Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: 20th Century Studios

  • ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Adds ‘Severance Actress

    ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Adds ‘Severance Actress

    The upcoming continuation of the iconic Planet of the Apes trilogy is moving full steam ahead, as the 20th Century Studios production has added one more member to its cast. The Hollywood Reporter has unveiled that Dichen Lachman, known for her recent work on the series Severance, has joined the production of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which will explore the aftermath of 2017’s War of the Planet of the Apes long after Caesar’s reign.

    In this continuation, we’ll explore two apes on their unique journey as one uncovers human technology and the other is on his way to find freedom. Though, a human woman seemingly becomes essential to his quest and has her own goals. Production is already happening in Australia and Lachman joins the rest of the cast which consists of Freya Allan, William H. Macy, Kevin Durand, and Owen Teague.

    As of now, Lachman‘s role remains unclear, but Lachman is a good get for the series. She was recently seen on Jurassic World Dominion as a black market dealer, and even voiced General Atitaya in Raya and the Last Dragon. She also made a big splash with her recent work on the Apple TV+ series though she’s also going to be busy filming the second season of Severance. So, she might have a supporting role in the Planet of the Apes sequel.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • James Cameron Confirms ‘Avatar 2’s Profitability and He’ll Make All Planned Sequels

    James Cameron Confirms ‘Avatar 2’s Profitability and He’ll Make All Planned Sequels

    James Cameron has been quite open about the importance of how profitable Avatar: The Way of Water will be. While he mapped out up to five sequels, if the franchise doesn’t prove financially stable for Disney, the new owner of 20th Century, there’s no point for them to invest upwards of $400M per entry moving forward. Luckily, the film has had some truly impressive legs throughout the Holiday season and in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director James Cameron confirmed the film will be profitable in the “next few days.”

    It looks like just with the momentum that the film has now that will easily pass our break even in the next few days, so it looks like I can’t wiggle out of this, I’m gonna have to do these other sequels.

    James Cameron

    He does slightly reluctantly share that he will be quite busy for the next few years. Avatar 3 has already finished filming and they are working on bringing the world to life CG-wise. He also confirms that the fourth and fifth entries are already written as well.

    I know what I’m going to be doing the next six or seven years. The point is we’re going to be okay. I’m sure that we’ll have a discussion soon with the top folks at Disney about the game plan going forward for Avatar 3, which is already in the can – we’ve already captured and photographed the whole film so we’re in extended post-production to do all that CG magic. And then Avatar 4 and 5 are both written. We even have some of 4 in the can. We’ve begun a franchise at this point. We’ve begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films.

    James Cameron

    It certainly sounds like the director will be quite busy in the next few years, but he does love the franchise. He’s also talked about expanding Avatar in multiple ways and even with a new director taking over when he eventually no longer can. So, if it remains as profitable, we’ll see a lot more of Avatar in the future of our cinemas.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • First Look at Keira Knightley in 20th Century’s ‘Boston Strangler’, Heading to Hulu in March

    First Look at Keira Knightley in 20th Century’s ‘Boston Strangler’, Heading to Hulu in March

    The next 20th Century Studios production is making its way to Hulu, as the upcoming true-crime thriller from director Matt Ruskin is heading to Hulu on March 17, 2023. Boston Strangler explores the story of reporter Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), who is hot on the heels of the Boston Strangler murders. With the help of her colleague Jean Cole, played by Carrie Coon, they fight their way through the sexism of the era to stop a killer at their own personal risk.

    The film is set to premiere on Hulu in the United States with Disney+ and Star+ in international territories as part of the Star banner. The film has a star-studded cast as joining Knightley and Coon is Bill Camp, David Dastmalchian, Alessandro Nivola, Morgen Spector, and Chris Cooper. In the producing chair are Ridley Scott, Kevin J. Walsh, Josey McNamara, Michael Pruss, and Tom Ackerley.

    Hulu has slowly been becoming the home for many of Disney’s 20th Century Studios productions. It’s a shame it’s not getting a theatrical release as it is set as a streaming exclusive, but that has proven successful for Disney throughout the pandemic and in 2022 with projects like Prey, Hellraiser, and more. It’ll be interesting to see what Boston Strangler brings to the table, especially in a desperate need for more crime-thriller films. So, it’ll be worth keeping a close eye on the upcoming first trailer for the film set for its March 17th release.

  • ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Begins Production

    ‘Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes’ Begins Production

    Production is officially underway on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Filming is taking place at Disney Studios Australia in Sydney, New South Wales. The film is set to star . Details regarding his character are currently unknown. He joins the previously announced Owen Teague, Freya Allen, Eka Darville and Peter Macon.

    As part of the film’s production deal, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will receive $17 million AUD ($10 million) in support from the government and Screen NSW’s ‘Made In NSW’ fund. The 20th Century production is expected to bring in $128 million AUD ($80 million) into the Australian economy and create 400 local jobs. Australian arts minister, Tony Burke, called the decision to film the movie in Australia a “wonderful” thing. “It will be filmed here, and that says a wonderful thing about jobs and creativity in Australia.”

    While Steve Asbell, the President of 20th Century Studios, expressed excitement over continuing the beloved franchise. Asbell calls the latest installment a continuation of the series’ “tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema.”

    “‘We’re thrilled to be in Sydney filming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes at the world-class Disney Studios Australia. Planet of the Apes is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history and an indelible part of our studios’ legacy. The extraordinary director Wes Ball and cast and crew are continuing the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema. We can’t wait to share this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”

    Steve Asbell

    Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be directed by Wes Ball from a screenplay by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and Patrick Aison. This film, the fourth in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise, is set to take place many years after the events of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. The movie will hit theaters sometime in 2024.

    Source: Deadline.

  • 20th Century Studios Options ‘Night of the Ghoul’

    20th Century Studios Options ‘Night of the Ghoul’

    20th Century Studios has optioned the rights to Night of the Ghoul, the comic series hailing from author Scott Snyder and illustrator Francesco Francavilla. The six-issue series was initially released as a Comixology original, with the first five issues available now through Amazon and Comixology, but will soon be available in print courtesy of Darkhorse Comics. Rob Savage, who directed Host, is on board to direct with 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Dan Levine and Dan Cohen set to produce.

    Night of the Ghoul centers on a father and son as they seek to learn the true story behind a long-lost horror film that was made during the golden era of monster movies. However, as they dive deeper into their search, they’ll soon find themselves unleashing the very thing the long-thought-to-be-destroyed film was trying to keep hidden. While the film currently does not have a writer attached, Snyder and Francavilla are set to executive produce the film.

    Snyder, an Eisner & Harvey winning author, is one of the biggest names in comics today. Night of the Ghoul is just one of many projects Snyder has in development. Earlier this year, it was revealed HBO Max was developing Dark Spaces: Wildfire, based on his IDW comic of the same name. While last year, it was announced that Netflix was developing Nocterra for the small screen.

    It’s currently unclear whether or not the film is being developed for a streaming service or theaters, however, there is currently no release date attached.

    Source: Deadline.

  • First Look at David O. Russell’s ‘Amsterdam, Eyeing November Release

    First Look at David O. Russell’s ‘Amsterdam, Eyeing November Release

    Throughout the entire shuffle of Pixar and Marvel news of CinemaCon’s Disney panel, we can’t forget to mention that there was also the reveal of David O. Russell‘s untitled film. Now, it’s been revealed that it’s titled Amsterdam and will release on November 4th. It is described as an “original romantic crime epic” during the panel and has some star power behind it with John David Washington, Margot Robbie, and Christian Bale spearheading the project.

    That is luckily not all, as we even got a first look from the official Twitter account of 20th Century Studios. There was little known about the project until the announcement with hints at what direction it is going and that it had quite the star-studded cast that also includes Taylor Swift, Zoe Saldana, Michael Shannon, Chris Rock, Robert DeNiro, Timothy Olyphant, and more.

    The main trio is uncovering “secret plots in American history” during the 1930s. The visual highlights what may be quite a quirky film by The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook director. Variety also highlights how different Bale‘s character is from the ones you’d normally expect in an O’Russell production but it’s exciting to see what the director has to offer with his new venture and how it may bring the era to life in the upcoming project.

    Source: Variety

  • 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Princess’ Heading to Disney’s Streaming Services in July

    20th Century Studios’ ‘The Princess’ Heading to Disney’s Streaming Services in July

    It looks like Disney is continuing to build its 20th Century brand as a way to produce films and offerings for their streaming services. It has been announced that The Princess will premiere globally on July 1st. It’ll be made available under the Star banner in specific locations, its US release will be through Hulu and Star+ in Latin America. Le-Van Kiet of Furie fame is in the directing chair with The Kissing Booth‘s Joey King taking on the titular role.

    The story focuses on a strong-willed princess that does not want to be forcefully married to a sociopath. Yet, as retaliation, her father locks her up in a remote tower of his castle. As you might expect, her suitor has his own plans to take the throne and she’s forced to protect her family and the kingdom. King is joined by Dominic Cooper, Olga Kurylenko, and Veronica Ngo. Kiet is working off of a script from Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton with Neal H. Moritz, Toby Jaffe, and Derek Kolstad in the producing chair.

    It’s another 20th Century production that ended up as part of their streaming service repertoire, similar to No Exit recently. With the cinemas being filled with mostly well-known IPs, it’s unclear if this will be Disney’s overall strategy moving forward or if they’ll also give these smaller productions a chance in theaters. It would be a shame that after purchasing 20th Century Fox that most of their originals end up only as streaming services.

  • 20th Century Studios’ ‘No Exit’ Heading to Hulu

    20th Century Studios’ ‘No Exit’ Heading to Hulu

    20th Century Studios upcoming thriller No Exit has officially been announced as a Hulu original release in the United States. It’ll also be made available on Star+ in Latin America with other territories receiving it through Disney+’s Star branding. The film is about a young woman named Darby, who ends up stranded with a group of strangers during a blizzard. What starts off as a claustrophobic experience turns into a life-or-death struggle, as she uncovers that one of them is a kidnapper.

    The film is an adaptation of Taylor Adams‘ novel from 2017, which is being produced by The Queen’s Gambit‘s Scott Frank. Havana Rose Liu makes her debut in the leading role of a feature film and is joined by Danny Ramirez, David Rysdahl, Dennis Haysbert, and Mila Harris. It joins a bunch of films that got a streaming exclusive release across Disney’s platforms during the pandemic and will offer many the chance to check out the film that may have otherwise passed on it in theaters. The film will be made available in the U.S. and internationally on February 25th.