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 Downton Abbey, the Han Solo prequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and possible Spider-Man spinoffs for Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter.
(Photo by Jaap Buitendijk/Universal)
Those of us who follow movie development news may feel like we’re in the know, but every once in a while, Hollywood throws us a “monkey wrench.” For example, it was back in 2015 that Lucasfilm proudly announced that the Han Solo prequel spinoff (5/25/18) would be directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street and The LEGO Movie). Sure enough, filming began earlier this year, following casting announcements for Alden Ehrenreich (Han Solo), Donald Glover (Lando Calrissian), Emilia Clarke, Thandie Newton, and Woody Harrelson. Except, this week… Lord and Miller were fired with just two and a half weeks of filming to go. An inside source said to Variety that, “it was a culture clash from day one… [producer Kathleen Kennedy] didn’t like the way they folded their socks.” Within just two days, before speculation was even really able to take off online, Lucasfilm announced the new director of the Han Solo prequel would be Ron Howard (Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind). Howard worked with George Lucas early in his career when he starred in American Graffiti, and this week, he related the time in 1972 when Lucas told him about his idea for a Flash Gordon-style movie with 2001: A Space Odyssey-style special effects. Of course, many questions linger (such as whether Ron Howard will do reshoots), and what the credits will look like.
(Photo by Carnival Film and Television Limited for Masterpiece)
It’s not unusual that when a very, very popular TV series airs its final season, the showrunners talk up a movie. Although we did eventually get Entourage, Veronica Mars, and Sex in the City movies, the world is still waiting on the Deadwood, Rome, and The Sopranos movies that were at one point mentioned (HBO does this a lot). The final season of Downton Abbey aired in late 2015 in the UK and in early 2016 in the US, and by the looks of things, the wait for a Downton Abbey movie will be a lot shorter than with some of those other TV shows. Michael Edelstein (president of NBCUniversal International Studios, owner of Carnival Films) said this week that “We are working on getting the script right and then we’ve got to figure out how to get the (cast) together. Because as you know, people go on and do other things. But we’re hopeful to make a movie sometime next year.” We do know that Julian Fellowes is definitely working on the Downton Abbey screenplay, but everyhing else — like the setting, premise, or which cast members are returning — remains a mystery.
(Photo by Chuck Zlotnick/Columbia Pictures)
One of the most discussed superhero-related movie stories this year has involved Sony’s plans to develop “Spider-Man spinoffs” separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe that currently includes Spider-Man himself. The first such film will be Venom (10/5/18), and in 2019, we’re likely to get the second spinoff, Silver Sable and Black Cat (possibly shortened to just Silver and Black). In sort of a perfect example of a “buried lede,” The Hollywood Reporter inadvertently revealed that Sony Pictures is now developing spinoff movies for Spider-Man villains Mysterio and Kraven the Hunter, neither of whom has ever been portrayed in a live-action film. Kraven is possibly best known for the 1980s storyline “Kraven’s Last Hunt“, and Mysterio is a Hollywood special FX artist who decides to become a super villain (as one will). From that same THR story, we also now know that the second Spider-Man movie after Homecoming will feature a different MCU character (than Iron Man), and the villain in Tom Hardy’s Venom will be the blood-red alien symbiote serial killer Carnage.
(Photo by Industrial Light & Magic/Universal Pictures)
In most weeks, there are way more than ten notable stories to cover, so we group them together when we can. For example, here’s where we’ll talk about three previously untitled movies that finally got their official titles. First, the franchise sequel we formerly called Jurassic World 2 is now officially called Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. We’ll have just under a year (6/22/18) to speculate on what the “fallen kingdom” is, but according to the first film’s director Colin Trevrrow, the sequel will be like “a Spanish horror thriller with dinosaurs.” Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will be directed by Spanish director J.A. Bayona, whose previous horror thrillers were The Orphanage and last year’s A Monster Calls. Speaking of horror films, we can also now report that the sequel previously called Saw: Legacy will actually be titled Jigsaw when it cuts into theaters on October 27, 2017. And finally, Denzel Washington’s previously “untitled legal drama” is now called Roman Israel, Esq. (it was also previously titled Inner City).
(Photo by Hopper Stone/Columbia Pictures)
Edgar Allan Poe famously helped popularize Gothic horror storytelling during the 19th century, and one of his most famous short stories is 1843’s The Tell-Tale Heart, in which the narrator is haunted by the sound of a man’s heartbeat buried within his home’s walls. This week, news emerged about a film seemingly inspired by that tale. Jack Black is now attached to star in a movie called The House with the Clock in Its Walls, to be directed by Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever). Screenwriter Eric Kripke (TV’s Supernatural and Timeless) adapted the script from a 1973 novel by John Bellairs about a young, recently orphaned boy sent to live with his uncle (Jack Black), who turns out to be a warlock. The original novel led to a series of of books, so sequels are a real possibility. Although critics came to a Fresh consensus for his first two films, Cabin Fever and Hostel, Eli Roth has only received Rotten scores as director for the last decade. Maybe Jack Black can help him score a Fresh Tomatometer again.
(Photo by Peter Iovino/CBS Films courtesy Everett Collection)
(Photo by George Kraychyk/Paramount)
Here’s yet another example of how “in Hollywood, nobody knows anything.” ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_in_the_Screen_Trade ) Earlier this year, Vin Diesel’s xXx: Return of Xander Cage was such a box office hit that, until this week, it was one of the year’s top 10 box office hits (it’s still #11, and could stay in the top 20 by year’s end). That success came after it took 12 years for the film to make its way out of development. Well, it looks like xXx fans may not have to wait so long for a fourth film, because it is now officially in development. The news of xXx 4 came via the announcement of a new production company called The H Collective, which hasn’t announced a release date for xXx 4 yet, but they’re planning on releasing four movies a year, and their initial slate only has five films on it, so we’re thinking it’ll be here sooner rather than later.
(Photo by 20th Century Fox courtesy Everett Collection)
Before we get into this story, there’s two things worth noting. First, it’s an unconfirmed rumor, and second, the premise alluded to here is not without comic book precedent. Throughout the 50+ years that Marvel Comics has been publishing Fantastic Four, there have been many variations on the team’s lineup that didn’t include all four classic members (indeed, two prominent lineups didn’t include any of them). The rumor currently circulating is that 20th Century Fox is considering yet another reboot in which only Human Torch and The Thing would be included. In this reboot, the other two members would be Reed and Sue’s kids, Franklin and Valeria Richards. Both characters have been in the comics for decades, but have never been represented in a live-action film before. 20th Century Fox’s rights to produce Fantastic Four movies reportedly expires after seven years, so the studio needs to release another film by August 7th, 2022. The studio’s previous Fantastic Four movies all received Rotten Tomatometer scores.
(Photo by Daniel McFadden/Lionsgate)
There are just some franchises that tend to be “critic proof,” this week’s Transformers being one of them (though The Last Knight isn’t doing as well as past installments). Another perfect example is the output of writer/director/producer Tyler Perry, broadly, and his Madea character, specifically. Tyler Perry has a faithful audience that keeps showing up, despite his consistently poor showing on the Tomatometer. Lionsgate knows they have a good thing with Perry, so they have announced two new Tyler Perry films for 2018. Taraji P. Henson will star in Tyler Perry’s She’s Living My Life, which will be released on March 30th, 2018 against Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, and Perry himself will star in A Madea Family Funeral when it’s released on August 3rd of the same year.
(Photo by Paramount Vantage courtesy Everett Collection)
In 1997, after starring in The Boxer, Daniel Day-Lewis announced that he was stepping away from acting, but that break only lasted five years, as he returned to film with 2002’s Gangs of New York. Day-Lewis was a lot younger then, however, and this week, the now-60-year-old actor announced that after his next film, he will finally really retire from acting. His spokesperson stated, “Daniel Day-Lewis will no longer be working as an actor. He is immensely grateful to all of his collaborators and audiences over the many years. This is a private decision and neither he nor his representatives will make any further comment on this subject.” Daniel Day-Lewis’ final film will be Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming Phantom Thread, set in the fashion world of 1950s New York, which is scheduled for release on Christmas Day, December 25th, 2017. Over the course of his career, Day-Lewis has received three Academy Awards for Best Actor (My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, Lincoln), and has starred in an impressive seven Certified Fresh films. The prospect of no more Daniel Day-Lewis is a Rotten Idea, indeed.
