‘Borderlands’ Trailer: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, & Jamie Lee Curtis Star In Eli Roth’s Video Game Movie

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February 21, 2024

Unless you’re already a fan of the Borderlands franchise of looter-shooter games, it’s tough to know whether the movie is worth getting excited over. On the plus side, it has an absolutely stacked cast led by Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt, Edgar Ramirez, Jamie Lee Curtis, Florian Munteanu, and Gina Gershon. Lionsgate clearly wants you to focus on that, which is why the star power is front and center in the first official images, poster, and trailer.

People dropped the first photos from Borderlands yesterday. One features Blanchett sporting Lillith’s fiery red hair. The other gives us a shot of the entire team of vault hunters, in what I like to call “beatdown view”, as they peer down a well. There be loot down that well! What we get in the images and trailer are Blanchett as Lillith Hart as elite mercenary Roland, Black as the wise-cracking robot Claptrap, Curtis as the psychotic Dr. Tannis, Greenblatt as the feral Tiny Tina, and Munteanu as the muscle-bound Krieg.

The film is directed by Eli Roth, with shooting having begun back in 2021. So it’s been a while waiting for this one, and there have been concerns about the weeks of reshoots, not by Roth but by Deadpool director Tim Miller. Before anyone goes crazy over that, Roth was busy shooting Thanksgiving which is why he couldn’t do them himself. New script pages were penned by Zak Olkewicz, as well. Of some concern is the previously attached Craig Mazin (The Last of Us), who took his name off the project and was replaced by co-writer Joe Crombie.

I’ll be honest, it looks sorta generic to me, but I’m not a fan of the games and perhaps it will speak more to those who are.

Here’s the synopsis: Lilith (Blanchett), an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas (Ramírez), the universe’s most powerful S.O.B. Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland (Hart), a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina (Greenblatt), a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg (Munteanu), Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis (Curtis), the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap (Black), a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to BORDERLANDS.

Lionsgate will release Borderlands into theaters on August 9th.

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‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ To Be Retitled, ‘Thunderbolts’ Adds ‘The Bear’ Showrunner, ‘Fantastic Four’ Rewrites

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Travis Hopson

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February 21, 2024

Kang Dynasty, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four

Let’s just say that 2023 was not a good year for Marvel. Bob Iger has said they “lost a little focus”, and has reorganized future plans to include fewer movies per year, there’s only one in 2024, and fewer shows on Disney+. It’s all too little too late to correct a year that saw The Marvels become their lowest-grossing movie ever, Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania disappoint critically and financially, and Secret Invasion get some of the worst reviews of any Marvel project. There are a number of changes still to come as Marvel attempts to recover, and THR has details on what those will entail. The first is one that many have been predicting for months.

The writing has been on the wall since before Jonathan Majors was found guilty in his domestic abuse trial. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will undergo a title change, and probably see the villain’s role in the film reduced since that’s what Marvel was trying to do, anyway. Fans didn’t really take to him in Ant-Man 3, either. The film is still scheduled to open in summer 2026, although it still needs a director since Destin Daniel Dretton dropped out.

With Marvel having finally found its Fantastic Four with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn, the script is getting a rewrite. Eric Pearson, who is basically Marvel’s clean-up hitter, has come in give the screenplay a pass. He’s already done work on Black Widow, Thor: Ragnarok, and Thunderbolts. Speaking of which…

Thunderbolts is getting a bit of help from The Bear co-showrunner Joanna Calo, who will take a shot at the script. The film centers on a team of antiheroes and villains, including Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Black Widow (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), USAgent (Wyatt Russell) and more as they try to work as a team for the government.

“The focus is internal this year,” an insider said about the initiative going on at Marvel Studios.

Part of that means fewer projects overall. Only Deadpool & Wolverine is on the calendar for 2024. Thunderbolts arrives in May 2025, while Fantastic Four is in July of the same year, but they shouldn’t have a ton of company as Blade is expected to move into 2026.

Gareth Edwards Takes Over As Director Of New ‘Jurassic World’ Movie

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Travis Hopson

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February 21, 2024

Following his tumultuous experience directing Rogue One, Gareth Edwards decided to step away from Hollywood for a while. He reemerged last year with The Creator, an original sci-fi work that was one of the year’s best films. However, it underperformed at the box office, which has led many to speculate on Edwards’ future. Well, it turns out the call to blockbusters is strong.

Edwards has taken over Universal’s new Jurassic World movie, the one that recently saw director David Leitch exit due to creative differences. You can’t fault Universal and Amblin for seeking out Edwards, who has a ton of blockbuster experience under his belt. He also directed 2015’s Godzilla film that launched the MonsterVerse.

So while on the one hand, it’s disappointing to see him drawn back into the style of filmmaking he sought to leave behind, perhaps he’s scratching a particular itch. Jurassic Park is one of the great all-time franchises, and he’ll get to work with the likes of Steven Spielberg. That’s gotta be tough to refuse.

The new Jurassic World movie is set for July 2nd 2025, and will have an entirely new cast. Edwards will have to get moving quickly so expect news on that very soon.

‘Irish Wish’ Trailer: Lindsay Lohan Swaps Lives For Love In New Netflix Rom-Com

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Travis Hopson

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February 21, 2024

It’s another Freaky Friday situation that Lindsay Lohan has found herself in! Or is it a Just My Luck situation? Does anybody swap lives more than Lohan? Because she does so again in Netflix’s upcoming rom-com, Irish Wish.

In Irish Wish, the new film from director Janeen Damian and writer Kirsten Hansen, Lohan stars as Maddie, who travels to Ireland to be bridesmaid as the love of her life gets married to her best friend, Emma. In a desperate moment, Maddie makes a wish for true love, only to have her wish granted. She wakes up next to the bride-to-be having swapped lives with Emma, but of course, that’s not the end of the story.

Also in the cast are Ed Speleers, Alexander Vlahos, Ayesha Curry, Jane Seymour, and Elizabeth Tan.

Here’s the official synopsis: When the love of her life gets engaged to her best-friend, Maddie puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland. Days before the pair are set to marry, Maddie makes a spontaneous wish for true love, only to wake up as the bride-to-be. With her dream seeming to come true, Maddie soon realizes that her real soulmate is someone else entirely.

Netflix will release Irish Wish on March 15th.

‘Shang-Chi 2’: Simu Liu Says Destin Daniel Cretton Will Return To Direct Marvel’s Sequel

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Travis Hopson

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February 20, 2024

As Disney rethinks and reorganizes Marvel Studios’ future plans, we’ve seen a lot of shake-ups. One of the biggest centered on director Destin Daniel Cretton, who was meant to direct Avengers: Kang Dynasty as his follow-up to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. But Cretton dropped out a few months ago, citing the number of Marvel projects he already has coming up. And that led to some thinking Cretton might also exit the Shang-Chi sequel, which seems to have been put on the backburner.

Well, not true. According to star Simu Liu in an interview with CBM, Cretton is still very much aboard Shang-Chi 2. Not that Liu has any other information on the film’s status…

“Oh man, I don’t know, to be honest,” Liu began. “I mean, those things are so above my pay grade. I just want to continue to be a fan of it. You know, when I get a call of like, ‘Hey, this is what you’re in, and this is where you’re going to show up. And, this is when you’re going to need to be blacked out for.’ That’s kind of generally what tends to happen. But, you know Destin is such a special filmmaker, and we’re very happy to have him on the sequel. So, he’ll be working on that, and we’re really excited to see what he comes up with. I think he’s going to do a brilliant job.”

Cretton is also attached to a Wonder Man series for Disney+. That show looked like it was getting the axe, but is still in production.

Shang-Chi 2 remains a mystery, though. It has no release date, no writers, and no start date, which means it probably won’t arrive until 2026, maybe 2025 if they can push it. Cretton’s got a lot on his plate. I’m not convinced Marvel will go through with a sequel at all, considering the first movie was only a modest success and Disney’s been gung-ho about reducing output.

‘Save The Green Planet’: Emma Stone In Talks To Join Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dark Comedy Remake

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Travis Hopson

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February 20, 2024

Emma Stone in POOR THINGS, will star in SAVE THE GREEN PLANET — Emma Stone in POOR THINGS. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.

Having already worked together to great success on The Favourite and Poor Things, we knew that director Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone were eager to do so again. Following yesterday’s announcement that Lanthimos will direct a remake of South Korean comedy Save the Green Planet, today comes word that Stone will be joining him. Not really a shock.

Variety confirms that Emma Stone is in talks to star in the sci-fi dark comedy Save the Green Planet, which Yorgos Lanthimos will direct. The story “revolves around a disillusioned young man who captures and tortures a businessman whom he believes to be part of an alien invasion. A battle of wits ensues between the captor, his devoted girlfriend, the businessman and a private detective.”

The report suggests that Stone’s role could be a supporting one and not the lead.

An earlier version of the film was to be directed by Jang Joon-hwan who did the original movie, from a script by Will Tracy (The Menu) that is likely to be rewritten.

This is the sixth collaboration between Lanthimos and Stone, who have Kinds of Kindness coming up later this year. Filming on Save the Green Planet is to begin this summer.

‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Trailer: The Journey To Restore Balance To The World Begins This Week On Netflix

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Travis Hopson

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February 20, 2024

With just a couple of days before the arrival of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, the streamer isn’t taking any risks. They know this could be their next big series, possibly the biggest ever, and the amount of trailers and promos for it shows the amount of attention being paid. Case in point, one final trailer to get fans hyped for the journey of Aang as he masters the four elements to restore balance to the world.

Of course, the animated series is one of the all-time greats that launched an entire franchise. But there are still far too many who remember M. Night Shyamalan’s failed movie in 2010, and Netflix does NOT want you to associate this with that.

The new show stars Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley, Dallas Liu, Ken Leung, with Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Daniel Dae Kim. Albert Kim (Sleepy Hollow) is creator, exec-producer, and showrunner.

Here’s the synopsis: Water. Earth. Fire. Air. The four nations once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked and wiped out the Air Nomads, the first step taken by the firebenders towards conquering the world. With the current incarnation of the Avatar yet to emerge, the world has lost hope. But like a light in the darkness, hope springs forth when Aang (Gordon Cormier), a young Air Nomad — and the last of his kind — reawakens to take his rightful place as the next Avatar. Alongside his newfound friends Sokka (Ian Ousley) and Katara (Kiawentiio), siblings and members of the Southern Water Tribe, Aang embarks on a fantastical, action-packed quest to save the world and fight back against the fearsome onslaught of Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim). But with a driven Crown Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu) determined to capture them, it won’t be an easy task. They’ll need the help of the many allies and colorful characters they meet along the way.

Avatar: The Last Airbender hits Netflix on February 22nd, with eight one-hour episodes.

Four Beatles Feature Films Coming From Sam Mendes In 2027

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Travis Hopson

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February 20, 2024

Sam Mendes followed up his acclaimed war drama 1917 with another accomplished film, Empire of Light, that I think was a bit overlooked during awards season. So what does Mendes do next in response? Not one movie, but how about four of them, all centered on a different member of The Beatles?

Beatles Mania has been in effect since Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back, and continued with the recent AI-produced final song, “Now and Then.” Apple and Sony are jumping on the bandwagon with four separate theatrical features, all scripted dramas, about each individual Beatles member. Mendes will direct all four movies about John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.

Mendes’ films will “intersect to tell the astonishing story of the greatest band in history”, each told from the band member’s perspective.

For the first time ever, Apple Corps Ltd. and The Beatles have granted total life rights and full music rights to scripted feature. The plan is for Mendes to release each movie in 2027, which suggests we should start hearing about casting and production very soon. Sony Pictures is backing the projects and will distribute, as well.

“I’m honored to be telling the story of the greatest rock band of all time, and excited to challenge the notion of what constitutes a trip to the movies,” said Sam Mendes in a statement.

“We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives, which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time,” said Neal Street Productions partner Pippa Harris. “To have The Beatles’ and Apple Corps’ blessing to do this is an immense privilege. From our first meeting with Tom Rothman and Elizabeth Gabler, it was clear that they shared both our passion and ambition for this project, and we can’t think of a more perfect home than Sony Pictures.”

How excited are you about seeing The Beatles’ story being told this way and by Mendes?

‘Civil War’ Trailer: Armed Conflicts Rips The Country Apart In Alex Garland’s New Thriller

By

Travis Hopson

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February 20, 2024

Kirsten Dunst in CIVIL WAR — CIVIL WAR: Alex Garland's terrifying glimpse at a future America ripped apart by war is as strikingly beautiful as it is frighteningly possible given the current political climate.

It’s tough to deny that tensions are elevated in this country right now. The political divisions are more stark than they’ve ever been, and the possibility of armed conflict is at a high. Seems like the wrong time, or perhaps the best time (?) to put out a movie called Civil War that fictionalizes what it would look like if such an armed conflict that tore the nation apart would look like.

Leave it to writer/director Alex Garland to push those political hot buttons with Civil War. While much of the plot has been kept under wraps, the story appears to follow a group of journalists navigating the war zone as they try to reach the nation’s capital. Garland’s synopsis calls it “an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor’s edge.”

The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons and Jonica T. Gibb.

A24 will release Civil War into theaters and IMAX on April 12th. I’m curious to see how people react to this one. To me it looks amazing, and like an extension of Kevin Smith’s 2010 film Red State. But I also know that people are exhausted by the internal strife and may not want to pay money to watch it taken to such a horrific extent. We shall see. I’ll definitely be there though.

‘The Memory Police’: Lily Gladstone Talks Upcoming Sci-Fi Film Produced By Martin Scorsese

By

Travis Hopson

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February 20, 2024

Still riding high after her Best Actress Oscar nomination for Killers of the Flower Moon, and the acquisition of her recent film Fancy Dance, Lily Gladstone is also looking ahead to her next project. The Memory Police will reunite her with Martin Scorsese, who is an exec-producer on the adaptation of Yoko Ogawa’s sci-fi novel set on an island controlled by a mysterious force that causes people to collectively forget. Some refuse and risk it all to maintain their memories.

Deadline caught up with Gladstone after a special Killers of the Flower Moon event, and she spoke about the film which has a script by Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and will be directed by Reed Morano (I Think We’re Alone Now).

“It’s on an unnamed island at an unnamed place, unnamed time,” Gladstone said. “So it takes place nowhere and therefore everywhere.”

“The adaptation is done by Charlie Kaufman, so it’s labeled as a sci-fi, but in the way that [Kaufman’s previous films] Eternal Sunshine [of the Spotless Mind] or Synecdoche [New York] was a sci-fi. It happens very much in the subconscious mind and deals with, of course, themes of memory, authoritarianism.”

Gladstone continued by stating her interest in the film is “it’s the kind of story that could take place everywhere. I think anybody who comes from a world culture or a history where there’s been a systemic effort to erase your sense of who you are, your memories, your language, your culture- in this film, birds are disappeared because they’re deemed unnecessary.”

The timing on this couldn’t be better, with a few states making great efforts to erase from history the culture and contributions of Blacks, Native Americans, the LGBTQ community, and others.

Also coming up for Gladstone is Jazzy, a companion piece to last year’s drama The Unknown Country (review here) and a reunion with director Marissa Maltz.