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  • ‘House of the Dragon’: Set Photos Offer First Look at Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy as Targaryen Royalty

    ‘House of the Dragon’: Set Photos Offer First Look at Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy as Targaryen Royalty

    All eyes have been anxiously awaiting the first look at HBO’s Game of Thrones spin-off. We’ve seen a plethora of series getting announced throughout the last months, such as Tales of Dunk and Egg and, most notably, House of the Dragons. The latter has entered production and already rounded out its cast with some heavyweights, which includes Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, and Matt Smith. After a long wait, we finally got our first look at the upcoming spin-off, as some set photos have found their way online through the Daily Mail. They offer us a look at Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy on the beach in very familiar-looking Targaryen outfits.

     

     

    The series will take place 3,000 years before the original show and explores Targaryen’s history before Emilia Clarke‘s Daenerys Targaryen started her conquest of Westeros. Smith is playing Prince Daemon Targaryen and is sporting the iconic ice-blonde hair that the family is famous for. They are filming at Holywell Bay Bech in Cornwall. D’Arcy is playing his wife and niece Rhaenyra Targaryen. Their designs hint at a parallel between them and their successors, who would face a grim fate.

    We still know very little about the upcoming project, but we can expect a lot of murder and dragons once it releases. It is uncertain if the other projects are in some form of early production. We don’t know where exactly the story will take place, as we could see the Targaryens travel throughout Westeros or they may focus on Dragonstone Beach, which seems like the fitting location for this shoot. Hopefully, we get some more set photos that might tease Dragonstone Castle in the near future.

    Source: Daily Mail

  • ‘El Muerto’

    ‘El Muerto’

    Premiere: TBD

    In late April 2022, a trade report announced that Sony was going ahead with a new feature film focusing on El Muerto, a Marvel character that has appeared in less than half a dozen comic issues.

    Bad Bunny, who is set to star in Sony’s Bullet Train, will be playing the titular character Juan-Carlos Sanchez. Little more is known about the project since it seems to be in very, very early development.

    Cast

    • Bad Bunny as Juan-Carlos Sanchez / El Muerto
  • Matt Lanter Hints at His Return as Anakin Skywalker in Future ‘Star Wars’ Projects

    Matt Lanter Hints at His Return as Anakin Skywalker in Future ‘Star Wars’ Projects

    Hayden Christensen is returning as Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. It’s the grand return of the actor in the role since 2005. We have been following the adventures of the young Jedi before he became Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Matt Lanter voiced the character in the animated series and breathed some new life into the character with his portrayal. Well, it looks like he might also return alongside Christensen in a new project. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly for Jupiter’s Legacy, he hinted that he will return as the character in the near future.

    There’s some new Lucasfilm Animation going on. I’ve been a part of some things I can’t talk about yet. You’ll see Anakin again. I never quite put Anakin down, whether I’m doing a video game or something new for Lucasfilm Animation.

    There is a good chance that he’ll return n May’s release of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, but it seems like there might be some more projects in development. We could see some more The Clone War spin-offs in the future, as Star Wars continues to expand in animation. He also hints at it potentially involving a video game. It would be interesting to partake in the Clone War from a gaming perspective as a Clone Trooper working alongside the Jedi. Perhaps we even get to revisit the time in a Jedi Fallen Order sequel. His return may also open up the door for Ashley Eckstein to return in the role of Ahsoka Tano. We might get more news once The Bad Batch releases on May 4th.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘Snowpiercer’s Chinaka Hodge Joins ‘Ironheart’ as Head Writer

    ‘Snowpiercer’s Chinaka Hodge Joins ‘Ironheart’ as Head Writer

    It looks like one of Marvel Studios’ many Disney+ shows has finally found its head writer. Variety reported that Chinaka Hodge has joined the upcoming Ironheart production as its head writer. It will star Dominique Thorne as the iconic inventor Riri Williams, who ends up creating the most advanced suit of armor since Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit. Hodge has built up quite a career with her work on Apple’s Amazing Stories, TNT’s Snowpiercer, and her work in poetry. She is also a founder of The Getback alongside Snowpiercer star Daveed Diggs. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch, the series will consist of six episodes, and production is slated for May. He may be implying pre-production, as no casting news has been made so far.

    Her upcoming Marvel Studios project explores the story of a newly invented character. Williams made her debut back in 2015 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato. The 15-year-old MIT student created her own armor by reverse engineering his work. He would end up encouraging her in the comics to continue down the path of heroism. Of course, the MCU saw the passing of the hero during Avengers: Endgame, which means her origin story might be quite different.

    Variety couldn’t offer any details, but there is a good possibility that her series leads into Don Cheadle‘s Armor Wars. It’ll see Tony’s biggest nightmare come true as the world has caught up with his technology, which includes Riri Williams. It’ll be interesting to see how they integrate her character into the franchise and if she might also have a larger role moving forward, as many young heroes are slowly taking over.

    Source: Variety, Twitter

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s Adam Wingard in Talks to Direct Next MonsterVerse’s Film

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s Adam Wingard in Talks to Direct Next MonsterVerse’s Film

    It looks like the hashtag movement #ContinuetheMonsterverse worked, as Hollywood Reporter has just revealed that Godzilla vs. Kong‘s director Adam Wingard is already in talks to tackle the next entry in the MonsterVerse franchise by Legendary Studios. As stated by THR, this is a great surprise after Godzilla: King of the Monsters underperformed with only $386M in the worldwide Box Office. Luckily, the latest entry passed $400M globally while releasing simultaneously on HBO Max and during a pandemic. It is the top-grossing movie since the pandemic completely halted the market last year. It also isn’t even opening in all markets, which could add to its performance moving forward. It is uncertain which character’s story he would continue.

    As Godzilla vs. Kong was originally going to end the franchise after it lost Box Office momentum, this is great news for MonserVerse fans. It is uncertain if this project will be fast-tracked, as Wingard is also set to direct a ThunderCats adaptation. Still, according to their report, the director was heavily involved with the development of the Hollow Earth plotline and they have been cooking up ideas since. They even believe that a Son of Kong project might be in the works and could be the one he’ll tackle next. Legendary will try to build on this film’s success and they seem to be looking at spinning off multiple installments. So, we could see Godzilla and Kong splinter off into their own franchises before they get a second showdown. Whatever they decide, we cannot wait to see more Titans in the future.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • New ‘American Horror Story’ Spin-Off Set Video Reveals Cast Members and a Familiar Rubber Man Suit

    New ‘American Horror Story’ Spin-Off Set Video Reveals Cast Members and a Familiar Rubber Man Suit

    American Horror Story has always been one of TV’s most curious properties. Its potential in rebooting the storyline each season with a new set of cast members was the perfect recipe for a never-ending pool of potential. The show is now entering its tenth season, and it won’t be alone. It wasn’t until early last year that series creator Ryan Murphy announced a spin-off titled American Horror Stories would enter production. The series would kick the anthology premise into overdrive as each episode is its own self-contained story. It would see the return of old and new characters. We’ve received little to no casting on the project, aside from setting pics that revealed the return of Evan Peters Tate Langdon, but more footage from the set has revealed a few new cast members.

     

     

    The footage from the set, currently filming at Rammstein manor, better known as the Murder House from the first season, has revealed actresses Sierra McCormick, Kaia Gerber, Paris Jackson, and Ashley Carter. Plot details for this episode seem to revolve around Halloween if we go by the set decoration. The actresses also seem to be in costume to celebrate the season. We have to highlight that McCormick‘s character is wearing the infamous Rubber Man suit. It got previously worn by Tate Langdon in the first season. American Horror Stories currently has no set release date and has only just begun production, so it may be a while before we get yet another return to the murder house. It’s unclear if these actresses will be returning for further episodes as well.

    Source: Instagram

     

  • Elizabeth Banks to Voice Pebbles in Fox’s ‘Flintstones’ Sequel Series ‘Bedrock’

    Elizabeth Banks to Voice Pebbles in Fox’s ‘Flintstones’ Sequel Series ‘Bedrock’

    It looks like The Flintstones are making a grand return, as Warner Bros. Animation has greenlit a new sequel to the original series. It will be titled Bedrock and takes place 20 years after the original ended. They even already confirmed the first casting, as Elizabeth Banks will be voicing an adult Pebbles while serving as executive producer. The series has been in development since 2019, which Variety reported back in the day. The story will focus on Pebbles starting her own career as Fred Flinstone is about to retire. They are bout to enter the Bronze age and leave the Stone Age behind, which will lead to some conflicts as the old-timer has to adapt to the new era.

    Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceauos‘ Lindsay Kerns will write and act as executive producer. Banks and Max Handelman will also join via Brownstone Productions. Fox Entertainment president, Michael Thorn, had the following to say on the sequel series’ production:

    Long before the Simpsons and Springfield, the Griffins and Quahog, or even when the Belchers started serving burgers on Ocean Avenue, there were the Flintstones and Bedrock. Their imprint on the animation universe is undeniable and the idea of adapting it for today’s audience is a challenge we here at Fox are very much looking forward to taking on with Warner Bros., Elizabeth, and Lindsay. No pressure whatsoever, really.

    As The Flintstones family is known as the first family of primetime animation, it’s great to see the franchise make a grand return. It originally ran for six seasons from 1960 to 1966 on ABC. There have been many attempts to revive the show in the past even with two live-action films. Seth MacFarlane originally pitched a reboot back in 2011 which didn’t move forward. It’ll be interesting to see how they tackle the story and

    Source: Variety (Bedrock), Variety (First Reporting)

  • ‘Falcon and Winter Soldier’s Rumored Cut Storyline May Get a Comic Adaptation

    ‘Falcon and Winter Soldier’s Rumored Cut Storyline May Get a Comic Adaptation

    The showrunner for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Malcolm Spellman, was interviewed by Amon Warmann on the Fade to Black Podcast this week. Even though he shied away from several topics not to spill anything on Marvel Studios’ plans, there were still a few curious soundbites to highlight. When asked about the rumor floating around that a “lost” storyline might have been cut from the show because it mirrored the current COVID-19 pandemic a bit too closely, Spellman gave the following statement:

    I’ve been told to stop saying that [refering to the “lost” storyline]. I loved it and it had nothing to do with the pandemic. (…) I want to see if we can get some of the writers to do a book run on it because I think Kevin [Feige] does it. I’ve been told to stop talking about it.

    This would indicate that the “lost” storyline might not be lost for long. Given Spellman loved it so much, it might get the traction to get adapted in comic form. Since it ended up being cut entirely from the show, it will still feel like a fresh idea and not a simple rehash of old material. The reference to Kevin Feige is also noteworthy since he was named Chief Creative Officer for Marvel Comics back in October 2019. It gave him a larger role in deciding which storylines make it to the comics.

     

    Game Changers: Malcolm Spellman on his rise from stealing comic books to running Marvel's 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier'

     

    Another takeaway from that quote is how Spellman negates that the storyline was cut due to the pandemic or potentially related to it. The idea first started when it was revealed that the limited liability company created for the series was titled Pandemic Productions. Now, it seems that the only real impact COVID-19 had on the show was purely in terms of safety precautions and limitations on their shooting locations. It seems it had little to do with the actual story being told. He also hints at this in the interview by revealing they initially had eight episodes mapped out before cutting out the “flab” as he called it. It’ll be interesting to see if this mysterious storyline makes a return in comic form sometime in the future.

    Source: CNBC, Fade to Black Podcast

  • EXCLUSIVE: ’22 Vs. Earth’ Director Talks 22’s Origin Story and Why They Made a Prequel

    EXCLUSIVE: ’22 Vs. Earth’ Director Talks 22’s Origin Story and Why They Made a Prequel

    22 vs. Earth is Pixar’s latest offering in the mesmerizing world crafted by Pete Doctor in the critically acclaimed Soul. Set in the years before Joe Gardner’s fateful meeting with 22, the short film briefly tackles what life was for 22 in the Great Before. We got to interview the editor of Soul and director of the short, the award-winning Kevin Nolting, who gave us some fun tidbits about making the short.

    According to Nolting, the short film was conceptualized within the last 6 months, as a way to somewhat fill in the gaps the movie left with regards to 22’s origin story and why they opted for a prequel instead of a sequel.

    It could have been a sequel, I guess. But while we were making Soul, we talked about a lot what made 22 who she is. We never put it in the movie because it didn’t belong in the movie and so it never got fully developed. This was a perfect point to explore that question a little bit. 

    Nolting further elaborated on what the conversations were like leading up to the greenlighting of 22 vs. Earth and how he approached it.

    When you’re making a movie, you play around with how much pre-story you need. Since Joe was the main character, that got the focus of our attention; building his world, his family, and what brought him to that place. With 22, it just didn’t belong because she wasn’t the main focus. But it was such a big conversation because you do need that biography to character to know how to make them play. But I approached [the short] as: if we were telling 22’s story, it would overlap with Soul and the short would be the midpoint of the story. It would be the point in the story where she crystallizes her ideas and moves in a certain direction. 

    Soul marked Nolting’s third collaboration with acclaimed director Pete Doctor in 15 years. Nolting talked briefly spoke on how that collaboration began and whether Doctor gave him tips on how to execute this short film.

    He was in development of Up and he was putting some scenes together and writing the movie. I was free at the time and hanging around development to help in whatever way I could and I ended up cutting 3 or 4 scenes. He was going to do a mini-screening for Up just to see how the ideas were going. We had the scene introducing the bird, the dog, and the house flying up. And we just clicked working together so I ended up staying on. He didn’t have to give me specific advice because I’ve been working with him for 15 years. Just through osmosis, I learned everything about directing from him. Yes, he did give me advice but in a span of 15 years (laughs). 

    22 vs. Earth is coming to Disney+ on April 30, 2021.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Hawkeye and Westworld’s Zahn McLarnon Set to Lead AMC’s ‘DARK WINDS’ Adaptation

    EXCLUSIVE: Hawkeye and Westworld’s Zahn McLarnon Set to Lead AMC’s ‘DARK WINDS’ Adaptation

    Zahn McLarnon (Hawkeye, Westworld and Doctor Sleep) has landed the lead role in AMC’s upcoming adaptation of author Tony Hillerman’s Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee series of crime fiction novels. McLarnon will play Navajo Nation Police officer Joe Leaphorn, a role previously played by Fred Ward in the 1991 film adaptation of the fifth novel in the series, The Dark Wind, and by Wes Studi in the PBS adaptations.

    Zahn McClarnon Hospitalized for Head Injury; 'Westworld' Paused - Variety

    The AMC series, which seems to be a bit of reimagining of Hillerman’s series, will see Leaphorn investigating the murder of a Najavo woman in Arizona’s Monument Valley in the 1970s. Leaphorn will be joined in his investigation by new deputy, Jim Chee, a half-white, half-Navajo FBI agent working undercover to dig into some darker forces working behind the scenes. Chee was a major character in Hellerman’s novels, starring in 15 of them over the years.

    AMC is currently prepping the pilot for production which is set to begin filming this August in New Mexico. Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribal member Chris Eyre is directing the pilot based off a script from Graham Roland, who wrote and executive produced Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan for Amazon.