Thanks to a photo taken on the set of Daredevil: Born Again, a trade report has confirmed that Arty Froushan has joined the cast of the Disney Plus streaming series.
According to the report, Froushan has joined the series as a character named “Harry”, a code name, who appears to be associated with Wilson Fisk’s Mayoral campaign. A casting call for the character described him as “intense and inscrutable.” It is believed that Froushan’s deal is for just one season.
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Source: Deadline
Spider-Man: No Way Home introduced the world to the multiverse with the return of some iconic characters from Spider-Man’s cinematic past. Among them was Thomas Haden Church who made his long-awaited return as Sandman. While he only had a brief actual appearance in the film with the help of some old footage, we did get him fully CG in sand form.
Interestingly enough, the actor has hinted that perhaps there’s more in the cards for Sandman, as he revealed there were talks with producer Amy Pascal and MCU mastermind Kevin Feige in an interview with DisInsider. With films like Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, there are many opportunities to have familiar faces return.
There was just so much going on. John and I and Amy [Pascal] and Kevin [Feige], we all had a lot of conversations. And I would say that conversations have been had about the possibility of Sandman coming into an a future iteration of it. The conversation has happened about him coming back, and maybe picking up a more fulfilling story. You know? With Flint and being not just Sandman, but returning to human form.
Thomas Haden Church
The “fulfilling story” he is referencing is the fact that Spider-Man: No Way home included one about his daughter that seemingly got cut at some point. It’s no surprise given just how massive of an undertaking the film was with all these villains and plot lines from across the multiverse it had to juggle. We’ll have to see if we can expect his return sooner or later.
Source: The DisInsider
It looks like Percy Jackson and the Olympians is already working on the next season even before its initial one premiered on Disney+. While it is still slated for a 2024 release, it seems like they are getting ready just in case a season two renewal is around the corner as revealed by Percy Jackson creator Rick Riordan in his personal blog.
He does highlight that nothing has been green-lit but they have been approved to start work on scripts, which helps production jump straight into the next season once they get the renewal rather than going through the writing process and delaying the next season’s release even more.
W]e have started work on the writers’ room for season two. This does NOT mean the second season has been green-lit yet. It’s too early for that. But we have been approved to start developing scripts, and I think everyone’s expectation is that a second season will happen if all goes as planned. It sure is exciting to be part of the room, though. We’ve broken down the action of the second ‘Percy Jackson’ book, ‘The Sea of Monsters,’ into a series of episodes, and have begun outlining what the first episodes would look like.
Rick Riordan
It’s something that a WGA entry recently hinted at for Netflix’s One Piece, as it might also already working on the scripts for its second season as well. The practice is common as it gives them shorter waiting periods between entries and it mostly means they are working on the basic season outline before finalizing any scripts once there’s a confirmation for the second season.
Source: Rick Riordan
No, you read that correctly but Marvel Studios will finally reintroduce Betty Ross to the world, as Liv Tyler is set to reprise her role from The Incredible Hulk in the upcoming fourth entry of the Captain America franchise, Captain America: New World Order. Anthony Mackie‘s Sam Wilson will take on the mantle he took over during Falcon and the Winter Soldier as he faces some new threats.
For those that might’ve forgotten, she played the role in 2008 and hasn’t been in a Marvel Studios project since. It was the second entry in the franchise right after Iron Man in the same year when Edward Norton was still attached as Bruce Banner. If they have bigger plans for her character, she will also have her first meeting with Mark Ruffalo, who took over in The Avengers back in 2012.
She’s not the only returning actor from that long-forgotten Hulk film, as Tim Blake Nelson is also finally appearing as the Leader in the Captain America film. While it will also feature her father, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the late and great William Hurt sadly won’t be returning, but his character will live on with Harrison Ford is set to take over the role in the upcoming film.
It’s interesting to see so many Hulk characters in a Captain America film, but it may be set up more in the future. Liv Tyler was actually rumored for some time to appear in a Marvel project. Once again it reminds you just how big this franchise has grown and the legacy it still holds with characters returning we haven’t seen in almost 15 years.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has made a name for himself by winning an Oscar for Best Documentary and it seems that it already kickstarted his career to tackling a live-action hybrid of the Disney classic, The Aristocats. The news has just arrived that he will be making his directorial debut and acting as an executive producer on the project. Not just that, but he’s also set to oversee the music for the project.
Questlove might be familiar to many as part of The Roots. He also acted as the composer for the project of Vincent N Roxxy and some may know him for his role as Curley in Pixar’s Soul. Though, he might be most famous for his time as musical director on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. So, he definitely makes for a great choice to bring the iconic music from the original into modern times. There’s no word if this will remain a musical like the original or take a different direction.
The Aristocats wasn’t among Disney’s biggest animated features but it definitely was memorable for its jazz-inspired music. The 1970 classic was written by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe and has some iconic music composed by Floyd Huddleston and Al Rinke including “Le Jazz Hot” and famously “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat.” The new film is written by Will Gluck and Keith Bunin. Tarik Trotter, Shawn Gee, and Zarah Zohlman are attached as executive producers for Two One Five Entertainment.
Source: Deadline
The New York location of Daredevil: Born Again continues to be the gift that keeps on giving as photos and videos from the set of the Disney Plus series continue to roll out on a near daily basis. Recent photos from the Times Square set seemed to indicate that a popular rumor about the plot of the show may be correct; now, the first shot of star Vincent D’Onofrio on set mat further back those rumors.
The photo, found in Marvel Studios Reddit, shows D’Onofrio looking very distinguished–perhaps even Mayoral.
D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk was last seen in the finale of the streaming series Hawkeye and was sporting a significantly different style than what he’s spotted in here. Given this looks like a public appearance in the middle of the day following what seemed to be a political rally, it seems as though there may be quite a bit of weight behind the Mayor Fisk rumors.
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Source: Reddit
Production on Marvel Studios Daredevil revival, Daredevil: Born Again recently got underway in New York City, kicking off an ambitious production schedule that is slated to be spread out over the majority of 2023. Over the past week, photos from the set have indicated that the series will be revisiting the childhood of Wilson Fisk, a time that was well established in the Netflix Daredevil series. Star Charlie Cox has already made it clear that Born Again isn’t a fourth season of Daredevil but rather a “whole new deal,” that would provide the opportunity to revisit and retell stories from the Netflix series. Now, for the first time, co-star Vincent D’Onofrio has given his input on how the new series compares to Daredevil.
Vincent D’Onofrio
“We’ve only just started shooting. I think we’re a couple weeks in, and the show is going to be very, very different than the Netflix show, and it’s so exciting because what we’re doing is quite something.”
What exactly will be so different? According to D’Onofrio, Daredevil: Born Again is set to subvert the expectations of the audience.
I think it’s something that people are not going to expect. But, always with these Marvel old comic stories that are being revisited and reinvented by us actors, and the writers, the main thing is to answer the fans.
Vincent D’Onofrio
How will showrunners Matt Corman and Chris Ord pull that off? According to D’Onofrio, by providing an original and emotional take on the characters.
To give them what they want but try to be original in some way at the same time, and so that’s what we’re doing on the show. It’s definitely an original way to look at this, and it’s really deep, really emotional.
Vincent D’Onofrio
Daredevil: Born Again was presented as an 18-episode maxi-series slated for 2024. While the release schedule of any and all Marvel Studios streaming projects remains up in the air while the company restructures a bit under Bob Iger’s renewed leadership, Born Again not only looks to still make its debut in 2024 but also, according to D’Onofrio, already be penciled in for a second season. According to D’Onofrio, fans of the Netflix series may have to play the long game, but by the end of that second season, they’ll get “what they want.”
And, by the second season, there are gigantic, gigantic payoffs—in the first season, too, but I can’t say much about that—but the fans are gonna really get what they want. It’s really quite cool to be doing it.
Vincent D’Onofrio
What is it fans want? If it’s a healthy amount of Cox and Jon Bernthal who is returning as Frank Castle, D’Onofrio has some.good news.
These are two guys that, just as men and actors themselves, are legitimate people and I love those guys, Jon and Charlie. I just love them. They’re just awesome, good people, and their acting ability speaks for itself. They’re both very good, and it’s nice. It’s always nice to come on a set and you know that the other main actors are as prepared as anybody could be. It shortens the day, and that kind of preparation lends itself to a great scene.
Vincent D’Onofrio
As if it weren’t already evident given the 18-episode structure of Season 1, fans are going to have to sit back and let the story of Daredevil: Born Again unfold before they get an idea of exactly what’s going on and how it does or does not connect to the stories told on Netflix. Fortunately, with Bernthal, Cox and D’Onofrio on board, it should be an enjoyable ride.
Source: Newsweek
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Now and Always is the perfect callback to a bygone era. With some returning faces, it’s great to see that our love and adoration for this series in our childhood has not gone away even after all this time. Yet, not all faces are set to return for the Netflix reunion special. Former Pink Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson, took to her Twitter to share why she and the recently passed away Jason David Frank may have decided not to join the production.
She doesn’t really give a specific answer but the “wear spandex in my 50s” reaction may be quite genuine as she’s moved away from the character. She’s been quite busy with her directing career, such as being involved with one of the episodes of Superman and Lois’ second season. Though, she’s certainly happy for those that did return from the original era and she doesn’t rule out that she might have some involvement with the franchise’s 30th anniversary.
There will be a pink ranger in the series, played by the second to hold the mantle, Catherine Sutherland. Austin St. John also couldn’t return due to facing criminal charges. The second Red Ranger, Steve Cardenas, is taking on the role in this special. They are joining David Yost and Walter Jones as the Blue and Black Rangers respectively. There is also a tribute to the late Thuy Trang, who played Trini, Yellow Ranger in the series and it’s uncertain if they also added a tribute to Jason David Frank after his tragic passing in late 2022.
Source: Twitter
It looks like people are all-in for John Wick: Chapter 4. The franchise continues to grow and has managed to wrap up its weekend with $73.5M. That would put it above the recent $70M expected opening from 3,855 theaters. It’s come pretty far from the first John Wick‘s opening of $14.4M and has now passed the record set by the previous Parabellum entry of $56.8M.
Internationally, the film did quite well as it passed all expected pre-release estimates and opened to $64M. As such, the film now proudly stands at a franchise’s best of a $137.5M global opening. Not many films can claim that their fourth entry managed to continue growing the franchise’s box office revenue with only nine managing to hold that title in the past 40 years.
Lionsgate might also be quite happy as this is the highest opening they’ve had since The Hunger Games opened to $102.6M back in November of 2015. So, it has been a while since they had such a big hit in theaters. The latest film entry did make up 62% of the weekend gross and it was slim picking for the rest. Shazam: Fury of the Gods did slightly better than the expected 70% drop but a 68% drop with a $30M opening isn’t something you want to see, families truly aren’t back in theaters yet.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will hit theaters in just under six weeks and is expected to pack an emotional punch as it will serve as a farewell to this particular group of Guardians. The threequel has a lot to accomplish including making good on Vol. 2′s Adam Warlock tease, introducing a new villain in Chukwudi Iwuji’s High Evolutionary, killing off a Guardian or so and fitting whatever surprises Gunn has in store into its runtime. Whether it runs for 1 hour and 56 minutes or 3 hours and 2 minutes, we know that somewhere on social media, it’ll be criticized for being too short. But how long will the film be?
According to Atom Tickets, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to be the longest film of the trilogy–and the longest of Gunn’s directorial career–clocking in at 2 hours and 29 minutes. Once that news got out in the wild, it was only a matter of time before Gunn, who continues to be incredibly active on social media even as he continues on in his new role as co-chair of DC Studios, addressed it. And, as it turns out, that runtime is in the ballpark.
“It’s around that long, although that’s not yet exact,” said Gunn when asked if the reported runtime was accurate before adding, “and I promise not a second is wasted.” “There’s no fat,” Gunn said of Vol. 3’s plot explaining that “It was necessary to experience the full arc for every major Guardians character, not only for this film, but for the trilogy (or, I should say, trilogy plus).“
Gunn went on to explain that “It’s just the length of end credits that are being estimated in this running time.” The end credits of Marvel Studios’ films, of course, famously feature mid and post-credit scenes and depending on how many there are, the length of those credits will vary. While one or two is the norm, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had five stingers spread out throughout and after the credits rolled. Whatever the case, Gunn’s made it clear that the film will clock in around two and a half hours long making it one of the five longest MCU films and significantly longer than the average MCU film, which clocks in at 2 hours and 12 minutes.
