News Shotgun 3/9/24
Here’s all the movie and TV news you need to know from the past week, it’s the News Shotgun
Watchdogs movie in development: Another video game is coming to theaters with Ubisoft’s Watchdogs series getting a movie adaptation. Talk to Me‘s Sophie Wilde is in talks to star with French director Mathieu Turi directing. It’s unclear if the movie will be based on a specific entry in the franchise or a new story set in the universe. Turi is also working on an TV adaptation of A Plague’s Tale.
RIP Akira Toriyama: Legendary anime and manga artist Akira Toriyama passed away this week at age 68. Toriyama is probably best known for creating the juggernaut that is Dragonball in 1984, which became a global phenomenon with several anime series, movies, video games, action figures, and other merchandise.
More cast members cast for SNL 1975: The dramatization of Saturday Night Live’s first show, SNL 1975, has cast more real-life figures with Nick Braun playing Jim Henson, Tommy Dewey playing Michael O’Donoghue and Nicholas Podany playing Billy Crystal. Jason Reitman is directing the movie and has done extensive interviews to discover what happened behind the scenes before SNL went live for the first time.
The Accountant 2 confirms cast members: The Accountant 2 has confirmed the returning cast members who will return for the action movie sequel. Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, JK Simmons and Cynthia Addai-Robinson will all be back from the first movie. The sequel finds Addai-Robinson’s Treasury agent Marybeth Medina contacting Christian Wolff (Affleck) for help investigating the murder of her former boss. Christian brings in his brother Brax (Bernthal) and they become the target of some of the most ruthless killers on Earth. Gavin O’Connor is returning to the direct the sequel after directing the original movie.
Play Dirty adds cast members: The Mark Wahlberg starring crime thriller Play Dirty has added several new cast members with Keegan-Michael Key, Nat Wolff, Chukwudi Iwuji, and Thomas Jane. In a new adaptation of Donald E. Westlake’s Parker novels, Wahlberg plays the professional thief who is double-crossed and left for dead. LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, and Tony Shalhoub were previously cast and Shane Black is directing and co-wrote the script.
Rooster Teeth shutting down: In another of their sinister cost-cutting measures, Warner Bros. Discovery is shutting down Rooster Teeth, the online video company best known for Red vs Blue. The company also had the successful anime series RWBY. 150 staff members were laid off this past Wednesday. An unannounced Rooster Teeth movie and some other, in-progress projects will still be released and the Rooster Teeth Podcast Network, will remain at WBD.
Avatar: The Last Airbender renewed for two more seasons: Netflix is apparently extremely pleased with the performance of their live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as they’ve renewed the series for a second and third season. They teased the next two seasons with Earth and Fire Nation icons and will conclude in the third season, mimicking the structure of the original animated series, albeit with far less episodes.
Regé Jean Page joins Black Bag: Regé Jean Page has joined the cast of Black Bag, an upcoming Steven Soderbergh thriller. Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett were previously cast to star. There are not plot details outside of the fact that it’s some sort of spy thriller. It will start shooting in the spring.
House of the Dragon returns in June: Although we still don’t have an exact date, we now know that House of the Dragon will finally return in June this summer. The first season aired two years ago starting in August 2022 and was a record breaking debut for HBO/Max.
Rebecca Ferguson co-starring with Chris Pratt in Mercy: Rebecca Ferguson is staying in the world of sci-fi, joining Chris Pratt in the upcoming sci-fi thriller Mercy. Directed by Wanted‘s Timur Bekmambetov, the movie is set in the near future where capital crime has increased, with Pratt playing a detective who is accused of a violent crime and must prove his innocence.
Baywatch reboot in the works: While we had the Dwayne Johnson/Zac Efron movie, Baywatch is coming back to TV with a new series on Fox. The network is looking at bringing back the rescue/lifeguard drama as an “action-packed” summer series, with big ocean rescue scenes mixed with the interpersonal drama of the lifeguards. Fox has another lifeguard series, Rescue: HI-Surf, that is potentially going to debut in the fall this year.
