News Shotgun 2/15/24
Here’s all the movie and TV news you need to know from the past week, it’s the News Shotgun.
Natasha Lyonne is starring in the horror comedy Basketful of Heads. Natasha Lyonne is starring in a new horror comedy by director Ana Lily Amirpour, Basketful of Heads. Adapted from the Joe Hill comic, the story follows a woman named June, who sets out to rescue her kidnapped boyfriend wielding a magic battle axe. When she decapitated a bad guy, their head remains alive.
The Pitt renewed for Season 2: Max has renewed its medical drama The Pitt for a second season. The show stars Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, who works in the emergency room of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. Each episode is one hour in real time of Dr. Robby’s 15-hour shift. The first season wraps up on April 10th.
Live-action Dungeons & Dragons series in development at Netflix: Netflix is looking to crack the code for a Dungeons & Dragons TV series after several attempts have fallen through. Shawn Levy and Drew Crevello, working with Hasbro, are developing a new live-action series set in the Forgotten Realms region of the D&D universe. Crevello previously worked on Paramount+’s attempt to create a D&D series that didn’t come to fruition.
The Rings of Power renewed for Season 3: Despite speculation that Amazon might shelve the series despite the absurd amount of money they spent, The Rings of Power has been renewed for a third season on Prime Video. The Lord of the Rings series is set thousands of years before Frodo and the Fellowship formed, following the rise of Sauron and the forging of the Rings of Power. The second season saw a drop-off in viewership compared to the first, and critical reception was tepid at best, but Amazon committed to five seasons for $1 billion.
Several cast members join Ridley Scott’s new film: Ridley Scott has found several cast members who are starring in his latest film, The Dog Stars. Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, and Guy Pearce will star with the previously cast Jacob Elordi in the new movie set in a post-apocalyptic landscape. Elordi plays Hig, a crop duster who flies his Cessna with his faithful dog, trying to find whatever remains of civilization. The movie is based on the novel by Peter Heller and was adapted by Mark L. Smith, who wrote The Revenant and created the Netflix series American Primeval.
John Lithgow in talks for Harry Potter series: The upcoming TV reboot of Harry Potter may have its first major casting news, as John Lithgow is in talks to play Dumbledore. HBO/Max is developing the series, which will adapt one of the books in the Harry Potter series each season, digging deeper than the movies were able to.
Paul Giamatti is playing Art Bell in a new biopic: Legendary paranormal radio host Art Bell is getting a biopic with Paul Giamatti playing the broadcaster. Radio Silence, who previously brought us Ready or Not, Scream, and Abigail, are developing the film. Bell hosted “Coast to Coast,” which he broadcasted from his home in Las Vegas. He took unscreened phone calls from across the country, with people talking about alien encounters, cryptids, ghosts, and everything else paranormal. Giamatti co-hosts a podcast, “Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma,” that dives into similar topics.
Dave Bautista starring in sci-fi thriller Dreadnought: Dave Bautista is reuniting with Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott, who directed him in Bushwick, for a new sci-fi thriller, Dreadnought. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world after an alien invasion unleashed a deadly plague. With his daughter dying from the plague, a man named Max (Bautista) refuses to allow an alien Sentinel to take her body to perform a “metamorphosis ritual” that is sanctioned by the human government. John Wick production company Thunder Road is behind the film.
Masters of the Universe casts Fisto and The Sorceress: The upcoming live-action Masters of the Universe movie has found two more cast members with Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, currently in Captain America: Brave New World as Copperhead, playing Fisto and Morena Baccarin playing The Sorceress, who guards Castle Grayskull. Nicholas Galitzine plays He-Man with Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Jared Leto, Idris Elba, Sam C. Wilson, Hafthor Bjornsson, and Kojo Attah previously cast. Travis Knight is directing the movie, set for a June 5th release next year.
