Here’s all the movie and TV news you need to know from the past week, it’s the News Shotgun.
Aristocats live-action remake canceled: While many would argue that several live-action Disney remakes that came out should have been canceled *cough* Snow White *cough*, one project has been canceled. Musician Questlove was working on a remake of The Aristocats, which he would also have made his directorial debut on, but the project is now dead at Disney. The project went through several different Disney presidents, and there’s always the tendency to wipe out what the previous group was working on and start fresh.
Mortal Kombat II delayed:Â Mortal Kombat IIÂ has experienced a significant delay, shifting from October this year to May 15, 2026. Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema believe the movie will perform better early in the summer next year, given the strong reaction to the Mortal Kombat IIÂ trailer when it debuted.
Star Wars: Starfighter adds new cast members: The upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter movie, starring Ryan Gosling, Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams, was officially confirmed as joining the cast as production began in the UK. Smith and Goth were previously reported to be in talks, but no official confirmation was available at the time. Shawn Levy, who most recently directed Deadpool & Wolverine, is directing the movie, which takes place five years after The Rise of Skywalker.
The Specialist series gets optioned for TV: The Specialist series of books, which was most infamously adapted into the 1994 Stallone/Sharon Stone movie, has been optioned for a TV series by AR Content. Oscar-nominated producer Alexander Rodnyansky operates the production company, which has acquired the rights to all 11 books in The Specialist series, written by author John Shirley under the pen name John Cutter. The new show will be a modern take on the series, with “a morally conflicted former military drone operator, haunted by his past and desperate to reclaim his humanity.” The series will incorporate cutting-edge military technology, such as FPV drones, kamikaze UAVs, thermite attacks, and fiber-optic drones, to add modern realism to the conflicts the Specialist finds himself in.
Violent Night 2 adds Daniela Melchior and Kristen Bell: The sequel to the brutally fun Christmas action movie Violent Night has added two new cast members with Daniela Melchior and Kristen Bell. It’s unclear who they will play, and plot details have not been revealed beyond the fact that David Harbour’s brutal Santa Claus will return for another round of action. Tommy Wirkola, who directed the first film, is back to direct the sequel.
John Malkovich joins Bad Monkey season 2: Season 2 of the Vince Vaughn-led Bad Monkey has received a boost with the addition of John Malkovich to the cast. Malkovich will play Spencer, the head of a prominent South Florida criminal organization. Vaughn is back as sarcastic former detective Andrew Yancy, but it’s not clear if anyone from the first season will return alongside him. The first season was based on the Carl Hiaasen novel of the same name, but Season 2 will be an original story created for the TV series.
Young Stallone cast for I Play Rocky: Noah Centineo is playing a young John Rambo in the upcoming prequel movie, and now Anthony Ippolito is playing a young Stallone/Rocky in I Play Rocky. The movie is about the making of the original Rocky and Stallone’s determination to not only write the script, but play the lead role, even though he was virtually unknown at the time. Peter Farrelly will direct the movie, and Amazon MGM will produce. The movie will have a theatrical release, but a release date has not been set yet.
Cobra Kai team tackling Knight Rider: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald, the team behind Cobra Kai, are in talks to produce, write, and possibly direct a film reboot of Knight Rider. Kelly McCormick and David Leitch are also producing the movie for 87North. Details are being kept under wraps, but it would not be surprising to get something similar to The Fall Guy with this new Knight Rider.
Trainwreck renewed for another season: Netflix has renewed its documentary series Trainwreck for a second season. The current season delivered the buzzy Trainwreck: Poop Cruise, which garnered over 20 million views in its first week and was among the top 10 most-watched shows in more than 86 countries on Netflix. The rest of the series garnered between 5 and 7 million views in its first week of release. The Trainwreck series spun off from Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99, a three-part documentary series that detailed the chaotic music event that ended in a riot.
The Waterfront canceled: On the other side of the streaming coin, Netflix has canceled its drama series, The Waterfront, after one season. The series was created by Kevin Williamson and followed the Buckley family, a North Carolina fishing dynasty, as they were forced into various illicit activities when their business was in jeopardy. Holt McCallany, Maria Bello, Melissa Benoist, and Jack Weary co-starred. The series seems to have gotten swept aside by the juggernaut that is Squid Game, which had its third season debut the week after The Waterfront dropped.
Matthew McConaughey reteaming with Nic Pizzolatto: Matthew McConaughey will reunite with True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto for a new Netflix drama series. McConaughey will co-star with Cole Hauser, but there are no further plot details available, except that McConaughey and Hauser will play brothers. Pizzolatto and McConaughey were actually supposed to reteam for an FX series called Redeemer that never got made.
Annette Benning joins Yellowstone spin-off: Annette Benning is joining the Yellowstone universe in the upcoming spin-off, The Dutton Ranch.  The series will be a continuation of the mothership show, with Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and Finn Little reprising their roles. Benning is playing Beulah Jackson, “the powerful, cunning and charming head of a major ranch in Texas.” Chad Feehan, who worked on the Taylor Sheridan series Lawmen: Bass Reeves, will serve as showrunner for The Dutton Ranch.  The series will air on the Paramount Network and be available on the Paramount+ streaming service.
