Nobody sequel in development: Bob Odenkirk will be back kicking ass as a sequel to Nobody is currently in the works. Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first movie along with the John Wick movies, is working on a sequel script. There are not really any plot details but apparently, the sequel will give Connie Nielsen, who plays Odenkirk’s wife, more to do. Director Ilya Naishuller is back to direct the sequel.
RIP Ned Beatty and John Paragon: Two sad deaths to report this week as both Ned Beatty and John Paragon passed away. Beatty was a legendary character actor who appeared in movies like Network, Nashville, Superman, and Superman II and Deliverance, and more recently Shooter, Toy Story 3, and Rango. John Paragon was probably best known for playing Jambi on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse but also appeared in UHF and was a long-time producer and writing partner to Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson, writing her 1988 movie along with writing, producing, and appearing on her various shows.
Blacula reboot in development: A reboot of the iconic Blaxploitation horror movie Blacula is in development. The movie will be a modern reimagining of the 70s classic with Blacula causing terror in a major city. Deon Taylor, who directed movies like The Intruder and Black and Blue, is directing the Blacula reboot.
Hiroyuki Sanada joins John Wick 4: The cast of John Wick 4 continues to get more awesome as Hiroyuki Sanada has joined the cast. Sanada was most recently seen in Army of the Dead and Mortal Kombat. Donnie Yen, Rina Sawayama, and Shamier Anderson were previously cast to join Keanu in the upcoming action sequel, which is expected to be out next May.
JJ Abrams producing a UFO series for Showtime: After directing Star Trek and Star Wars, JJ Abrams will explore space phenomenon on Earth with a new UFO series for Showtime. Abrams and Bad Robot will produce UFO, which will be a four-episode docuseries directed by Mark Monroe and Paul Crowder. The show will explore, “what clandestine influence the American government, lucrative private companies, and the military may have in shielding the truth behind extraterrestrial phenomena to further their own agendas”. There has been renewed interest in UFOs after it was revealed the Pentagon has been tracking UFO activity for decades and they recently declassified various footage of UFOs, including an infamous 2015 video captured by Navy fighter jet pilots.
Scorpion’s Revenge sequel coming later this summer: Arguably the best Mortal Kombat movie, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, is getting a sequel later this summer. Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms will pick up where Scorpion’s Revenge left off as the defenders of Earthrealm unite to battle the invasion of Shao Khan and his Outworld army. Joel McHale and Jennifer Carpenter are back to voice Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade and Stryker, Smoke, Kung Lao, Jade, and D’vorah will make their animated debuts.
Near Dark restoration coming from Studiocanal: Overshadowed by The Lost Boys upon release, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark has been a cult favorite for years but it has been out of print on physical media. It’s also currently not available to stream or rent digitally (it was briefly on Criterion Channel last year). There’s now apparently a 4K restoration of the movie on the way from Studiocanal for later this year, although there wasn’t an official announcement or release date from Studiocanal.
VHS94 is coming to Shudder: Shudder is getting the next entry in the VHS horror anthology series, VHS94, later this year. Simon Barrett, Timo Tjahjanto, Jennifer Reeder, Ryan Prows, and Chloe Okuno will direct the segments of the new movie, which is set up as a police SWAT team raids the warehouse headquarters of a sinister cult and find footage that reveals a twisted conspiracy. All the segments, for the first time in the series, will be linked narratively and flow and connect to each other.
American Gigolo series coming to Showtime: American Gigolo is the latest movie to get reimagined into a modern TV series, as a reboot is coming to Showtime. Jon Bernthal will take over from Richard Gere as the professional male escort. This time around, the main character starts taking on sex work after being released from prison after serving 15 years for murder, and along with his fledgling escort business, he seeks to find the truth about the setup that sent him to prison and try to reunite with his one true love. Rosie O’Donnell(?!), Lizzie Brochere, Gretchen Mol, Wayne Brady, Gabrielle LaBelle, and Leland Orser will co-star.
Beauty and the Beast prequel series greenlit for Disney+: The prequel series to the live-action Beauty and The Beast reboot has been greenlit for Disney+. The show will bring back Luke Evans and Josh Gad as Gaston and LeFou, who are joined by LeFou’s stepsister Tilly (Brianna Middleton) after a surprising revelation about Tilly’s past sends the trio off on an adventure across the kingdom. The show will be a musical and feature new music from the legendary Al Menken and will have an 8 episode first season on Disney+.
Manifest canceled at NBC: In a somewhat baffling move, NBC decided to cancel its sci-fi mystery series Manifest after three seasons. The show was not as strong ratings-wise on NBC compared to when it started but it has been absolutely dominating on Netflix, where the previous seasons are streaming. It has been consistently been at the top of the Netflix streaming charts and it seems like a definite possibility that Netflix may pick up the series to continue it as a Netflix Original.
Jaimie Alexander may be co-starring in Red Sonja: Although it has not been officially confirmed, it seems like former Blindspot star Jaimie Alexander may be cast in the new Red Sonja movie. Alexander tweeted a picture of what seems like the reboot script on her Instagram. If she is cast, she’ll join her fellow MCU alum Hannah John-Kamen, who was officially cast as the fearsome warrior Red Sonja for the reboot.
Clarice canceled at CBS/Paramount+: Clarice has become a victim of the shifting licensing of the streaming wars and will not get another season. It was originally planned that Clarice would join Evil and shift from CBS proper to exclusively on Paramount+ for their second seasons but the Amazon/MGM deal has apparently ended Clarice’s run. MGM, and now Amazon, owns the rights to Silence of the Lambs, and CBS/Paramount was unable to work out a new deal, which includes licensing the character of Clarice Starling. Hannibal saw a somewhat similar issue where they were unable to use anything from Silence of the Lambs, so Clarice never appeared or was mentioned on that series and the show never got to put its own spin on the events of Silence of the Lambs.
Greenland sequel in development: The surprisingly grounded and solid Gerard Butler disaster movie Greenland is getting a sequel, titled Greenland: Migration. The sequel will pick up from the end of the first film, as what remains of humanity emerges from underground bunkers after the rest of the surface of the Earth is devastated by comets impacting the surface. Ric Roman Waugh will return to direct and Butler and Morena Baccarin will return to star. The new movie will find Butler and his family setting out from Greenland across the frozen wasteland of Europe in an attempt to find a new home.
Jessica Henwick joins Knives Out 2: The cast of Knives Out 2 continues to grow as Iron Fist/Game of Thrones actress Jessica Henwick has joined the cast. Like everyone except for star Daniel Craig, Henwick’s role is unknown but she joins the previously cast Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Janelle Monáe, and Edward Norton. Rian Johnson is back to direct and the movie will be a Netflix exclusive, as will the also in development Knives Out 3.
