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!

Carell Vs Stone in tennis drama, McGregor joins Beauty and Beast and new posters for Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland

Documentaries are often becoming the base of new dramatic films: similar ground in 2010’s multi-BAFTA-winning Senna in covered in Ron Howard’s equally lauded Rush while Oscar winners Man on Wire and Citizenfour are soon to be adapted into Robert Zemeckis’ tightrope adventure The Walk and Oliver Stone’s NSA thriller Snowden (both, coincidently, starring Joseph Gordon Levitt. It received far less exposure than the aforementioned films but the 2013 documentary The Battle of the Sexes told the true story of the 1973 tennis match between women’s Wimbledon winner Billie Jean King and retired male champ Bobby Riggs and the underlying sexual politics that the game represented.

The lead stars of the new adaptation are the Crazy Stupid Love costars and recent Oscar nominees Steve Carell (Despicable Me, Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, The Office, Foxcatcher) and Emma Stone (The Help, Easy A, The Amazing Spider-Man, Zombieland, Birdman). The directors are Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine, Ruby Sparks) and is written by Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty, Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire).

Disney’s new liveaction adaptation of their classic animation Beauty and the Beast has already garnered an incredible ensemble. Bill Condon (Kinsey, Dreamgirls, Mr Holmes) will be helming the cast of Emma Watson (Harry Potter, My Week Marilyn), Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Fast & Furious 6), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, The Guest), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle, Jupiter Ascending), Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks, Sense and Sensibility), Josh Gad (Frozen, The Wedding Ringer), Audra McDonald (Private Practive), Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda, Cry Freedom) and Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, X-Men). The newest addition is Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Big Fish) who’ll play the talking candle Lumiere, famed for the iconic Oscar nominated number Be Our Guest.

Tomorrowland (sometimes known as A World Beyond) is a new Disney science fiction mystery adventure that was plucked right off the drawing board of Walt Disney himself. Brand new posters for the film have been revealed. Brad Bird (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, The Incredibles) directs the cast of George Clooney (Ocean’s Eleven, Syriana, Gravity), Britt Robertson (The Longest Ride, Under the Dome), Judy Greer (Archer, Men Women & Children) and Hugh Laurie (House).

Tomorrowland – May 22nd

Beauty and the Beast – 2017

Battle of the Sexes – 2017

Interstellar and Kingsman win big at the Empire Awards

BAFTA chose Boyhood, Golden Globes elected the latter and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Oscars voted for Birdman while our own pick was Guardians of the Galaxy. Empire, a ceremony that brilliantly mashes together the arthouse and the mainstream, has just revealed its recipients. Previous winners of Best Film have included Seven, The Matrix, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Dark Knight, Avatar, Inception, Skyfall and Gravity. For a bit of background on the honorary awards, Hero marks a current contribution to cinema (Simon Pegg, Daniel Radcliffe, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender, Jude Law), the Icon/Legend celebrates a lifespan of great work (Brian Cox, Ewan MacGregor, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Gary Oldman, Hugh Jackman) and Inspiration is for a modern master filmmaker (Monty Python, Aardman, Pixar, Michael Mann, Ray Harreyhausen, Guillermo Del Toro, Sam Mendes, Ron Howard, Kenneth Branagh, Edgar Wright, Stephen Frears, Spike Lee, Paul Greengrass).

Best Film:

Interstellar
Boyhood
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Imitation Game

Best British Film:

Kingsman: The Secret Service
Paddington
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin

Best Director:

Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
Matt Reeves – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game
Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor:

Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Eddie Redmanye – The Theory of Everything
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best Actress:

Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game

Best Male Newcomer:

Taron Egerton – Kingsman: The Secret Service
Dan Stevens – The Guest
Daniel Huttlestone – Into the Woods
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Jack O’Connell – Unbroken

Best Female Newcomer:

Karen Gillan – Oculus and Guardians of the Galaxy
Carrie Coon – Gone Girl
Essie Davis – The Babadook
Gugu Mbatha Raw – Belle
Sophie Cookson – Kingsman: The Secret Service

Best Comedy:

Paddington
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Inbetweeners 2
The Lego Movie

Best Horror:

The Babadook
Annabelle
Oculus
The Guest
Under the Skin

Best Sci-fi/Fantasy:

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best Thriller:

The Imitation Game
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Gone Girl
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Locke

Empire Legend:

Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Schindler’s List, Skyfall)

Empire Hero:

Game of Thrones (Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Lena Headey, Charles Dance, Natalie Dormer, Sean Bean)

Empire Inspiration:

Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy, The Following, Inception, Insomnia, Interstellar, Memento, The Prestige)

Here’s a few images from the night itself, hosted by James Nesbitt. Guests include: Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Jessica Chastain (The Help), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), James McAvoy (Atonement), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Reece Shearsmith (A Field in England) and Matt Berry (The IT Crowd).

Martin Scorsese to direct Foxx’s Mike Tyson biopic and Josh Gad joins the cast of Beauty and the Beast

Disney’s live action reboot of Beauty and the Beast is assembling a very promising cast list ahead of its upcoming production. Emma Watson (Harry Potter) and Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks) have been signed on for a long time but there’s been a recent surge in casting with Dan Stevens (The Guest), Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) and Timothy Spall (Mr Turner) all joining. Josh Gad is now the newest addition as Le Fou. Gad was the star of the comedies The Internship and The Wedding Ringer but is still best known for his voice work as Olaf in Frozen. Bill Condon (Kinsey, Mr Holmes) directs.

Oscar winner Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained, Collateral, Ray, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Law Abiding Citizen) is now at the level success that he can will together his own projects with the biggest names of Hollywood obliged to sign on. He’s revealed that his director for his new biopic of boxing legend Mike Tyson is Martin Scorsese. The Oscar winner is the legend behind The Departed, Hugo, The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street, Hugo, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Casino and Goodfellas.

Beauty and the Beast – 2016

Mike Tyson – 2017?

Dan Stevens and Luke Evans join Beauty and the Beast and major change for Academy Awards

The Academy Awards results have ranged from the inspired choices likes of The Departed, Return of the King and Gladiator to the overrated King’s Speech, No Country for Old Men and this year’s Birdman. From 1944 till 2008 only five films competed in Best Picture but 2009 saw the upgrade to ten, an experiment that hasn’t paid off. It’s highly speculated that due to the decreasing amount of nominations the Academy are easing the way back to five candidates. We’ve actually enjoyed the ten nominees as it allows unexpected mentions for indie films (Philomena, Nebraska, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amour) as well as the mainstream (Avatar, District 9, Up, Toy Story 3, Inception).

Disney are in the cycle of producing live action remakes of their classic animations. While Snow White and the Huntsman had a mediocre financial performance, Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent were smash hits and Cinderella is poised to become a massive success but next year Beauty and the Beast is getting a new treatment. Emma Watson (Harry Potter, Noah) and Emma Thompson (Love Actually, Saving Mr Banks) were already set leads but there’s now been a set of new castings. Dan Stevens (The Guest, Downton Abbey) will play the Beast and Luke Evans (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Fast and Furious 6) is the new Gaston. Meanwhile Timothy Spall (Mr Turner, Secrets and Lies) is rumoured to be in contention for a role. Bill Condon (Kinsey) directs.

Beauty and the Beast – 2016

Avengers 2 poster, Blomkamp directing new Alien and Boyhood, Kingsman, Interstellar and Imitation Game rule Empire Awards

Neill Blomkamp has been busy giving sci-fi and the South African film industry a good name with the Best Picture nominated District 9, the Matt Damon-starring Elysium and his new thriller Chappie but he was secretly developing ideas for a new Alien film. When the bold concept art was released it showcased a brilliant insight of the project he’d envisioned and the acclaim it received has sparked some level of interest. The Johannesburg-born filmmaker’s Alien instalment has been officially commissioned in addition to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel. Details such as a release date or cast are yet to be confirmed but we might see appearance from Blomkamp regular Sharlto Copley (Maleficent, Powers) or a return for Sigourney Weaver (Avatar, The Cabin in the Woods) AKA Ripley.

Birdman, Boyhood, Still Alice and Whiplash took centre stage at the Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes in the past few months but the Empire Awards are set to amalgamate the mainstream and the arthouse in their public-voted awards. Previous winners include The Bourne Ultimatum, Men in Black Seven, Skyfall, Inception and Gravity. Click here for the voting while you can admire all of the nominees below.

Best Film:

The Imitation Game
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Boyhood

Best Director:

Peter Jackson – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Matt Reeves – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Christopher Nolan – Interstellar
Morten Tyldum – The Imitation Game

Best Actress:

Felicity Jones – The Theory of Everything
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Emily Blunt – Edge of Tomorrow
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina

Jameson Best Actor:

Andy Serkis – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Imitation Game
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Richard Armitage – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Best British Film:

The Imitation Game
Paddington
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Under the Skin
The Theory of Everything

Best Thriller:

The Imitation Game
Gone Girl
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Locke

Best Comedy:

The Inbetweeners 2
Paddington
The Lego Movie
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Horror:

The Guest
Oculus
The Babadook
Annabelle
Under the Skin

Best Sci-fi/Fantasy:

Guardians of the Galaxy
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Interstellar

Best Female Newcomer:

Carrie Coon (Gone Girl)
Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Essie Davis (The Babadook)
Sophie Cookson (Kingsman: The Secret Service)
Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle, Beyond the Lights, Jupiter Ascending)

Best Male Newcomer:

Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71, Starred Up)
Dan Stevens (The Guest, A Walk Among the Tombstones)
Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Testament of Youth)
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)
Daniel Huttlestone (Into the Woods)

Here’s the leaderboard:

The Imitation Game – 6
Dawn of the Planet if the Apes, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Kingsman: The Secret Service – 4
Boyhood, Gone Girl, Interstellar, The Theory of Everything – 3
The Babadook, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Guest, Oculus, Paddington, Under the Skin, X-Men: Days of Future Past – 2

Finally today, we have the first major poster of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, tipped to be the biggest blockbuster of 2015. Joss Whedon (Serenity, Toy Story, The Cabin in the Woods) directs the cast of Robert Downey Jr (The Judge), Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Jeremy Renner (American Hustle), Samuel L Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother), Don Cheadle (Crash), James Spader (The Blacklist), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist), Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting), Andy Serkis (The Hobbit) and Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind).

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – April 23rd

Alien 5 – 2017?

News for Bourne 5, Spider-Man 3, Night at the Museum and Star Wars 7

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Ancient Fear. How does that sound to you? You may have guess that The Ancient Fear is the latest title to be rumoured for JJ Abrams’ sci-fi adventure, recently confirmed to be starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Max Von Sydow, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Andy Serkis. You also may have picked up that The Ancient Fear would be a complete reversal from 1977’s A New Hope. Even if this title isn’t the final one, it still hints that the villainous forces, most likely Driver and Von Sydow, will be reviving an antagonist from the past, perhaps Darth Plageuis as he’s been pulling strings since the beginning.

We’re can be pretty confident saying that The Sinister Six’s members will most likely be Green Goblin, Mysterio, Doctor Octopus, Rhino, Vulture and Kraven the Hunter but director Marc Webb has hinted at who’ll face Spidey in The Amazing Spider-Man 3. “I like the idea of Kraven,” he continues. “The Vulture. Ock. I always thought the idea of Mysterio was interesting. Maybe Scorpion. But really, Kraven I think is kind of interesting.”

Marvel fans will likely recount Kraven as a Russian big game hunter who selects Spider-Man as his new prey but it’s possible that his origin will be altered as there’s already a Russian villain in the form of Rhino. Webb’s third and final Spider-Man film will most likely star Andrew Garfield, Shailene Woodley, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Dane DeHaan and Sally Field.

We regard The Bourne Trilogy, made up of Doug Liman’s Identity and Paul Greengrass’ Supremacy and Ultimatum, to be modern action masterpieces, all of which made Tony  Gilroy’s mediocre thriller The Bourne Legacy, focussed on Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross, even more disappointing. Despite its drop in financial takings, Universal seemed determined to make a Legacy follow up with Justin Lin but all the fans want is a back to roots Bourne film with Matt Damon (The Departed, The Adjustment Bureau, True Grit, Invictus, Saving Mr Banks, Good Will Hunting) and Paul Greengrass (United 93, Green Zone, Bloody Sunday, Captain Phillips).

The Oscar winning Damon has now confirmed he’s still excited by the idea of Bourne 5. “I’ve always been open to it if Paul Greengrass is the director. We’ve just never been able to come up with a story. It felt like such a good way to end it last time,” he continued. “Having said that, I love that character. I’d love to see what happened to him.” So, if anyone has a vision for where the series should go know, get your script together and contact Universal. The studio obviously don’t want to call Legacy a failure and move on so maybe a Cross/Bourne crossover is in order.

The Night at the Museum films have never had full critical approval but the two instalments do have a huge place in the heart of fans and are a handful at the box office with each film averaging at about $500 million. It’s no wonder that Shawn Levy (Real Steal, Date Night, The Internship) wants to revive the franchise. A third instalment has been in mind for a while but, despite the odd casting, it seemed to be moving far too slow to make it in time for this its December release.

Today’s confirmation of the title has certainly proven Fox’s dedication of bringing us the sequel in time for Christmas. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb will star Ben Stiller (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Tropic Thunder, Zoolander), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Hugo, Schindler’s List), Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers, Cars, Midnight in Paris), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Rebel Wilson (Pain and Gain, Pitch Perfect), Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society), Rachael Harris (The Hangover, Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Rami Malek (Short Term 12, Need for Speed), Ricky Gervais (The Office, Muppets Most Wanted), Dick Van Dyke (Mary Poppins) and the final performance of the late great Mickey Rooney.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – December 19th

The Bourne Betrayal – 21st August 2015

An actual Jason Bourne film – 2017?

The Amazing Spider-Man 3 – May 17th 2016

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Ancient Fear? – December 18th 2015

Jeff Goldblum, Aubrey Plaza and Oliver Platt join Johnny Depp in Mortdecai and Rebel Wilson finds a Night at the Museum

Director David Koepp (Premuim Rush) is at the helm of a new project titled Mortdecai. Three time Oscar nominee Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Caribbean, Sweeney Todd, Finding Neverland), Ewan MacGregor (Star Wars, Trainspotting), Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love, Iron Man 3) and Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, The Avengers) are already signed on and now another three stars have joined the cast. Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Independence Day, The Fly), Aubrey Plaza (Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Safety Not Guaranteed, Parks and Recreation) and Oliver Platt (2012, X-Men: First Class) have all joined the story of a guy named Charles Mortdecai, the Indiana Jones of the art world, who goes in search of a painting said to contain a clue to the location of hoards of Nazi gold. Despite the premise, this seems to be unveiling itself as a crime drama, as oppose to an adventure.

Australian comic writer and actress Rebel Wilson has popped up all over the place. She’s had supporting roles in Bridemaids and Pain and Gain, took the lead with musical/comedy smash hit Pitch Perfect. Wilson’s now lining up a new comedy TV show as well as a Pitch Perfect sequel and a voice role in Kung-Fu Panda 3 and, possibly, an unspecified part in Night at the Museum 3.

The adventure/comedy sequel hasn’t yet pitched a plot but Ben Stiller, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams and Patrick Gallagher are all set to return, still no word on Carlo Gugino, Amy Adams, Jake Cherry, Steve Coogan or Owen Wilson. Series newcomers Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey’s Matthew) and Rachael Harris (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) are signed on while Deadline were the first to report that Wilson will drop her native accent once again to play one of Larry’s (Ben Stiller) new night-guards.

Recent blogs from us haven’t been at their usual length and we’re taking a day off tomorrow but the mega awards coverage begins with The Golden Globes next week. In February, as an experiment, we’ll be providing live as-it-happens coverage of the BAFTAs as, well as our own ceremony with The Tuorhoth Awards, before the Oscars, or Academy Awards, arrive in early March. So, there’s a lot to look forward to.

Mortdecai – 2015

Night at the Museum 3 – December 26th

Dan Stevens for Night at the Museum 3 and Bourne finds Justin Lin

The Bourne series was of the highest calibre and consistency until recently. Doug Liman’s Identity followed by Paul Greengrass’ Supremacy and Ultimatum formed an intelligent and bold trilogy centring around amnesic spy Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and was based on Robert Ludlum’s novels. Last year’s The Bourne Legacy switched focus to Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), another subject of the tests forced on Bourne. Tony Gilroy was the director but the Damon absented film fell flat. A fifth film could now be on the cards with a new director well versed in action sequels.

Justin Lin is the Taiwan born director who’s directed four of the six Fast Films: Tokyo Drift, Fast and Furious, Fast 5 and Fast 6. James Wan is taking over with Fast 7 next year leaving Lin’s space for a new feature open. We think it’s likely that Lin will direct with Sherlock Holmes (the movie) writer Anthony Peckham and star Jeremy Renner. Matt Damon won’t return so the movie needs a huge star in a supporting role (yes I do not count Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton as huge stars just yet). Bryan Cranston maybe if their after a villain or maybe Mark Wahlberg if they need a bit of an epic but funny sidekick role.

Dan Stevens is of cause best known for his role as Matthew Crawley on ITV’s Downton Abbey. He recently broadened his pallet with a lead role in drama Summer in February. He could be joining star Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder) and director Shawn Levy (Real Steel) for the third instalment of the comedy adventure series Night At the Museum. He’ll be playing Lancelot, the knight of the yet uncast King Arthur, in this imaginative fantasy sequel which could also see Robin Williams reprise the role of Teddy Roosevelt. Will Steve Coogan and Amy Adams also return?

The Bourne Betrayal – 2016?

Night at the Museum 3 – 2016?

Doctor Who 50th trailer, Brolin and Elba for Jurassic World, Burton considering Beetlejuice 2 and more

We do apologize for our recent absence but we’re back with a huge round up of everything you may have missed while we were gone.

November 23rd should be the most anticipated date of next month, going against the release of Gravity (8th) and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (21st). It’s not just the event of Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary, marked by the new TV movie An Adventure in Space and Time starring Brian Cox, David Bradley, Lesley Manville, Jessica Raine, the show’s head writer Steven Moffat and Reece Shearsmith, directed by Terry McDonagh (director of several episodes of Breaking Bad, Homeland and Suits) and written by Sherlock and Dr Who’s writer Mark Gatiss, but there’s the 50th Anniversary Special titled The Day of the Doctor.

Watch the new trailer here. We’re going to give you a fairly lengthy breakdown of the in jokes we spotted. Initially, you notice the many Sonic Screwdrivers and gadgets that the Doctor has used in the past 5 decades. Some of the cameos from Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor), William Hartnell (the First Doctor), the Daleks, what I presume is a UNIT soldier, the late great Elizabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Jon Pertwee (the Third Doctor), Jenna Louise Coleman (the current companion Clara Oswald) and David Tennant (the Tenth Doctor) are easy to spot under Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor’s) narration but some you’ll be squinting for.

I spotted the Eleventh’s favourite head wear beside Stetsons, the fez from the series 5 finale and Sarah Jane’s robotic companion K9. The villainous Cybermen also crop up under the Big Ben (which gets destroyed by the Slitheen in series 1 episode 4) backdrop and the Third is battling The Master (a pre John Simm incarnation, who’s Laser Screwdriver is out there somewhere in the trailer). Clara’s leaf, which reoccurs several times in the 2nd half of series 7, can be seen too

And in the flash zoom in at the end I saw Doctors Seven (Sylvester McCoy), Five (Peter Davison), Six (Colin Baker) and Nine (Christopher Eccleston) as well as terrifying beasts like an Ice Warrior (classic Mars villain who’s been revamped in some way in 2009 and 2013 – is 084 a reference to anything other than Agents of SHIELD), a Weeping Angels (who deserve better than The Angels Take Manhattan and should get more episodes like Blink and The Time of Angels) and I just spotted a hand of a member of The Silence (the great big bads of series 6 who were too hastily replaced by the Great Intelligence).

After that, there’s another Cyberman, another Dalek, an Ood, who I think is Rose (Billie Piper), the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann, who only appeared in the role in the 1996 TV movie) and an Auton. The number 17162311, which appears on what looks like an alarm clock, doesn’t mean much to me but I think it may become of significance in the near future. There’s a bizarre yellow car on the left of the screen at one point, which I presume is the vehicle of choice of the Earth stranded Third Doctor.

We then meet the current Doctor Matt Smith with an unusual background of an apparently American desert plain (possibly near Lake Silencio from series 6 episode 1), San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and  London’s iconic Shard (which the Eleventh motorcycles up in series 7 episode 6 (or 7 if you count the Christmas Special). I’m unsure of setting but I think it’ll become apparent soon enough. Who’s the man flailing his arms in front of David Tennant’s Tenth? Please tell  us in the comments if you have any clues as to his identity. I didn’t see the Second Patrick Troughton in there but he must in in there somewhere. There’s nothing from John Hurt’s mysterious Time War incarnation of The Doctor although the Eleventh does paraphrase him:

“The choices I made in the name of The Doctor!”

The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special or The Day of The Doctor –  November 23rd on BBC One and BBC America

Another upcoming BBC action project is The Musketeers. We’ve got our hands on the first official picture from the show that stars the future Doctor Who and The Thick of It’s Peter Capaldi, Tom Burke (Only God Forgives), Charlotte Hope (The Invisible Woman), Julian Bastida (Killer Bees), Emily Beecham (28 Weeks Later), Phillip Brodie (A Landscape of Lies) and Santiago Cabera (Heroes, Che). The Three Musketeers story could do with a half decent revamp. Paul WS Anderson flopped in 2011 with Logan Lerman, Luke Evans, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Dexter Fletcher, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson and Mads Mikkelsen. Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland’s 1993 version didn’t exactly become a classic in the way that Richard Lester and Raquel Welch’s 1973 or George Sidney and Gene Kelly’s 1948 editions did. The poster informs us that Adrian Hodges’ (writer of My Week With Marilyn, David Copperfield, Primeval, Survivors) new work is going to be stylish and big budget stuff.

The Musketeers – Early to mid 2014 on BBC One

We’ve now got a few snippets of casting news. First off, it’s Academy Award nominee Josh Brolin. He’s come a long way since his first ever acting role in adventure classic The Goonies. He’s done Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, W., Gangster Squad, True Grit, American Gangster, No Country For Old Men, Men in Black 3 and picked up his Oscar nom for Milk.

He’s now listed as a potential star of Jurassic World, meaning he could be joining Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help), Nick Robinson (Kings of Summer) and Ty Simpkins (Insidious, Iron Man 3). He could also be trapped on the dino island with Pacific Rim and Luther star Idris Elba; they’re both rumoured to be joining the Jurassic Park sequel under the direction of Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed).

Jurassic World – July 12th 2015

Another sequel with casting plans is Night At the Museum 3. Shawn Levy has talked about returning to his Night at the Musuem franchise for a while after taking off to make the above average robot boxing drama Real Steel as well as the unsuccessful Date Night and The Internship. Robin Williams (star of Dead Poet Society, Good Will Hunting and Academy Award winner, plus three time nominee) is in talks to reprise the role of Teddy Roosevelt for the fantasy sequel with Ben Stiller returning as Larry Dale.

Night At the Museum 3 – 26th December 2014/15

British actor Damian Lewis has thrown himself into international acclaim with his role of Nicholas Brody on the thriller TV shows Homeland (which won him a Golden Globe and an Emmy) and Band of Brothers. He’s now joined Queen of the Desert, Werner Herzog’s biography of Gertrude Bell. The legendary German director is the one who brought you Grizzly Man, Aguirre Wrath of God, Encounters at the End of the World, Rescue Dawn and most recently Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Into the Abyss. For Queen of the Desert, Lewis is joining James Franco (Spider-Man, 127 Hours, Oz the Great and Powerful), Robert Pattinson (Twilight, Cosmopolis, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and Nicole Kidman (Eyes Wide Shut, The Others, Moulin Rouge).

Queen of the Desert – 2015

The final casting rumour is for Benedict Cumberbatch, who’s had  far too many of these already after Doctor Who and Star Wars. The Sherlock, Star Trek and The Hobbit star could be taking over from Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Bronson, Warrior and the new Mad Max) on Everest. Director Doug Liman (Jumper, The Bourne Indentity, Fair Game, Mr. and Mrs. Smith) lost Hardy when he began to push for a production date of next March leaving the space open.

Cumberbatch is the favourite however, according to Deadline, Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, RoboCop), Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class, Trance), Luke Evans (Fast and Furious 6, The Hobbit), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Summer in February), Matthew Goode (Watchmen, Stoker), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas, Across the Universe) and Marvel’s Loki himself Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, War Horse, Midnight in Paris) are all in contention. It seems to me like they’ve just gone through a list of British actors from ages 25 to 35 to play real life, 20th century English mountaineer George Mallory.

Everest – late 2014 or early 2015

Edgar Rice Burroughs is well known amongst sci-fi and fantasy fans as the creator of A Princess of Mars (which inspired 2012’s John Carter) and Tarzan of the Apes. The latter has seen several version through the years. Gordan Scott and Sean Connery starred in 1959’s Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure but it’s most famous incarnation was likely the 1999 Disney animation directed by Chris Buck and Kevin Lima and starred Minnie Driver and Brian Blessed.

Tarzan is due another remake and it’s another animation but it’s a CGI one unlike the ’99 edition and more like anything by Pixar. It’s Disney however. Warner Bros and Consantin Films are tackling this one with motion capture and the voices of Kellan Lutz (Twilight, Immortals), Robert Capron (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Frankenweenie) and Spencer Locke (Resident Evil). The animation and effects look great and it looks quite a bit more action based than I’d anticipated, much more like Avatar than Tarzan. Reinhard Klooss, who brought in names like James Corden, Stephen Fry, Andy Serkis, Vanessa Redgrave, Dawn French and Omid Djalli into his Animal Kingdom, is the director. Here’s the new trailer.

Tarzan – January 24th 2014

Beetlejuice is director Tim Burton’s (Batman, Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands, Sweeney Todd, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Dark Shadows, Frankenweenie, Alice in Wonderland and Mars Attacks) beloved fantasy horror comedy hit. The idea of a sequel has been around for years. In fact, it’s 25 years since the original was released but now Burton is genuinely considering it. The Wrap reported that  Burton and star Michael Keaton could be reuniting for Beetlejuice 2 with perhaps Winona Ryder, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin reprising their roles.

Beetlejuice 2 – 2016?

Little Women, the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott, has seen three big screen adaptations. There’s the 1933 classic with Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett which was followed by the 1949 remake with June Allyson and Peter Lawford before the 1994 version with Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, Claire Danes and Christian Bale. Sony have given the order for another remake which’ll have a script by Olivia Milch (son of David Milch, creator of the massively popular Deadwood) which revolves around the March family, made up of four daughters and their mother.

Little Women – 2016?

The Raid was easily the biggest and best action film of 2011. It took a remarkable $15 million, it doesn’t sound like much in blockbuster terms but for an independent action film with an unheard of Welsh director in the form of Gareth Evans and an unknown lead star in the form of Iko Uwais. The Raid 2: Berandal is set just two hours after the end of the first film and sees Rama (Uwais) returning home only to find that the action has only just begun. Evans (who’s been very busy with both Berandal and his segment of six part horror anthology V/H/S/2, is confident that he’ll be able to launch the first trailer next month but, until then, he’s given us a teaser poster for the sequel.

The Raid 2: Berandal – early 2014