This week’s Ketchup brings you another ten headlines from the world of film development news (those stories about what movies Hollywood is working on for you next). Included in the mix this time around are stories about such titles as Fast & Furious 9, Brad Pitt’s Ad Astra, and new biopic roles for Ansel Elgort and Hugh Jackman.
(Photo by Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures)
As Warner Bros.’ superhero movie Wonder Woman continues its marathon box office run, the narrative this summer has been that the film is succeeding partly because it offers something that many other movies this summer do not, namely a female lead in an action movie. Now, we don’t know for sure that this story came about because of that narrative… but maybe it did? Tuesday, to promote the digital premiere of Fate of the Furious, Michelle Rodriguez took to Instagram to address her future in the franchise, stating specifically, “I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one. Or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise.” Although previous installments did feature stronger roles for some of the female characters (including Gal Gadot’s), Rodriguez’s Letty didn’t have much to do in Fate of the Furious. Interviewed recently for Entertainment Weekly, Rodriguez also pointed out, “I’ve been making movies with Jordana, who plays the sister of Dom Toretto, for 16 years and I can count on one hand how many lines I’ve had to her… …I think that’s pathetic and it’s lack of creativity.” Although filming hasn’t started yet, Universal Pictures has already scheduled Fast & Furious 9 for April 19, 2019.
(Photo by Barry Wetcher/Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros. courtesy Everett Collection)
There will always be some curiosity about a new film when Brad Pitt is involved, and one of his recent projects is now getting some attention. As his other films (like World War Z 2) continue to get pushed back, it looks like Pitts next one may be a science fiction drama set in deep space called Ad Astra (Latin for “to the stars”). That seems to be the suggestion, anyway, in an announcement this week that Tommy Lee Jones is now in final negotiations to join Pitt in Ad Astra, which will start filming in September, and centers on a “slightly autistic” man’s journey into space to discover what happened to his father, who embarked on a one-way mission to Neptune 20 years prior. Ad Astra will be directed by James Gray, whose most recent film was The Lost City of Z.
(Photo by Wilson Webb/TriStar)
Although it’s largely forgotten now, the 1963 film P.T. 109 made history as the first dramatic feature film about a living U.S. president released during that president’s term. Cliff Robertson (AKA Uncle Ben in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies) starred in that film, but he was just the first of many actors to play John F. Kennedy. If you saw Baby Driver this week, then you actually saw the next, because Ansel Elgort is now signed to star in Mayday 109, a World War II drama that will tell the true story of the 1943 sinking of the PT boat commanded by a young John F. Kennedy in the South Pacific. The future 35th POTUS led 11 survivors to a deserted island, where they had to avoid capture by the Japanese forces surrounding them. The apparently quick development of Mayday 109 follows the critical success of another JFK-related drama, Jackie, and it arguably bears some similarities to next month’s WWII drama, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. No director is yet signed to direct Mayday 109.
(Photo by Clay Enos/Warner Bros.)
Both Marvel Comics and DC Comics have incorporated “alternate reality” storylines featuring their popular characters. Marvel’s most popular series is called What If?, which poses questions like, “What If Spider-Man‘s Uncle Ben Hadn’t Died?” or “What If Wolverine Killed The Incredible Hulk?” DC Comics’ signature response is Elseworlds, which often tells its stories more thematically, like Gotham by Gaslight (Victorian Era Batman), Thrillkiller (Robin and Batgirl in the 1960s), and Justice Riders (the JLA in the Wild West). One of the most popular Elseworlds was 2003’s Superman: Red Son, in which Kal-El’s rocket lands in the Soviet Union instead of Kansas. Surprisingly this week, Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts revealed via Twitter that he recently pitched Warner Bros on a Superman: Red Son movie. This led to further reporting about the possibility, and it sounds like Warner Bros is really considering lots of options for their future superhero movies. Who knows? Maybe we could get Kingdom Come or Crisis on Infinite Earths someday.
(Photo by Chuck Zlotnick/Open Road Films)
This Wednesday saw the Netflix debut of the giant pig movie Okja, from Snowpiercer director Bong Joon-ho. In addition to Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Steven Yeun, and Giancarlo Esposito, Okja features a gonzo performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as a past-his-prime TV star. Considering that and the fact that Netflix has no problems attracting top tier talent these days (like Brad Pitt in War Machine), it’s not surprising that Gyllenhaal is now attached to another movie that will premiere on the streaming service. The movie doesn’t have a title yet, but it will also be a reunion project for Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, and director Dan Gilroy, who all previously made 2014’s Nightcrawler together. Nothing else is known about the movie except that it will be a “drama set in the art world,” and that Gilroy will be directing from his own screenplay. Dan Gilroy’s credits as a screenwriter also include Real Steel, Kong: Skull Island, and his next film as director, Roman Israel, Esq., starring Denzel Washington.
(Photo by Brianna Hildebrand/20th Century Fox)
Although last year’s X-Men: Apocalypse was a bit of a critical stumble, 20th Century Fox also recently had critical and box office successes with both Deadpool and Logan. With that in mind, Fox is tripling down on their plans for adaptations of the Marvel characters they have the rights to, with 2018 alone bringing us The New Mutants (4/13/18), Deadpool 2 (6/1/18), and X-Men: Dark Phoenix (11/16/18). This week, the studio confirmed that the three-Marvel-movies-a-year pattern will continue. Along with an already scheduled 2/15/18 film, there are now six more Fox/Marvel movies, specifically scheduled for: 6/7/19 (the week after Avengers 4), 11/22/19 (the week before Frozen 2), 3/13/20 (against a Pixar film), 6/26/20 (the week after another Pixar film), 10/2/20, and 3/5/21. So, what might these six mystery Marvel movies be? We already know Deadpool 3 and X-Force are in development, and we can speculate that both The New Mutants and X-Men will get new installments in that date range. As for the other two slots, there are the rumors of an X-23 movie, a Fantastic Four reboot, and the long-in-development Gambit movie starring Channing Tatum (or not).
(Photo by Derek Storm/Everett Collection)
Those six Marvel movies aren’t, however, the only new release dates that 20th Century Fox announced this week; there are also other new development revelations about Fox’s upcoming slate of films. First up, there’s the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale (which may have horror or science fiction elements), directed by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), which will be released on October 5, 2018 (against the Marvel adaptation Venom). On March 1st, 2019, Fox has scheduled The Force, an adaptation of a NYPD novel by author Don Winslow, to be directed by James Mangold (The Wolverine, Logan) and adapted by acclaimed screenwriter David Mamet, which will face off against How to Train Your Dragon 3, just a week before Marvel’s Captain Marvel starring Brie Larson. Finally, on February 14th (Valentine’s Day), 2020, Fox has scheduled an animated adaptation of the graphic novel Nimona.
(Photo by 20th Century Fox)
This week, 20th Century Fox released the first trailer for this December’s musical extravaganza The Greatest Showman, starring Hugh Jackman as circus entrepeneur P.T. Barnum. Coincidentally (or not), Jackman also signed on this week for another biopic called The Frontrunner, about the 1988 presidential campaign of disgraced politician Gary Hart. The Colorado Senator had been the Democratic Party primary frontrunner until an extramarital sex scandal with Donna Rice forced him to pull out of the race. Jason Reitman will direct The Frontrunner, returning to his political roots (Thank You for Smoking) after a run of films that included Juno, Young Adult, and his next film with Charlize Theron, Tully. Reitman also cowrote The Frontrunner with former HRC press secretary Jay Carson and Matt Bai, the author of the source nonfiction book All the Truth is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid.
(Photo by 20th Century Fox)
This was a relatively slow news week, especially if you take 20th Century Fox’s announcements out of the equation. So, we will (nearly) wrap up with a few more items from Fox’s various Marvel Comics adaptations this week. First, there’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix (11/16/18). Although we don’t know who will play her yet, we now know that mutant pop star Dazzler will make her debut in that film (after rumors that Taylor Swift would play her in last year’s X-Men: Apocalypse). Also, after initial reports to the contrary, Evan Peters is now confirmed to return as Quicksilver in his third X-Men movie (although Quicksilver wasn’t involved in the original Dark Phoenix storyline in the comics). As for The New Mutants (4/13/18), Rosario Dawson has dropped out of co-starring as Dr. Cecilia Reyes, and that character will now be played by Alice Braga (Elysium, I Am Legend). Lasly, filming of Deadpool 2 (6/1/18) started this week, and Josh Brolin gave us a glimpse of the preparation for his transformation into Cable.
(Photo by Warner Bros.)
Ben Affleck is in the midst of a run of Rotten films, which started with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (27 percent) and continued with The Accountant (52 percent) and Live by Night (34 percent). Joss Whedon’s contributions to this November’s Justice League may help turn things around, but this week, Affleck started negotiations for a sequel to one of those aforementioned Rotten films. Warner Bros is hoping Affleck will sign on to star in a sequel to last year’s The Accountant, which was for him sort of what the Jason Bourne movies are for his pal, Matt Damon. The Accountant was made on a budget of just $45 million, so its $86 million domestic take is seen as a modest hit, even if the film’s 52 percent Tomatometer score indicates critics where less than enthusiastic about it.
