The Last of Us game actress reprising role in series: The Last of Us HBO series is getting one of the game’s actresses to reprise her role as Merle Dandridge will play Marlene again for the show. Marlene was the head of the Fireflies and the one who initially hires Joel for the job of getting Ellie out of the city. Pedro Pascal is playing Joel, Gabriel Luna is playing Tommy and Bella Ramsay is playing Ellie.
Todd Phillips is writing Joker 2: After multiple Oscar nominations and two wins, Todd Phillips has apparently signed a deal with WB to start writing a sequel to Joker. There were rumors after the movie blew up at the box office but Phillips dismissed them at the time but now it seems like it might be officially underway according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter. There’s no word on what a sequel would entail and Joaquin Phoenix is not officially signed on to reprise his role as Arthur Fleck aka Joker.
Debris canceled at NBC: After wrapping up its first season last week, NBC has canceled the sci-fi series Debris. The show was created by Fringe’s J.H. Wyman and had a similar vibe to that show as two agents working for a joint international task force called Orbital investigated pieces of a destroyed alien spaceship that created mysterious events or gave people strange powers. The show apparently was not doing well in live broadcasts but was doing better with online viewings, apparently not enough to save it however.
Oscar Issac officially confirmed as Moon Knight: It was reported months ago by Marvel has officially confirmed that Oscar Isaac will play Marc Spector aka Moon Knight for an upcoming Disney+ series. Marvel released a photo of Isaac in front of a wall of Moon Knight artwork.
Mike Tyson cast for Hulu miniseries: Hulu has found its Mike Tyson for an upcoming limited series called Iron Mike. Trevante Rhodes will play Tyson and the series will be an eight-episode exploration of Tyson’s controversial life and rise to the top of the world of boxing. Tyson is not involved in this series and is instead working on a separate project that will star Jamie Foxx as Tyson, but that project has no network yet. Craig Gillespie will direct and executive produce the series.
Kraven the Hunter cast for a solo movie: Sony has found its Kraven the Hunter for a solo movie in the vein of Venom and Morbius with Aaron Taylor-Johnson signing on to star in the movie. Triple Frontier director JC Chandor is directing the movie but there are no plot details about what a solo Kraven movie would entail. Kraven is one Spider-Man’s best rogues but there doesn’t seem to be a lot that could be done if Kraven isn’t hunting down the wall-crawler.
Evil Dead Rise coming to HBO Max: The next movie in the Evil Dead franchise will be exclusively on HBO Max with Evil Dead Rise. Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi are executive producing the movie but Campbell won’t return as Ash. Lee Cronin, who directed the horror movie The Hole in the Ground, is directing with Alyssa Sutherland and Lily Sullivan co-starring. The movie will take things away from the iconic cabin in the woods and bring the Deadites to an urban setting.
Garbage Pail Kids animated series coming to HBO Max: Speaking of HBO Max, the streaming service is also getting a Garbage Pail Kids animated series. David Gordon Green and Danny McBride are behind the series but unlike most of their previous collaborations, this new series is going to be a family-friendly spin on the 80s property. The Garbage Pail Kids were a series of collectible stickers that featured disgusting puns and the characters were parodies of Cabbage Patch Kids and there was an infamous live-action movie that came out in 1985.
Sandman adds more cast members: Netflix has added more cast members to its big adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s beloved Sandman series. 12 new actors joined the series with the biggest additions being Kirby Baptiste-Howell playing Death, Mason Alexander Park playing Desire, Donna Preston playing Despair, and Jenna Coleman playing Johanna Constantine, an 18th-century ancestor of John. Tom Sturridge will star in the series as Dream and Gwendoline Christie will play Lucifer.
Amazon/MGM deal is official: The Amazon purchase of MGM was officially confirmed earlier this week with Amazon looking to buy the iconic studio for $8.45 billion. If the deal successfully goes through, Amazon would gain a movie catalog of over 4,000 titles and rights to IP like Rocky/Creed, James Bond, Robocop, The Magnificent Seven, Silence of the Lambs, Stargate and more. The Bond rights are a little tricky as they would most likely be able to have all the back catalog of Bond movies on Prime Video but any new film in the series would need to be worked out with EON Productions and the Broccoli family, who share the rights to the franchise. The deal needs to pass regulatory review before being closed.
Powerpuff Girls reboot being reworked: After viewing the pilot, The CW is sending Powerpuff back to the drawing board to retool the series. The script for the pilot leaked and the reaction was not kind and CW president Mark Pedowitz also said the tone of the pilot was “too campy” and they were looking for something a bit more realistic.
FX’s Shogun starts casting: FX’s upcoming new adaptation of Jame Clavell’s iconic novel Shogun has added its two main stars. Hiroyuki Sanada, most recently seen in Mortal Kombat and Army of the Dead, will play Lord Toranaga and Cosmo Jarvis will play John Blackthorne, a British sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan and becomes involved in the political conflicts among the various lords of the land.
Adam Wingard adapting Hardcore comic: With Invincible blowing up on Prime Video, another Robert Kirkman comic is getting adapted into a film with Godzilla vs Kong’s Adam Wingard directing Hardcore. Hardcore follows a special agent named Drake who works for an agency that is able to possess anyone on the planet and use them as a weapon. While inside a possessed asset, the agency is threatened by a rogue agent and Drake has 72 hours to get back to his own body. Wingard has already signed on for a sequel to Face/Off, a Thundercats movie, and a sequel to Godzilla vs Kong.
Hellraiser remake coming to Hulu: Hulu is getting unlimited suffering with the long-in-development remake of Hellraiser. Horror director David Bruckner is directing the remake, having previously directed The Ritual and The Night House for Netflix. It’s not clear if it will be a straight remake or if it will deviate at all from the original film. There is also a separate Hellraiser TV series being developed by David Gordon Green and Clive Barker himself that will be on HBO.
Timothee Chalamet playing a young Willy Wonka: Warner Brothers is developing a prequel movie following the origins of Willy Wonka, called Wonka, and Timothee Chalamet will play the younger version of the famous candy maker. It’s not clear what exactly the plot will entail but it will be an original story inspired by the Roald Dahl stories that featured Wonka. The movie will also apparently be a musical and feature several song and dance sequences. Paddington director Paul King is directing the movie.
Amber Midthunder starring in new Predator movie: Legion co-star Amber Midthunder is apparently in talks to star in a new Predator movie coming from 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg. Trachtenberg’s Predator project was revealed last week and the plot follows a Comanche woman who goes against the traditions of the tribe to become a warrior but apparently will have to face off against a Predator or Predators. The project was working under the title Skulls. Midthunder is currently on The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico, and is co-starring with Liam Neeson and Laurence Fishburne in The Ice Road on Netflix this summer.
