Marvel’s worst kept secret was officially confirmed today at New York Comic-Con. Yes, Wilson Bethel is playing Bullseye in Daredevil season 3, and he took the panel stage with his co-stars where Charlie Cox drew the bullseye symbol right on his forehead.
A new trailer takes us through the origin of Agent Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter, an FBI marksman with a violent streak perfect for Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) to exploit. As speculated from the trailer released just a couple of days ago, it’s Poindexter who takes up the mantle of Bullseye and also becomes the “fake Daredevil” seen causing chaos throughout Hell’s Kitchen. I don’t know if they’ll actually call him Bullseye in the series, but the imagery attached to him makes it clear who he is.
Here’s the synopsis: Missing for months, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) reemerges a broken man, putting into question his future as both vigilante Daredevil and lawyer Matthew Murdock. But when his archenemy Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is released from prison, Matt must choose between hiding from the world, or embracing his destiny as a hero.
A live-action film based on the famous Barbie doll has been in the works for years, and to get a sense of the wildly diverging approaches all you need to do is look at the attached stars. The project had Amy Schumer on board for a while, ugly Internet trolls hated the casting, and she dropped out in 2017 over scheduling. She was followed a few months later by Anne Hathaway, and Sony just couldn’t get it off the ground before Mattel reclaimed the rights. Now they’ve taken the film over to Warner Bros., who think Margot Robbie will be a perfect fit.
Robbie is in talks to star in and produce the Barbie movie, and this makes obvious sense. She’s arguably been the studio’s top star since her Harley Quinn was the breakout character in Suicide Squad, and she’ll be reprising that role soon in Birds of Prey. So continuing that partnership, and adding a brand like Barbie, could be long-running and very lucrative. Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has been circling the project in some capacity, as well, but who knows where that will go? Still, the potential must have Warner Bros. very excited.
Next up for Robbie is a role as Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. [THR]
You can sense Warner Bros.’ concern about Aquaman in what they’re calling an “extended video” for James Wan’s superhero movie. There’s a lot riding on it, to be honest, perhaps the entire future of the DCEU. While Wonder Wonder had them riding high for a while, the embarrassing failure of Justice League took all of that away. Reaction to the previous Aquaman trailers is probably not what they were hoping for, and so this is one more attempt to change a few minds about Jason Momoa’s super-bro take on the aquatic hero/punchline.
I’ve probably dug the Aquaman stuff more than most. This is the same footage I saw at Comic-Con and it shows a ton of potential. Wan is trying to build an immersive, elaborate world just as he’s done with his Conjuring franchise, and the film looks great visually. He and Momoa have to get over the stigma that has followed the Aquaman character since the Super Friends days, that he’s a joke character who doesn’t belong anywhere near the likes of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
Aquaman opens December 21st and co-stars Amber Heard as Mera, Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, and Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus.
Here’s one secret J.J. Abrams doesn’t want to keep hidden: Overlord is getting some of the best reviews of the season. Ever since its run on the festival circuit the buzz has been through the roof for the film many thought was another “secret” Cloverfield movie. But it’s clear there’s more on the table than just another gory horror movie, like supernatural Nazi zombies.
Part war film, part body horror, Overlord is directed by Julius Avery (Son of a Gun) and centers on American soldiers dropped into Nazi territory on the eve of D-Day. There they uncover more than they bargained for; a secret lab where terrifying, unnatural experiments are taking place. Like many of the Abrams-produced flicks the cast is made up mostly of unknowns. Wyatt Russell aka Kurt Russell’s boy is probably the biggest name, followed by Jovan Adepo (Fences), Bokeem Woodbine (Spider-Man: Homecoming), Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones), Iain De Caestecker (Agents of SHIELD), Pilou Asbaek (A War), and John Magaro (Not Fade Away).
Maximum Impact is
an action comedy that highlights the clearly fragile relationship between the
United States and Russia. In order to ease the tension between the two
countries, the United States Secretary of State Robert Jacobs (Eric Roberts) is
heading to Moscow for a secret summit. Unfortunately, his granddaughter
Brittney (Polina Butorina) has stowed away on his jet in an attempt to meet
Pavel Chernov (Aristarkh Venes) one of her social media friends who happens to be the star of a Russian boy band. Accompanying Secretary Jacobs are two secret
service agents – Kate (Kelly Hu) and Barnes (Tom Arnold), the latter of which
has a bladder issue that is referenced far too many times for far too few
laughs. Leading the security efforts for Russia is FSB agent Maxim
Kadurin (Alexander Nevsky), who is known as the ‘Hammer from Hell’. Maxim enlists
the help of Don Sanchez (Danny Trejo) – a drug kingpin – to tip him off about any threats to the summit.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, an international terrorist
(William Baldwin) finds out about the summit from a mole in the state
department and sends his best man Tony Lin (Mark Dacascos) to cause an international
incident. Tony happens to be a former TV show star, still caught up in the
glory of his now defunct acting career. When Brittney ends up disappearing in
an apparent kidnapping by Tony and his men, the US secret service agents and FSB
agents must work together to try and get her back before any hopes of diplomacy
between the US and Russia are out the window.
Maximum Impact is
one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The acting is awful, the plot is
stupid, and there is a lack of legitimate action or comedy throughout. I could
see this movie being funny to a group of middle schoolers at a sleepover,
although there are adult themes including Danny Trejo preforming some sexual
activities on female friend. I usually try hard to find some redeeming
qualities in every movie I review, and I did the same here, but Maximum Impact had none. The film is from
the brain trust of director Andrzej Bartkowiak (Doom, Romeo Must Die)
and writer Ross LaManna (Rush Hour).
Bartkowiak and LaManna have been part of some solid flicks in the past, but Maximum Impact does not hold any water
compared to any of their past successes.
Some movies, like Sharknado,
are so bad that they can be good… unfortunately Maximum Impact is so bad it’s just that, bad. Really bad. There
have been spy parodies in the past that were extremely well done – Naked Gun and Spy immediately come to mind – and Maximum Impact isn’t close to the caliber of these. There are some
recognizable faces – with Tom Arnold, Danny Trejo, and William Baldwin having bit
parts. None of these roles is enough to save Maximum Impact from being a jumbled head scratching mess. Avoid
this movie at all costs, trust me.
Considering how busy James Wan is right now wrapping up on Aquaman, this news comes as no surprise. He’s launched his share of successful horror franchises and stepped away from them all, and now he’s doing the same with The Conjuring. Wan will slide into a producer role for The Conjuring 3, passing the torch to director Michael Chaves.
Wan and Chaves have worked together on the upcoming The Curse of La Llorna, a horror that will star Linda Cardellini.
“While working closely with Chaves on The Curse of La Llorona, I got to know him as a filmmaker,” said Wan. “Chaves’ ability to bring emotion to a story, and his understanding of mood and scares make him a perfect fit to direct the next Conjuring film.”
Chaves adds,“I am a huge fan of the Conjuring films. The movies are the rare combination that deliver both tremendous heart and awesome scares. It is both a total thrill and absolute honor to be working with James and the gang at New Line again.”
We don’t know which spooky tale from Ed and Lorraine Warren’s past will be told this time, but a break from the haunted house formula is expected. David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick has been brought back to write the script, with shooting to being early next year. [THR]
Since they both left Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Steve Carell and Jon Stewart have taken completely different career paths. Carell spent six years as a correspondent on the political comedy show, before leaving to become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars in The Office, Anchorman, and more. Stewart has been fairly quiet since departing in 2015, but now he’s looking to get back in the game with a new directorial effort, and he wants Carell to join him.
Variety reports Stewart plans to direct Irresistible, which he hopes Carell will star in. Details aren’t available yet but it’s said to be right in Stewart’s political wheelhouse and a satire, different from his directorial debut with 2014’s Rosewater. That film starred Gael Garcia Bernal and while it didn’t do much financially, it set Stewart as a director worth watching.
The financing and scheduling are still being worked out, but a reunion of Stewart and Carell holds a lot of potential so I don’t expect there to be much of a hold up.
Things are moving swiftly on Jon Favreau’s Star Wars live-action series, which we just learned would be titled The Mandalorian. Today he and Lucasfilm have revealed the first official image from the series, and have named some of the directors who will be helming some of the 8-episode first season. It’s a doozy of a lineup.
The above image was revealed on an episode of The Star Wars Show, and yep, it’s just some unknown dude in Mandalorian armor. Here’s the synopsis Favreau dropped yesterday that explains what we’re in store for…
“After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the ‘Star Wars’ universe. ‘The Mandalorian’ is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.”
In addition, StarWars.com confirmed previous rumors that Dave Filoni will be directing episodes of the show. Filoni is the guy who helped forge a lot of what we know about the Mandalorians during his run on Star Wars Rebels, so his addition should tell us a lot. Other directors include Thor: Ragnarok‘s Taika Waititi, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dope director Rick Famuyiwa, and Jessica Jones’ Deborah Chow.
The Mandalorian will be part of Disney’s streaming service and will probably arrive in 2019.
Ancient burial grounds, family dinners, and one resurrected kitty. Yep, it’s a remake of Stephen King’s Pet Semetary. We haven’t seen much of the horror redo from directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, but today EW had dropped the first images, including one really creepy, pissed off feline.
The 1989 film by Mary Lambert has become a cult favorite due to its memorable characters, not necessarily because it’s a good movie. King’s book centers on the Creed family, who move from the city to the country, only to learn their home is near a pet semetary on an ancient Indian burial ground. Stuff has a nasty habit of not staying buried there. This new version will play a bit closer to King’s novel, especially in regards to the Zelda character who had one of the most shocking reveals ever in the original movie. Zelda is the deformed, long-dead sister to Rachel Creed (Amy Seimetz), the mother of the family. The plan is to have her stick closer to the depiction in King’s book, while upping the scare factor when she finally does arrive. Good luck with that.
“It’s more accurate to the book, I’ll just say that,” Widmyer says. “In the original movie, it’s a 21-year-old guy in drag playing it, and in the book, as you recall, it’s a 10-year-old girl. You go, ‘How do you top Zelda?’ It was big and scary and awesome, but if you think about the reality of the Zelda situation, what that would do to a family, with her wasting away in this bedroom, and a younger sister being frightened of her older sister’s debilitating illness, that on its own is pretty scary.”
Jason Clarke, who plays family patriarch Louis Creed, says this Pet Semetary will be more than just another horror movie, although it disturbed the crap out of him…
“That’s what makes it more than a horror movie. I was like, ‘Where’s the horror? I’m disturbed.’ That was it for me, I found it insanely disturbing. [King] reaches inside you in some way, he always does. There is great intellect and great subconscious and subtext and thought and reason behind it.”
The film also stars John Lithgow as neighbor Jud Crandall, and he says this version will be sadder and more of a loner than Fred Gwynne’s memorable depiction…
“He’s a loner, and he’s chosen to be alone. His life changed. He was a man whose entire life was wrapped up with his marriage, his wife. And they didn’t have children, but they wanted children. In the script there’s this very simple and sweet line, ‘It didn’t work out for Norma and me. We wanted to keep ourselves to ourselves.’ You just know that was a really, really deep relationship. And the loss of that relationship has defined his life ever since.”
Well, that didn’t take long. Mere hours after bidding adieu to the MCU, Chris Evans had landed his first major post-Marvel gig, and it’s a doozy that will team him up with James Bond and a Star Wars director.
Evans has joined Daniel Craig in Knives Out, the next film from Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. Not much is known except it will be a contemporary murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie. Sorry, no lightsabers or Vibranium shields in this one.
This should get moving pretty fast considering the tight schedules for everybody involved. The whole project came together so quickly because Craig had an opening due to delays on Bond 25, and Johnson has some time before he gets rolling on his Star Wars trilogy. Evans has Neill Blomkamp’s disaster movie Greenlandcoming up, as well as rescue drama The Red Sea Diving Resort, so he’s doing exactly what he’s always wanted to do which is brand out. [Deadline]
