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Category: News

  • ‘SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS’ Has Wrapped Filming

    ‘SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS’ Has Wrapped Filming

    The Shazamily is returning with both the cast and director picking up their respective roles for another electrifying ride through the DCEU. It was announced last year at DC Fandome that the next film in the franchise would be titled Shazam: Fury of The Gods, leading many to wonder just what gods they’d be facing since they’d all been killed by Ares centuries ago.

    While the second Shazam film isn’t set to release until 2023, director David Sandberg announced yesterday that filming has wrapped. This has left quite a large gap of time in between the end of production and release allowing for some speculation to begin.

    https://twitter.com/ponysmasher/status/1432850458566176773?s=20

    With filming having already concluded and release so far out, what could occupy all that time aside from post-production? Possibly pre-production on a third film. One of the biggest issues the films face is with its actors. The cast is mostly made up of child actors who’ve all began to sprout up quite fast in the past years. The issue they need to avoid here is most likely the child actors outgrowing the actors who play their powered-up counterparts. With all this time in between, With how much time they have in between releases, they could easily get cameras rolling sometime in 2022 following post-production on Fury of the Gods.

    Shazam: Fury of the Gods is currently set to release on June 2nd, 2023 with Zachary Levi set to return as Captain Marvel. The film will see the family up against the daughters of Atlas with Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu set to play two of the older sisters, Hespera and Kalypso.

    SOURCE: Twitter

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘POWER PACK’ No Longer In Active Development

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘POWER PACK’ No Longer In Active Development

    Once upon a time, Marvel Studios was looking at several obscure comic properties to bring to the big screen, in an attempt to kickstart some financial backing for the newly-founded studio. One of those properties was Shang-Chi, which comes out later this week in theaters, and Power Pack.

    We spoke with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings producer Jonathan Schwartz about Power Pack, a project he was coincidentally attached to produce at some point in the past decade, and its current status.

    It’s one of those things we look at and talk about every once in a while. We’ll probably get there eventually but it’s not something super active at the moment.

    For the uninitiated, Power Pack is a superhero team made up of pre-teen siblings with powerful cosmic abilities who’d go on crazy cosmic adventures together. The property has been in and out of development throughout the years, with the most recent iteration being the one Schwartz was attached to.

    With so many unique things in development, it is pretty surprising to know that Power Pack is currently not in Marvel Studios’ sights at the moment. Power Pack feels like a property that would be served really well in animation, similar to What If…?. Let’s cross our fingers they finally do something with it because that is a bankable property.

  • ‘SHANG-CHI’ Eyeing $50M Domestic, $90M Global Opening

    ‘SHANG-CHI’ Eyeing $50M Domestic, $90M Global Opening

    As fans continue to waver on how comfortable they feel heading to theaters, Marvel Studios newest origin story, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, looks to be on track to set a Labor Day weekend box office record with a projected $45-50 million dollar U.S. opening weekend. The film received rave reviews from critics (you can read our review RIGHT HERE) and is on track to add another $40-45 million globally. A $45M domestic box office would top the recently released and well-loved The Suicide Squad.

    Box office projections are not an exact science and are even cloudier now as the Delta variant continues to surge; however, it seems that Disney is going to strike it rich over the usually dead Labor Day weekend. While Shang-Chi won’t be putting up pre-pandemic numbers or even Black Widow numbers (which also premiered day-and-date on Disney Plus via Premier Acess), it seems sure to surpass the current Labor Day weekend record of $37M, held by the 2007 Halloween reboot. It also seems like the film is set to kick off a strong run atop the box office, as competition for the top spot will remain relatively weak over the next 3 weeks. Projections used advance ticket sales as part of their calculations and while those are nowhere near as strong as they were for Black Widow, it’s possible that word of mouth and walk-ins over the long weekend could push the film closer to a $100M global launch.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘THE CROODS: FAMILY TREE’ Series Heading to Hulu and Peacock

    ‘THE CROODS: FAMILY TREE’ Series Heading to Hulu and Peacock

    DreamWorks isn’t done with the Croods family quite yet, as they just announced a brand new animated series based on the popular film franchise titled The Croods: Family Tree. It’s heading to Hulu and peacock and will start streaming as of September 23rd. Mark Banker and Todd Grimes are serving as executive producers on the series. We also got a brand new poster for the new series:

    The story will continue where A New Age left off, as the Croods and the Bettermans learn to live together in an ideal prehistoric farm. You can expect a lot of misadventures as the two families try to overcome their differences as they adjust to living together in a tree house. Kelly Marie Tran once again voices Dawn with Amy Landecker joining as Ugga.

    The franchise started back in 2013 which explored the prehistoric family. Initially, the cast consisted of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman, and Clark Duke. They returned for the sequel film but will be voiced by other actors in the series. The film was one of the few that managed to release during last year’s pandemic and tested the waters on how the Box Office may perform. You can check out the first trailer here:

  • HBO’s ‘THE LAST OF US’ Pilot Wraps Production With First Look at New Logo

    HBO’s ‘THE LAST OF US’ Pilot Wraps Production With First Look at New Logo

    HBO has been hard at work preparing their upcoming adaptation of Naughty Dog’s popular The Last of Us. We got our first look at the series entering production back in July, which featured Pedro Pascal as Joel and Pedro Gabriel Luna‘s Tommy. It teased a very familiar scene from the original game’s intro. Russian director Kantemir Balagov was hired to direct the pilot for the series and he just took to his Instagram to share that he has wrapped work on the episode’s pilot. In the image, he also shares a look at the production logo for the series.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CTOazs-LKHG/

    It’s sad that the director was only attached for the pilot, but hopefully he may return for a future season. The adapation will bring the story of Joel and Ellie to life, as they travel through the United States on the search for the Fireflies. It’s their only hope to utilize Ellie’s immunity to save humanity. We still don’t know if the series might take a unique route, especially as they added a few new names to the cast, such as the original voice of Tommy, Jeffrey Pierce, playing a new character.

    While Balagov took over directing duties for the pilot, other episodes will be taken over by Jasmila Žbanić and Ali Abbasi. The series focus on introducing some internationaly acclaimed directors is a great move, as it offers quite a bit of diversity to make the series stand out from the original game franchise.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘NO TIME TO DIE’ Final Trailer Uploaded Early on YouTube

    ‘NO TIME TO DIE’ Final Trailer Uploaded Early on YouTube

    Many films were faced with quite a few delays since the pandemic hit the world back in 2020. Among them was the next entry in the James Bond 007 franchise featuring Daniel Craig in the titular role. No Time to Die is eyeing an October 8th release and it looks like the trailer has accidentally gotten released early on YouTube, as it is currently not listed but available in the official James Bond 007 YouTube’s trailer playlist. You can check out the final trailer for the upcoming film here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JUyLgwrC4Y&list=PLroUsGOhJjhJB1sG1cZDDzDZOJs7rbeTd

    The footage includes some iconic moments from his previous films and highlights every mission he has gone through. It seems to highlight that the upcoming entry will be the grand finale for Craig‘s time as the iconic UK agent. At least, the trailer is trying to sell it like it was the Avengers: Endgame of the franchise. What continues to stand out with the latest entry is the action. We get a bit more from the car stunt that was teased in earlier trailers as well as glimpses of the various weaponry that he’ll fall back on. He even is working alongside Lashana Lynch‘s 007, who took over the title in his absence.

    It’s not uncommon for trailers to get uploaded ahead of their release, but it’s curious that it’s set as unlisted. The official Twitter account did share a special sneak peak focused on the Aston Martin. So, it may have been to kick off today’s final trailer release but was accidentally available when you access the playlist.

    Source: YouTube

  • ‘Batgirl’ Confirmed to Shoot In Glasgow

    ‘Batgirl’ Confirmed to Shoot In Glasgow

    Things are moving quite fast on the Batgirl film after spending years in development hell. Once the film found its directors, it was off to the races. It was announced just a few weeks ago that actress Leslie Grace would indeed be putting on the cape and cowl to suit up as the titular hero in her very own solo film.

    While the film has set no release date for its HBO Max debut, production seems to be ramping up with Glasgow Live reporting it is set to kick off in November. Batgirl will mark the third DC film to make its way to Glasgow as the setting for Gotham city after The Batman and The Flash both recently wrapped up filming there. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah both recently arrived in Glasgow to do some scouting ahead of principal photography.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CTATfQTiOrO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

    With filming on the project beginning so soon and recent sets in Glasgow being a hot spot for paparazzi, it’s likely DC Fandome could give us not just a release date, but our first look at Grace suited up to avoid the first photos coming from the streets of Glasgow.

    Batgirl will be directed by El Arbi and Fallah, with a script written by Christina Hodson, who previously wrote both Birds of Prey and The Flash. The film will also see the return of JK Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, following his short appearance in Justice League.

    SOURCE: GlasgowLive

  • Bridget Regan Cast as Poison Ivy in The CW’s ‘BATWOMAN’

    Bridget Regan Cast as Poison Ivy in The CW’s ‘BATWOMAN’

    It looks like another classic member of Batman’s infamous rogues gallery is joining the CW. Variety revealed today that actress Bridget Regan will bring Poison Ivy to life on The CW’s Batwoman series, as of the show’s upcoming third season. The show’s take on the character will see Pamela Isley as a former botany student at Gotham University. She is described as a passionate, brilliant scientist with a mind for making the world a better place. Unfortunately, she was taken off course when a colleague used her for experimentation, injecting her with various plant toxins that imbued Isley with the Poison Ivy power set.

    Variety highlights the character did what she thought was right, until Batman took her down for her crimes. Now, Batwoman will have to deal with her vengeful return. Regan is no stranger to comic adaptations, having previously appeared as a recurring villain on ABC’s Agent Carter. She is also known for her roles in the hit shows Jane the Virgin and White Collar.

    Regan follows in the footsteps of many performers before her, with Uma Thurman famously portraying the character in the late 90’s film Batman & Robin and multiple women taking on the role for the cult favorite Gotham series. Lake Bell currently portrays the character on HBO Max’s animated Harley Quinn. It’ll be interesting to see what new twist she adds to the character, whose gone through many iterations.

    Source: TVLine

  • Disney+ to Revive ‘THE ROCKETEER’

    Disney+ to Revive ‘THE ROCKETEER’

    It looks like Disney is ready to revive a cult classic, as Deadline is reporting that a new film titled The Return of the Rocketeer will bring new life into the 1991 classic, The Rocketeer. It’ll release on Disney+ with David and Jessica Oyelowo set to produce through their Yoruba Saxon banner. Ed Ricourt will pen the script with David Oyelowo also potentially starring int he titular role. There is currently no director attached. It’ll be the first film under Yoruba Saxon’s first-look deal with Disney. Deadline also shared some first story details, as it will follow a retired Tuskegee airman, who takes up the mantle.

    Ricourt made his mark with the hit Now You See Me and Marvel’s Jessica Jones. He even was a consulting producer on that series and went on to pen Raising Dion for Netflix. He has some heavy shoes to fill by bringing Joe Johnston‘s 1991 film to life while staying true to Dave Stevens original graphic novel. The story of a young pilot finding a jetpack and helping others stuck with many over the years.

    Updating the project and acting as a sequel is a smart move. Rather than just retelling the original, they can continue the legacy set up and even see how the character would look like in a new era. It heading directly to streaming is a curious decision and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of budget the film will get. The franchise did make a return in 2019 as a children show on Disney Junior and Disney Channel, which followed a young girl named Katherine “Kit” Secord, which was promptly cancelled after only one season.

    Source: Deadline

  • Disney Already Working on ‘JUNGLE CRUISE’ Sequel

    Disney Already Working on ‘JUNGLE CRUISE’ Sequel

    Looks like Disney was quite satisfied with Jungle Cruise‘s performance, as the House of Mouse already green lit a sequel. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt will also return as their respective characters, Frank Wolff and Dr. Lily Houghton. Co-writer Michael Green is also slated to return. Hollywood Reporter believes that Jaume Collet-Serra is also returning to direct the project alongside the original’s producers. Johnson took to Twitter to share his excitement on the sequel announcement:

    The film was one of Disney’s simultaneous releases on Disney+ Premier Access and theaters. Even with the additional pricing tag, the film saw a good success as it premiered at $34.2M in domestic sales. It added an additional $30M on the streaming service and it managed pass the $100M in its fifth weekend. Currently, it stands at $187M worldwide.

    So, it certainly looks like that Disney has been quite satisfied with its Box Office performances and sees a lot of potential in the franchise. With the pandemic still raging, there’s also a good chance the film would’ve pulled in more during regular times. All eyes are currently on Disney’s first theater-exclusive release to give a good indicator what the future holds for the domestic Box Office with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter, Twitter