Here’s all the movie and TV news you need to know from the past week, it’s the News Shotgun.
Jon Bernthal is back as The Punisher in the next Spider-Man film: Following his recent return to the MCU in Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal’s Punisher will appear in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, starring Tom Holland. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is directing the movie, which will pick up where the massive cliffhanger at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home leaves off. Bernthal will also return for Daredevil: Born Again season 2 and a stand-alone Punisher special on Disney+.
Dave Bautista in talks for Road House 2: Dave Bautista is reportedly in talks to join Road House 2 for Amazon Prime Video. The sequel to the 2024 reboot, Jake Gyllenhaal returns as ex-UFC fighter turned bouncer Dalton, and Guy Ritchie takes over directing duties from Doug Liman. Will Beall, who wrote Bad Boys: Ride or Die, wrote the sequel.
Russell Crowe joins Highlander: Russell Crowe will co-star with Henry Cavill in the upcoming reboot of Highlander. Cavill is playing Connor MacLeod, and Crowe will play his mentor, Ramirez, originally played by Sean Connery in the original movie. Chad Stahelski is directing the film for Amazon, MGM Studios, and United Artists.
China remastering hundreds of kung fu classics with AI: Several studios in China have joined with the China Film Foundation to remaster around 100 classic kung-fu movies using AI. Fist of Fury, The Big Boss, Once Upon a Time in China, and Drunken Master are some of the titles that will go through the process. The project is “using AI to enhance the overall production quality of the films while preserving authenticity.”
Death Stranding to get animated film adaptation: Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding is being adapted into an adult animated film. Raised by Wolves’ Aaron Guzikowski is writing the movie, and it will be an original story set in the world of Death Stranding. A24 is developing a separate live-action adaptation of the game that was announced two years ago.
Netflix is rebooting Land of the Lost: The campy 1970s classic is being revived by Netflix. Sid & Marty Kroft, creators of the original series, along with Marty’s daughter Deanna Krofft Pope, the COO of their company, will executive produce. The original series featured a father named Rick and his two children being transported to prehistoric times, where they had to survive alongside dinosaurs and the bizarre, humanoid reptiles known as Sleestaks. There was a reboot of the series in 1991 on ABC, and a 2009 film starring Will Ferrell.
Clayface cast for upcoming DC film: The villainous Clayface has been cast for an upcoming movie in the DC Universe. Tom Rhys Harries will play Clayface, although the exact details surrounding the character have not been revealed. Mike Flanagan wrote the script for the movie, and James Watkins, who directed the Hollywood remake of “See No Evil,” is directing the film. Clayface has a currently scheduled release date of September 11, 2026.
Dune 3 casts Atreides children: The upcoming third entry in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune series has cast the children of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya) with Nakoa-Wolf Momoa playing Leto II and Ida Brooke playing Ghanima. The movie will adapt Dune Messiah, set 12 years after the events of Dune, where Paul Atreides has to reckon with the consequences of his crusade and his ascension to Emperor Muad’Dib. Jason Momoa is also expected to return as a resurrected “ghola” of Duncan Idaho, while Robert Pattinson is in talks to play the movie’s villain.
Glenn Close and Billy Porter join new ‘Hunger Games’ movie: The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping continues to round out its cast as Glenn Close and Billy Porter have joined the cast this week. “Close will play Drusilla Sickle, the cruel escort to the District 12 Tributes, while Porter is Magno Stift, her estranged husband and the Tributes’ uninspired designer.” Joseph Zada, Whitney Peak, Mckenna Grace, Jesse Plemons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Maya Hawke, Lili Taylor, Ben Wang, Ralph Fiennes, Elle Fanning and Kieran Culkin were all previously cast in the movie. Based on the most recent book by Suzanne Collins, the film is set during the Fiftieth Hunger Games, where Haymitch Abernathy became District 12’s first champion.
Duke Nukem rights acquired by Adi Shankar: Castlevania and Devil May Cry animated series creator Adi Shankar has acquired another classic video game license, this time for Duke Nukem. Shankar acquired the screen rights from Gearbox Software, but it’s unclear what direction Shankar will take the character, whether in an animated project like most of his adaptations, a movie, or something else. Shankar currently has adaptations of PUBG, Hyper Light Drifter, and Assassin’s Creed on the way, along with a new season of Devil May Cry, which debuted on Netflix earlier this year.
