Woody Harrelson joins War of Planet of Apes and first Jungle Book trailer

Rise starred James Frano, Freida Pinto, Brian Cox, Tom Felton, John Lithgow and David Oyelowo
Dawn reinvented the cast with Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit McPhee, Judy Greer and Jason Clarke.
War of the Planet of the Apes has now signed on Woody Harrlelson as its lead villain.

The reboot trilogy’s cast has been bolstered by the signing two time Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson (No Country for Old Men, The Hunger Games, Zombieland, Cheers, Seven Psychopaths, True Detective) as a new human villain, currently being referred to as Colonel. This suggests that he will play the leader of the military forces that arrive at the end of Dawn. The other cast information we currently know is that Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings) will reprise his role as franchise figurehead Caesar. Its unclear if there will be a third new cast or Dawn’s main characters will return. Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) directs.

When Warner Bros and Disney both announced rivalling adaptations of The Jungle Book, it was the WB/Andy Serkis version that had far more hype. However, Disney’s version will be gaining some new fans from the surprisingly impressive first trailer. However much of the voice work isn’t shown alongside the on screen animals which makes us worry that the two will clash in the film.

Jon Favreau (Iron Man) directs while the cast includes Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble, Lost in Translation), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim, Prometheus), Bill Murray (Ghost Busters, Moonrise Kingdom), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave, The Force Awakens), Neel Sethi (Diwali), Giancarlo Esposito (Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, The Usual Suspects), Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island, Gandhi) and Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can, The Deer Hunter).

The Jungle Book – April 15th 2016

War of the Planet of the Apes – July 21st 2017

Disney’s D23 announcements – The Force Awakens, Toy Story 4, Doctor Strange, Finding Dory and more!

If you felt that Comic-Con didn’t lift the lid on Disney’s upcoming works enough than D23 is for you. The expo of all things Disney enlightened us on all of their properties from Star Wars to Pixar to Marvel and all of the studio’s very own animated and live action features. Sadly there’s been no word on the likes of in the works projects such as Wreck-It Ralph 2, Frozen 2 or proposed remakes of Dumbo and Pinocchio. Firstly…

Pixar!

After critical and commercial triumph of Inside Out, the studio is rolling out its slate of six upcoming movies. The Good Dinosaur will tell the story of an alternate reality where humans are the Earth’s secondary species and dinosaurs still rule. It comes from director Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy) and stars Anna Paquin (X-Men), Jeffrey Wright (Casino Royale), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading). November 25th 2015

Thirteen years after Finding Nemo, Finding Dory will pick up with the characters of the previous instalment when Dory finds herself in a marine study institute. Newly announced cast members include Hayden Rolence (Whom I Fear), Ed O’Neill (Modern Family) and Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) and Angus MacLane (Toy Story of Terror) direct the cast of Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen), Albert Brooks (Drive), Diane Keaton (The Godfather), Eugene Levy (American Pie), Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Dominic West (The Wire), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim) and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man). June 17th 2016

Toy Story 4 is also on the way and a teaser poster graced and it was revealed that it will focus on a love story between Woody and Bo Peep. John Lasseter (Toy Story 1-2) and Josh Cooley (George and AJ) direct while we expect Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Joan Cusack (Say Anything) and Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest) to star. June 16th 2017

Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) has long been developing a film centred on the Mexican celebration of The Day of the Dead. It has finally been given a release date and a title, Coco. No casting announcements have yet been made. November 22nd 2017

Another sequel on the way is Cars 3. No plot details were offered but we do know that John Lasseter (Cars 1-2) will write and we’d expect Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers) and Larry the Cable Guy (Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector) to reprise their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater respectively. June 15th 2018

The sequel Pixar fans have actually asking for will finally come out, 15 years after they asked for it. Assuming that the studio don’t want two sequels in the same year, The Incredibles 2 will head for a 2019 release. Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation) will direct while we’d expect Craig T Nelson (Poltergeist), Holly Hunter (The Piano) and Samuel L Jackson (Avengers Assemble) to star.

Next up…

Disney Animation!

Disney’s latest animation Zootopia will portray a metropolis populated by mammals. Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) were already set to star but the latest addition is pop star/actress Shakira. The directors are Byron Howard (Tangled), Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph) and Jared Bush (behind the creative team of Big Hero 6). March 4th 2016

Next, the team behind Aladdin, Hercules and The Princess and the Frog arrived to unveil more from their latest work, Moana. Dwayne Johnson (Fast Five) and Alan Tudyk (Serenity) will star in the story of a plucky young woman who is assisted by a demi-god to reach a fabled island. November 23rd 2016

The newest announcement was Gigantic. Tangled‘s Nathan Greno will collaborate with Frozen’s songwriters, Robert and Kristen Lopez to bring the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to Spain in the age of exploration. March 9th 2018

Following that was…

Disney live action (aka Worlds, Galaxies and Universes)

True life disaster thriller The Finest Hours will depict the struggle for survival of a group of sailors in 1952. Craig Gillespie (Million Dollar Arm) directs with a cast including Chris Pine (Star Trek Into Darkness), Ben Foster (Lone Survivor), Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Holliday Grainger (Cinderella) and Eric Bana (Munich). January 29th 2016

The latest adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book was promoted by director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) as well as Oscar winning stars Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and newcomer Neel Sethi. The classic story of an orphan raised by the animals of the jungle also stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers Assemble), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim), Bill Murray (Ghostbusters), Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects) and Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter). April 15th 2016

Alice Through the Looking Glass will build upon the established world built in the Lewis Carroll books and the Tim Burton’s 2010 billion dollar hit. James Bobin (The Muppets) directs a cast featuring Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak), Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech), Alan Rickman (Die Hard), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon), Andrew Scott (Pride), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Toby Jones (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Lindsay Duncan (About Time), Stephen Fry (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and Timothy Spall (Mr Turner). May 27th 2016

Next up was the family fantasy adventure Pete’s Dragon, about a young boy who seeks refuge from his family with a dragon. David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) directs while the film stars Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Wes Bentley (Interstellar), Karl Urban (Dredd) and Robert Redford (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). August 12th 2016

Two films delivered no material as such but were teased or mentioned. Firstly, Queen of Katwe – a drama about a girl from Uganda who trains to become a world chess champion. Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and David Oyelowo (Selma) will star with director Mira Nair (The Namesake). 2016

Also, Disney’s new iteration of Beauty and the Beast was present. The reboot (telling the story of a relationship between a monstrous prince and a young woman) is directed by Bill Condon (Mr Holmes) and stars Emma Watson (Harry Potter), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Josh Gad (Frozen), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle), Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting), Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wonda), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) and Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings). March 17th 2017

Finally, there was news from the fifth instalment of a legendary franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. This one will see Captain Jack in search of the trident of Poseidon. Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) was announced to be returning as Will Turner for the first time since 2007. The duo of Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki) direct an ensemble including Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), Kaya Scodelario (The Maze Runner), Brendon Thwaites (Maleficent), David Wenham (300), Stephen Graham (This is England) and Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men). July 17th 2017

Marvel

We won’t include Marvel’s full extensive line up but two of their instalments next year. Because of the studio’s infamous secrecy, none of the material shown has made it to the public. Captain America: Civil War showed off its trailer to the D23 audience. Anthony and Joe Russo (The Winter Soldier) direct with a cast including Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Scarlett Johansson (Lucy), Daniel Bruhl (Rush), Sebastian Stan (Black Swan), Frank Grillo (The Purge: Anarchy), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda), Tom Holland (The Impossible), William Hurt (Artificial Intelligence) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit). April 29th 2016

Doctor Strange is another of Marvel’s latest. Scott Derickson (Sinister) directs the supernatural thriller of which the recent concept art many likened to Inception. Marvel head Kevin Feige (Iron Man trilogy) could neither confirm or deny the rumours of Rachel McAdams joining the film but we do know that Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave). November 4th 2016

Star Wars

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was heralded by this stunning poster from Drew Struzan – the legendary poster designer who craft iconic works for Back to the Future and Blade Runner. JJ Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness) directs a cast including Harrison Ford (Blade Runner), Mark Hamill (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Carrie Fisher (When Harry Met Sally), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Toast of London), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Adam Driver (Frances Ha) and Max Von Sydow (Shutter Island). December 18th 2015

The first spin-off has had a full title announcement, cast reveals and first still. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has added to its ranks Alan Tudyk (Serenity), Donnie Yen (Ip Man), Wen Jiang (Devils on the Doorstep) and Mads Mikkelson (Casino Royale). Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) will direct with the cast of Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Ben Mendelsohn (Killing Them Softly), Diego Luna (Elysium), Jonathan Aris (Sherlock), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland). December 16th 2017

There wasn’t any news on Star Wars: Episode VIII – directed by Looper’s Rian Johnson and coming out May 26th 2017 – or the Han Solo spin off – directed by 21 Jump Street’s Phil Lord and Chris Miller and coming out May 25th 2018.

It was revealed that the third and final instalment of the new sequel trilogy (Star Wars: Episode IX) will be directed by Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) but the returning cast members are yet to be announced!

Del Toro’s Crimson Peak releases trailer, SNL 40 lineup, Cotillard joins Assassin’s Creed and castings and images fro Deadpool

Until fairly recently, the gaming adaptation Assassin’s Creed was still set for a ridiculous August 2015 release date, before production and most of the casting, but there was then a eighteen month delay. Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class, Prometheus, 300, Shame, 12 Years a Slave) will star as a modern day man who’s forced to relive the memories of his ancestors, who are members of an ancient order while Justin Kurzel (Snowtown) directs.

A new addition is Marion Cotillard, the French-born Oscar winning star of Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Big Fish, Two Days One Night, Rust and Bone, Contagion, La Vie en Rose, Midnight in Paris and Public Enemies. She teams with her future Macbeth co-star Fassbender in a undisclosed role.

Safe House star Ryan Reynolds and director Tim Miller have been lobbying for a greenlight for so long on mutant spinoff Deadpool and it’s finally on its way. On on set image reveals Wade Wilson’s iconic mask, pleasingly not tampered with from the comic book depiction, while some strides are being made in the casting department. Gina Carano (Fast and Furious 6, Haywire) has joined while three time X-Men star Daniel Cudmore will reprise his rule as Colossus.

It came close to topping our most anticipated list for 2015 and we can now reveal the very first look at Crimson Peak. Pan’s Labyrinth’s Guillermo Del Toro brings us this bold new horror entry which sees a young author lured into a reclusive house by her secretive new husband. It stars Mia Wasikowska (Stoker, Maps to the Stars), Tom Hiddleston (Thor, War Horse), Jessica Chastain (Interstellar, Zero Dark Thirty), Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim, Sons of Anarchy) and Doug Jones (Hellboy).

Many Americans will know that this weekend heralds the fortieth anniversary of the sketch show Saturday Night Live and we’ll give a special mention to the phenomenal ensemble of their new special including:

Adam Sandler (actor – Happy Gilmore)
Alec Baldwin (actor – 30 Rock, The Departed, Beetlejuice, The Hunt for Red October)
Amy Poehler (actress – Parks and Recreation)
Andy Samberg (actor – Brooklyn Nine Nine)
Bill Hader (actor – The Skeleton Twins)
Bill Murray (actor – Ghost Busters, Lost in Translation, Groundhog Day)
Billy Crystal (actor – Monsters Inc, When Harry Met Sally)
Bradley Cooper (actor – Guardians of the Galaxy, American Sniper, The Hangover)
Catherine Zeta Jones (actress – The Terminal, Chicago)
Charlie Day (actor – Horrible Bosses, The Lego Movie)
Chris Rock (actor – Madagascar, Top Five)
Christopher Walken (actor – Catch Me if You Can, Pulp Fiction)
Dan Aykroyd (actor – Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers)
Eddie Murphy (actor – Shrek, Beverly Hills Cop)
Edward Norton (actor – Fight Club, The Bourne Legacy, Birdman)
Emma Stone (actress – Easy A, The Amazing Spider-Man)
George Lucas (director – Star Wars, American Graffiti)
Glenn Close (actress – Guardians of the Galaxy, Mars Attacks)
JK Simmons (actor – Whiplash, Spider-Man)
Jack Nicholson (actor – The Shining, The Departed, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Batman)
James Franco (actor – 127 Hours, Spider-Man, The Interview)
Jim Carrey (actor – The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dumb and Dumber)
John Goodman (actor – The Artist, Argo, Monsters Inc, The Big Lebowski)
Kristen Wiig (actress – Bridesmaids, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty)
Martin Short (actor – Innerspace, !Three Amigos!)
Maya Rudolph (actress – Bridesmaids, Away We Go)
Melissa McCarthy (actress – Bridesmaids, The Heat, St Vincent)
Michael Douglas (actor – The Game, Wall Street, Ant-Man)
Mike Myers (actor – Wayne’s World, Shrek, Austin Powers)
Paul Rudd (actor – Anchorman, Knocked Up)
Robert De Niro (actor – The Godfather Part II, Goodfellas, Heat, Casino)
Sarah Silverman (actress – School of Rock, Wreck It Ralph)
Sigourney Weaver (actress – Avatar, Aliens)
Steve Martin (actor – Cheaper by the Dozen)
Steven Spielberg (director – ET, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, Raiders)
Tina Fey (actress/writer – 30 Rock, Mean Girls)
Tom Hanks (actor – Toy Story, Cast Away, Forrest Gump, Captain Phillips, Saving Private Ryan, Big)
Will Ferrell (actor – Anchorman, The Lego Movie, Elf, Step Brothers)
Zach Galifianakis (actor – The Hangover, The Campaign, Into the Wild, Birdman)

Crimson Peak – October

Deadpool – February 2016

Assassin’s Creed – December 2016

Serkis’ Jungle Book cast revealed and first official Ant-Man still

Two films with identical subject matter going head to head isn’t news. It’s happened before with Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror Mirror in 2012, Infamous and Capote in 2005, Deep Impact and Armageddon in 1998 and Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down in 2013. It always seems to end with a defined winner and loser. Rudyard Kipling’s classic fantasy novel The Jungle Book was previously best known for its 1967 animated adaptation but both Disney and Warner Bros have simultaneously decided it’s about time for another iteration. Disney had bounced into the lead in development quickly hiring Iron Man’s Jon Favreau as director and swiftly assembled an exciting cast of Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Giancarlo Esposito and Christopher Walken; Warners moved on from esteemed director Ron Howard (Rush) to allow The Lord of the Rings/Dawn of the Planet of the Apes star Andy Serkis (second unit director on The Hobbit films) to cast a darker web on the story titled Jungle Book: Origins. Favreau is well liked but Origins was the far favoured of the two. It held back till 2016 and has now unveiled its incredible principal cast.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomi Harris, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Rohand Chand, Tom Hollander, Eddie Marsan and Peter Mullan are all confirmed for various roles while Serkis himself will hop in front of the camera. Cumberbatch, famed as lead star of TV’s Sherlock as well as supporting roles in War Horse and Star Trek Into Darkness, will play the villainous tiger Shere Khan – (Into Darkness spoiler in next sentence) not the first Khan he’s played. Oscar winning Brit Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Hustle, American Psycho The Fighter, The Machinist) is the reluctant hero, and panther, Bagheera, teaming with Serkis for a second time after The Prestige. Double Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine, Elizabeth, The Aviator, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) will portray the hypnotic python Kaa as well as reuniting with The Lord of the Rings co-star Andy Serkis (anyone sensing a theme?).

A trio of greatly underated British thesps have been cast: Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, Tyrannosaur) will play the leader of the Wolfpack (not that one) Akela, Eddie Marsan (The Illusionist, Sherlock Holmes) is fellow wolf Vihaan and Tom Hollander (About Time, In the Loop, Pirates of the Caribbean) will play Shere Khan’s jackal mercenary Tabaqui. Naomi Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Skyfall) will play Vihaan’s mate Nisha. The only newcomer is American-born and Asian-descended Rohand Chand as Mowgli. Chand has previously made small appearances in Lone Survivor and The Hundred-Foot Journey but may be best known for playing Adam Sandler’s adopted son in critical disaster Jack and Jill. In my books, the two projects were neck and neck until this point. Origins is not only more promising but may well be an Oscar contender.

Finally today we’re greatly pleased to reveal the very first official still from Marvel’s sci-fi thriller Ant-Man. The has survived a great amount of controversy following the departure of director Edgar Wright, composer Steven Price and three lead stars to at last make it to production in San Francisco. Peyton Reed (Yes Man) directs while Paul Rudd (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Michael Pena (End of Watch), Judy Greer (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and Michael Douglas (Wall Street, The Game) star.

Ant-Man – July 17th 2015

Jungle Book: Origins – October 21st 2016

The Twelfth Doctor revealed, Bourne 5, Poltergeist reboot and much more

If your’re reading this, thanks for still coming to Tuorhoth Movies despite our recent absence. In this post we’re going to give a very quick summary of what happened in the last few days in the film, and a small but of television, news world. If you’re avoiding the identity of the new Doctor Who, you may not want to read on.

We were given short notice that the 12th Doctor would be unveiled on Sunday with the BBC only making the statement a few days before. On the night, Zoe Ball presented the half an hour show on BBC One with her guests, all avid Who fans. They including Outnumbered’s Daniel Roche, Liza Tarbuck and the Fifth Doctor Peter Davidson himself as well as head writer Steven Moffat and a crowd 400 strong,

Towards the end of the show, we we’re getting closer to the all important name that, in the days prior, was the bookies favourite. It was none other than Peter Capaldi. The 55 year old Glaswegian star will be the third Scot to play the legendary role. He will be best known to BBC comedy fans as Malcolm Tucker in hit show The Thick of It, which last year had it’s fourth season, and it’s spin off film In the Loop. His 2nd role in film was in Local Hero and has since starred in World War Z (which we’ll get to later) and the upcoming films The Fifth Estate, Benedict Cumberbatch in Julian Assange biopic, and Maleficent, Angelina Jolie’s new dark fantasy. His role in World War Z could be a cunning in-joke to tease his next TV role as the Doctor. He’s credited as WHO (World Health Organisation) Doctor which I wouldn’t suspect is a coincidence.

Capaldi is no stranger to Doctor Who. When he was 15 year’s old, he wrote to the Radio Times about the show. In season four of the show’s revival, he played a citizen of the Roman Empire in The Fires of Pompeii and was also a major political figure in Torchwood’s Children of Earth run. Next year he will star in The Musketeers, BBC’s high budget take on the classic story.

Peter Capaldi will first be seen as The Doctor in this year’s Christmas Special, marking the show’s 800th episode, after Matt Smith gives up the role he’s had for four years. The 50th Anniversary special will be aired this November and will star Matt Smith (The Eleventh Doctor), David Tennant (The Tenth), John Hurt (The Time War incarnation of The Doctor), Jenna Louise Coleman (Clara Oswald), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Jemma Redgrave (UNIT science officer Kate Stewart from season 7’s The Power of Three) and Joanna Page (Gavin and Stacey’s Stacey as Queen Elizabeth I). Peter Capaldi and Jenna Louise Coleman will star in Doctor Who season 8 in August 2014.

All Steven Moffat/Mark Gatiss/Benedict Cumberbatch/Martin Freeman fans will be delighted to see the new Sherlock series 3 trailer online. Sherlock will hopefully return this autumn or very early next year and yes that is John with the mustache.

Rashida Jones has joined the new Dreamworks animation BOO: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations. The Parks and Recreation star will lend her voice to the comedy that already stars Seth Rogen. While Hasbro get big box office success with Transformers and Battleship, Mattel are getting back at them with an adaptation of Max Steel in development. Is this the start of a new toy franchise war on the big-screen? Clint Eastwood has added more castings to his upcoming film Jersey Boys. The film is released next year and will star Christopher Walken and now Jeremy Luke and Joey Russo.

Jeremy Renner is now in talks for another Bourne film. He played rogue Aaron Cross in the relatively unliked Legacy were the absence of Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne was clear. Perhaps in this, Damon can return with Renner is a supporting role or perhaps an antagonist. Anthony Peckham, writer of Guy Ritchie, Jude Law and Robert Downey JR’s Sherlock Holmes and Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman’s Invictus, is now on board to write the sequel with it’s announced 2015 release.

A new poster for Marvel’s new live-action TV show Agents of SHIELD is now up. We see all six of our heroes in front of a SHIELD crest. It doesn’t exactly tease much as to the events of this autumn. Steven Spielberg has left American Sniper. This is one of many delayed Spielberg projects after the development crash of Robopocalypse. Bradley Cooper was set to star in this reality based thriller but it’ll have to wait for a new director to board Warner Bros’ in their development.

Sam Rockwell is now in talks for a Poltergeist reboot. The star of Seven Psychopaths and Moon is reported by The Wrap to be in early discussions for the continuation of the chillingly brilliant 1982 ghostly hit but will most likely forget it’s hugely disappointing predecessors Poltergeist II: The Other Side, Poltergeist III and Poltergeist: The Legacy. It’ll be interesting to see the family adventure director Gil Kenan (Monster House, City of Ember) will make of a horror classic. The film will also star Cinderella Man’s Rosemarie DeWitt.

Ellen DeGeneres will host the next Academy Awards. The Finding Nemo and Ellen DeGeneres show star hosted the Oscars before, in 2007, and will present the world’s biggest movie calender event Spring next year.

Benedict Cumberbatch has joined animation The Penguins of Madagascar. The big screen spin off of Dreamworks’ Madagascar trilogy and the penguins own TV show will now star Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek: Into Darkness, Sherlock) and John Malkovich will voice Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private’s new nemesis.

JJ Abrams will not direct Star Trek 3, due to conflicts with Disney’s Star Wars, but it is unknown who will. He is however producer so we can expect him to oversee the project and make sure that lensflares burn our eyes at every possible second. It’s a done deal for screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and Star Trek will most likely return in 2016 as they celebrate 50 years of the franchise. Bond’s 50th anniversary party boosted Skyfall into the billion dollar territory (currently only achieved by 16 films ever) and it definitely could bring box office delights for Paramount.

Christopher McQuarrie will direct Mission: Impossible 5. He announced it on Twitter with two words Mission: Accepted. Series figurehead Ethan Hunt will return with Tom Cruise once more in the role while Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton are rumoured to reprise their roles from Ghost Protocol as well as Ving Rhames as Luther. Their unlikely to leave out comical IMF agent Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). McQuarrie has worked with Tom Cruise before on ropey cop flick Jack Reacher as well as writing The Usual Suspects, The Tourist, Jack the Giant Slayer and Valkyrie.

Leonardo Di Caprio is set for Viking drama King Harald which Mel Gibson was developing. A new Muppets Most Wanted trailer has headed our way with promotion as the best motion picture ever. A fairly bold claim seeing as it has Scooter and a hoard of penguins shuffling to Maroon 5’s Moves like Jagger. Finally, we here shocking news that Harrison Ford will be in The Expendables 3. Bruce Willis has left the project now as Sylvester Stallone tweets Bruce Willis out, Harrison Ford in.