Today’s Ketchup brings you another 10 headlines from the world of film development news, covering titles like the sequels to Bad Moms, Ghostbusters, and A Quiet Place.
(Photo by John Lamparski, Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images)
Marvel Studios is preparing to shoot their next two films this summer for likely 2020 releases. It was just last week that we heard about Angelina Jolie being in talks for a lead role in The Eternals, but that’s not actually the next film in the works. Marvel is closer to starting production on the Black Widow solo film, starring Scarlett Johansson, with filming scheduled to begin in June. Florence Pugh (Fighting with My Family, Lady MacBeth) was announced last month for Black Widow, and this week, it was revealed that two more stars are in talks. Rachel Weisz (The Favourite) is now in talks for a role in Black Widow. David Harbour (Stranger Things), who will star later this month in the Hellboy, is also in talks for a Black Widow role. We don’t yet have any clue what the Black Widow movie is about (including whether it’s a prequel or is set after Avengers: Endgame), or what characters Pugh, Weisz, or Harbour might be playing. (This writer’s guess for Rachel Weisz is long-time HYDRA leader Viper.) Black Widow may be the Marvel Studios movie scheduled for May 1, 2020.
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Last year’s monster/suspense movie A Quiet Place (Certified Fresh at 95%) was a surprise box office hit, with over $340 million worldwide from a budget of just $17 million. Paramount quickly greenlit a sequel for next year (May 15, 2020), with real life married couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinski returning (as actress and writer/director, respectively). This week, it was confirmed that the the two surviving kid actors (Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds) would be returning for the sequel, and also the first new cast member for the sequel. Frequent Christopher Nolan collaborator and Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy will join Emily Blunt in the A Quiet Place sequel as a character who is described as a “man with mysterious intentions who joins the family unit.” The other movie scheduled against A Quiet Place 2 is the animated Scooby-Doo reboot Scoob, featuring the voices of Zac Efron, Tracy Morgan, and Amanda Seyfried.
(Photo by Sabrina Lantos/Sony Classics)
After six Academy Award nominations, and two wins (for Adapted Screenplay), Alexander Payne had his first Rotten film as director with 2017’s Downsizing. For his next film, Payne is reportedly recruiting Emma Stone (three Oscar nominations, one win) and Ralph Fiennes (two Academy Award nominations). Described as a “comedic horror-thriller,” the movie is called The Menu, and is about a couple “who travel to a remote island to attend an exclusive restaurant where the acclaimed chef (Fiennes) has prepared a lavish tasting menu, along with some shocking surprises.” Although Alexander Payne won both of his Academy Awards as screenwriter, The Menu was instead written by late night TV show staff writers Will Tracy (Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) and Seth Reiss (Late Night with Seth Meyers). Emma Stone will next co-star in the sequels Zombieland: Double Tap (10/11/2019) and The Croods 2 (9/18/2020), and Ralph Fiennes has at least three films scheduled for 2020 as well.
(Photo by Walt Disney Pictures)
Enough fans of the Child’s Play franchise have been talking about Brad Dourif not voicing “Chucky” in this summer’s Child’s Play reboot (6/21/2019) that “no Brad Dourif” is a top autocorrect result on Google search. Curiously, for a movie that is just over two months away from release, however, we didn’t actually know for sure who would be voicing Chucky instead. As it turns out, the actor taking on the role is the one famous for voicing the Joker in dozens of video games and animated TV shows. Mark Hamill is obviously best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, and he can now add Child’s Play to the list of franchises he’s associated with. Hamill announced his participation in a video that debuted at this past weekend’s WonderCon in Anaheim.
(Photo by Warner Bros.)
When director James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (8/6/2021) was first announced, it was quickly described as a soft reboot with a new cast of supervillains. That, however, was before it was confirmed that Margot Robbie would indeed be returning as Harley Quinn. (We also thought Deadshot would be returning, albeit in the form of Idris Elba instead of Will Smith, though it later turned out that’s not the character Elba would be playing.) This week, we learned of two more actors from the 2016 version who are returning in the same roles. Viola Davis will once again play Amanda Waller, the government agent who brings together the various super villains, and Jai Courtney also talked this week about returning as Captain Boomerang (although it’s possible that his character won’t survive).
(Photo by Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection)
Chrissy Metz of NBC’s This is Us will star in the faith-based drama Breakthrough later this month, and this week, one of her co-stars also signed on for his own faith-based drama. Sterling K. Brown is in talks with Sony’s AFFIRM Films (Miracles from Heaven, Heaven is for Real) to star in their inspirational sports drama called Rise. If he signs on, Brown will portray Louisiana middle school janitor Willie Davis, who took over his school’s basketball program and went on to compete in the state championship. Rise is based on Davis’ true life story, which has previously been reported on by HBO’s Real Sports. Sony has already scheduled Rise for release a year from next week, on April 10, 2020 (up against James Bond 25).
(Photo by Dee Cercone/Everett Collection)
(Photo by Wilson Webb/Fox Searchlight Pictures)
We haven’t yet heard about any of the original Ghostbusters being cast in next year’s new film; instead, the focus thus far has been on a family at the center of the story. The casting started with Carrie Coon (The Leftovers) and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things, IT), who are playing mother and son. This week, we learned of another family member, their daughter/sister, who will be played by McKenna Grace. In addition to a small role in Captain Marvel portraying the young Carol Danvers, McKenna Grace was also the lead in Gifted and the young Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. Grace and Wolfhard’s characters are expected to be joined by two more preteens/teens. The next Ghostbusters is scheduled for July 10, 2020 (the week before Christopher Nolan’s next film).
(Photo by Dan MacMedan, Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images)
Netflix may have cancelled their various Marvel series (Daredevil, Luke Cage, etc.) but that doesn’t mean they’re showing any sign of being out of the superhero business. In addition to The Umbrella Academy, Netflix also has a deal with Kick-Ass and Kingsman creator Mark Millar. This week, the streaming giant started talks with two legitimate movie stars to star in a superhero movie called Thunder Force. Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer would both play women who gain superpowers in the film, which will be written and directed by McCarthy’s husband Ben Falcone, who’s also directing McCarthy in this year’s Superintelligence (12/20/2019). Since Falcone started working behind the camera with McCarthy, all of their collaborations have earned Rotten Tomatometer scores: Tammy (24%), The Boss (22%), and Life of the Party (38%).
(Photo by STX Entertainment)
After Bad Moms earned $183 million globally in the summer of 2016, it was followed by the sequel A Bad Moms Christmas in 2017. That second film introduced the grandma characters played by Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon, and now they’re going to get their own movie called Bad Moms’ Moms. It’s not yet known if Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, and Mila Kunis will reprise their roles as well, or if the third movie might introduce the next set of older great-grandmas (who could then get their own movie called Bad Moms’ Moms’ Moms). Both Bad Moms and A Bad Moms Christmas received Rotten Tomatometer scores (58% and 30% respectively).
