboot starred Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, and David Thewlis starring.
Watch the official trailer for The First Omen below, ahead of its release by 20th Century Studios on April 5th.
