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  • Warner Bros. Working on a New ‘I Am Legend’ Project

    Warner Bros. Working on a New ‘I Am Legend’ Project

    Sometimes there are some fun surprises hidden away in corners of articles about something completely unrelated. In a new piece by The Hollywood Reporter on an ongoing legal battle between Village Roadshow and Warner Bros. on the future of their franchises. In it, they reveal that a new I Am Legend adaptation is seemingly in development, as the article talks about films currently in development involving both parties.

    Sadly there is no mention of how far the project is moving along, but it seems to imply it’ll be released as a film. It’s just a short mention alongside other projects currently in development co-owned by Village. The reason this is highlighted is that the company is seeking the rights to co-invest and co-own projects they share the rights with Warner Bros. This has become a prevalent issue with their goals of further promoting HBO Max by releasing half their film slate on the streaming platform, which may also include this release.

    I Am Legend has been adapted quite a few times in the past, and it would be interesting to see how they’d update a new take. For some, the version including Will Smith might be the version most remember, as he tries to survive a post-apocalyptic world with his trusty dog by his side. It was an emotional story that is sure to connect with many viewers and given the current situation might’ve garnered even more relevance.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Netflix Developing ‘BioShock’ Film

    Netflix Developing ‘BioShock’ Film

    BioShock fans may have a real reason to celebrate, as it looks like an adaptation of the famed franchise is finally underway.

    The Hollywood Reporter has revealed a film version of the popular video game series is now in early development at Netflix. The news comes after a year-long battle for BioShock‘s rights, which resulted in the original king of streaming coming out on top. Netflix will partner with Take-Two Interactive, the game’s parent company, to create what they believe has the potential to be a new cinematic universe. Take Two will also serve as the project’s producer, alongside Vertigo Entertainment. There are currently no writers or directors attached to work on the movie.

    The first BioShock released in 2007. The plot centered around a protagonist named Jack, the lone survivor of a plane crash, as he attempted to navigate the dark, mysterious underwater city called Rapture. Featuring a steampunk vibe rooted in horror, the game saw Jack encounter drug-enhanced residents of the crumbling, fragmented civilization as well as terrifying mutated humans known as ‘Big Daddies.’ It’s still considered one of the best games ever created, and spawned two equally successful sequels in BioShock 2 and the critically acclaimed BioShock Infinite. A film adaptation from Pirates of the Caribbean filmmaker Gore Verbinski was once in the works, but fell apart due to conflicts over budget and rating. Hopefully the same doesn’t happen with this latest effort, as live-action takes on famous video games have historically done quite well on Netflix.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘The Batman’s Matt Reeves Want to Tackle a “Grounded” Take on Mr. Freeze

    ‘The Batman’s Matt Reeves Want to Tackle a “Grounded” Take on Mr. Freeze

    We’re only a few more weeks away from The Batman finally releasing in theaters, but director Matt Reeves already has set his eyes on the future of the franchise. In his more grounded take of a noir-inspired storyline, it seemed like this cinematic franchise might move away from the usual fantastic elements we’ve seen in the comics. Looks like Reeves is definitely interested in taking a swing at some of the supernatural characters, as he reveals that Mr. Freeze might be on his radar in an interview with Collider.

    So to me, it would be a challenge in an interesting way to try and figure out how that could happen, even the idea of something like Mr. Freeze, that is such a great story, right? I think there’s actually a grounded version of that story, which could be really powerful and could be really great. So, I love the fantastical side of Batman, but this iteration, obviously, while being, to me, I think it is very comics faithful, but I don’t think that this one is necessary, it doesn’t lean as hard into the fantastical, I guess.

    Matt Reeves

    It sounds like the director has some fun ideas in place if he’s already considered exploring a character like Mr. Freeze. We don’t know if the upcoming film includes some Easter eggs to other characters that eventually turn into future members of his rogue’s gallery. With spinoff shows in place, who knows just how far in advance Reeves has mapped out his new Batman Cinematic Universe, but it would be great to see him get a chance to bring Mr. Freeze back to the silver screen.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Swings Past ‘Avatar’ to Become Third Highest Grossing Film Ever

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Swings Past ‘Avatar’ to Become Third Highest Grossing Film Ever

    In its 10th week in theaters, Spider-Man: No Way Home has climbed to third all-time on the lifetime domestic gross charts, passing 2009’s Avatar. The Marvel Studios and Sony collaborative project now trails only Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: Episode VII-The Force Awakens on the all-time U.S. charts.

    Avatar is still king worldwide, however, and No Way Home‘s climb into the top 3 on that chart seems a bit more challenging as it currently sits in 6th place, over $200M away from catching Avengers: Infinity War.

    Any way you cut it, the film was a major success for Sony and may eventually outgross the combined box offices of the next two highest grossing Spider-Man films (2002’s Spider-Man and 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home) which total up to around $797.5M. The success of the film has already spurred Marvel and Sony forward into a renewed partnership and development on a 4th installment in the MCU-set franchise has already begun.

    Source: Erik Davis

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Khonshu Voice Actor Revealed

    ‘Moon Knight’ Khonshu Voice Actor Revealed

    Oscar Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham has been revealed as part of the cast of Marvel Studios upcoming Disney Plus streaming series Moon Knight. Abraham, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in 1984’s Amadeus, will voice the Egyptian Moon god Khonshu over the course of the series. Abraham has done some voice work recently, working on The Isle of Dogs and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. This will be his first turn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    In the comics, Marc Spector is a mercenary who is betrayed and killed during a mission in Egypt only to be revived by Khonshu. Spector goes on to serve as the avatar of Khonshu known as Moon Knight. Typically, Spector’s conversations with Khonshu aren’t observable by anyone else, casting further doubt on the hero’s grasp of sanity as it seems to be just another voice in his head.

    The trailer and TV spot for the series have hinted heavily that Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow may be serving the will of another Egyptian god in the show, giving him an interesting connection to the lead character. The show’s synopsis teases a “deadly mystery” pertaining to the Egyptian gods, so the giant bird-like Khonshu might not be the craziest thing fans see in the show.

    When Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life, he discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.

    Moon Knight is set to begin streaming on Disney Plus on March 30th.

    Source: Disney Media

  • Doctor Strange 2: Why The Film Doesn’t Use Shuma-Gorath

    Doctor Strange 2: Why The Film Doesn’t Use Shuma-Gorath

    Over the past few months, fans have questioned why Marvel Studios opted to use Gargantos in place of Shuma-Gorath, despite the character’s sharing a likeness. As it turns out, there’s a very good reason behind the change to the one-eyed creature and it involves rights to the name.

    It appears that the rights to Shuma-Gorath are tied up, making it difficult for Marvel Studios to use them. As it turns out, the rights to the Shuma-Gorath name belong to Heroic Signatures, a subsidiary of Funcom. The name first debuted in Kull the Conqueror by Robert E. Howard. Like with Conan, Heroic Signatures retains the rights to the name, explaining the change for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Oddly enough, however, it appears Marvel Studios never even reached out to ask about potentially using the name. Instead, the studio decided to change it to seemingly avoid any rights issues.

    The folks over at Comicbook.com were able to talk to Heroic Signatures president Fred Malmberg regarding the character changes for the film. Like fans, Malmberg seems just as surprised behind the decision. “We have a great relationship with Marvel and have worked together to solve many snags over the years, but who can answer this hypothetical?”

    Malmberg, however, isn’t ruling out future plans for Shuma-Gorath. “As for our future plans for the character, that is not something we can reveal at the moment.”

    Source: Comicbook.com.

  • CW’s ‘Gotham Knights’ April Production Start Confirmed Alongside New Logo

    CW’s ‘Gotham Knights’ April Production Start Confirmed Alongside New Logo

    The series Gotham Knights have been moving forward at quite the speed, as we first heard about the project back in December, as Natalie Abrams, James Stoteraux, and Chad Fivestash are joining the new Batman family-focused series after their work on Batwoman. We previously also shared some exclusive insights on the characters we’ll meet throughout the series’ runtime and that the series is eyeing an April production start.

    Not too long after, it looks like director and writer Danny Cannon has shared a first look at the series’ logo and confirmed that the DC series will start production in April. It’s curious that it was shared without any casting confirmations so far. It’s a nice visual to confirm the production and the logo seems surprisingly simple for the series, but it may change as time goes by.

    The series will explore the aftermath of Bruce Wayne’s murder, similar to what the game of the same name is exploring, and forces the unlikely family to work together. Unlike the upcoming Batman Arkham spinoff, we’ll get a wider cast that reflects how many people Batman has taken under his wing throughout his run as Gotham’s Caped Crusader. It’ll be fun to see these many personalities bounce off of each other and what chaos might ensue in the void left behind by Bruce’s death.

    Source: Instagram

  • Netflix’s Approach to ‘One Piece’s New Logo is to Reflect Its “Cinematic Scale”

    Netflix’s Approach to ‘One Piece’s New Logo is to Reflect Its “Cinematic Scale”

    It’s crazy to look back at the build-up to Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece and for some time all we had was a logo. To be fair, we had a single message from manga creator Eiichiro Oda for almost 4 years before the series picked up any steam, but the new logo was the first sign of the series actually happening. A redesign of such an iconic logo was going to face some criticism but we got a very Western take on the iconic logo.

    The 3D model of the lettering is something that’s not too uncommon in modern film or TV logos, but there are some nice touches that pay tribute to the original, such as the anchor in the “E” at the end and the straw hat-wearing skull in the “O”. There are even some small additions such as a mini Luffy hiding in the nose of the skull, which is a great little detail. In a new piece on the creative director Arisu Kashiwagi (Stranger Things) she offered some insight into how they approached the design.

    The goal of Netflix’s live action brand identity is to further evolve One Piece into a compelling, modern brand – one that elevates the epic fantasy pirate genre while standing the test of time. By adding dimension, textural realism, drama, and a hint of humor, the new identity captures the eccentric, whimsical nature of the One Piece world and the cinematic scale of their wild, nautical adventures.

    Arisu Kashiwagi

    The piece highlights they wanted to include elements from the original manga logo while simplifying elements. There are some added details to the logo as the “weathered textures add life and realism to the title representing the many adventures that the Straw Hat Pirates crew have encountered at sea.” Part of me does wish that the logo may change throughout the series’ run and we see more and more of the weathered design as time goes on, reflecting the challenges they face throughout the Grand Line.

    Still, i’s a good logo that mostly stays true to the original and the adaptation fits the fact it’s a live-action take on manga classic. The fact Luffy is in the nose rather than replacing the “I” was a nice touch, even if it would be nice if the rope was a bit more representative, especially with the rather simple font choice. Still, the texture addition is a nice touch, and hope to see it fully animated, which may add to the experience.

    Source: Arisu

  • First Look at ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Anime Film; Eyeing 2024 Release

    First Look at ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Anime Film; Eyeing 2024 Release

    Here’s a surprising reveal out of left-field, but Variety has shared a first look at the upcoming original anime feature titled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. It’s being produced by New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation and will release on April 21st, 2024. Blade Runner: Black Lotus producer Joseph Chou is working on the project through his studio Sola Entertainment with Kenji Kamiyama taking over directing duties.

    Here’s the first look at the upcoming anime, which will take place around two centuries before The Hobbit and is about the exploits of Helm Hammerhand, and the creation of Helm’s Deep. The Two Towers fans might be excited to explore the origins of this iconic location. it’s our first look at the film which was announced last year, but we’ll still have to wait a bit until we can watch it.

    The Lord of the Rings The

    The Middle Earth franchise has seen quite the revival with this anime prequel and the upcoming Amazon live-action series. Warner Bros. will be trying to make the best of it, especially as the franchise is currently for sale as well. Who knows if we also get some more announcements in the near future once a buyer has been found, who’ll definitely try to bank on its success.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Wonder Twins’ Activate as Adam Sztykiel is Tapped to Write and Direct New Film for HBO Max

    ‘Wonder Twins’ Activate as Adam Sztykiel is Tapped to Write and Direct New Film for HBO Max

    HBO Max is slowly but surely becoming the streaming home for DC, as countless projects are entering some form of development for the streamer. The studio is looking to develop multiple films based on DC Comics characters, such as Batgirl that has been busy filming in Glasglow. The upcoming roster looks to be expanding once more as the iconic Wonder Twins are set to make their film debut on Warner Bros. go-to streamer.

    The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Black Adam writer Adam Sztykiel has been tapped to write and direct a solo film on the popular characters. Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen of Temple Hill are set to produce the project. For those unfamiliar with the duo, Zan and Jayna are alien twins who made their debut on Hanna-Barbera’s Super Friends animated series alongside Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman before eventually making their way to the comics. The twin’s iconic phrase “Wonder Twin Power, activate” allows Jayna to turn into any animal while Zan can take the form of water.

    Plot details on the film remain under wraps and no casting on the twins has been made just yet. It’s also unknown if the film will take place within the greater DC Extended Universe but here’s hoping. There is also no word on if the Wonder Twins monkey, Gleek, will make an appearance but we eagerly await that confirmation. It’s also unclear what direction the project may take given the character’s history.

    Source: THR