Dexter Fletcher leaves Mercury and Captain America 3 set to clash with Batman vs Superman

Just as we think the production of a biopic of legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is settling into the greenlight position, director Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine of Leith, Wild Bill) has done a runner. He’s left the project due to disagreements with the producers, including Brian May and the remaining members of Queen – similarly to previous star Sacha Baron Cohen. For those unaware of the film’s hellish development, it began with the genius casting of Borat’s Baron Cohen but his departure spawned rumours such as Daniel Radcliffe and Dominic Cooper replacing him but Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas, Skyfall, Perfume) has been cast. Sadly, Fletcher’s absence will have a dramatic effect on the development and it’s rumoured that the rights for classics “You’re My Best Friend”, “We Are the Champions” and “Don’t Stop Me Now” are still out of reach.

Marvel vs DC is one of the defining cinema battles of the decade so far; for every Dark Knight Rises there’s been an Avengers Assemble; for every Thor: The Dark World a Man of Steel. Their releases has been consistently close together but not once have they directly clashed. On May 6th (according to the greatly reliable Hollywood Reporter), doing battle is Captain America 3 and Batman vs Superman with the only question being who will win this battle, the loser being the one who backs out first of this game of chicken.

The winner will likely be determined by Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s success. If it can surpass expectation and get as close to the billion dollar mark as possible, the unflinching Marvel president Kevin Feige will raise his flag on March 6th, knowing the third Cap adventure will likely push over any competition. If The Winter Soldier brings the admirable stats of Thor: The Dark World’s near $700 million takings or less, the Man of Steel sequel will chance the May release. Also, if you analyse the two films closer, DC’s entry looks the most box office friendly on paper.

Although it yet has no title, the Dark Knight’s showdown with the Man of Steel is the most detailed in terms of cast and crew; Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300, Owls of Gahool, Man of Steel) directs Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishbourne and Jeremy Irons with a developing script from David Goyer (writer of The Dark Knight). Meanwhile, Cap Three is attempting the nail in writing pair Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and negotiating a return for Winter Soldier directors Anthony and Joe Russo. There’s no official word on the cast but we can expect reprisals from Chris Evans, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Cobie Smulders and Anthony Mackie.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier – March 28th

Batman vs. Superman – May 6th 2016

Captain America 3 – May 6th 2016

Mercury – 2016?

Jason Momoa joins Batman vs. Superman, teasers for Jupiter Ascending and Godzilla and Whishaw confirmed for Mercury

Sacha Baron Cohen was originally the man to play Freddie Mercury in the biopic of the Queen frontman’s life. He departed due to disagreements about the tone of the film – he wanted a darker portrayal of the events while the Queen members themselves were after a more loving tribute to their lost friend. Since then, actors such as Dominic Cooper, Daniel Radcliffe and others have been rumoured for the role but now we’ve finally got the names of the key star and director. Cloud Atlas and Skyfall star Ben Whishaw will be playing Mercury on the big screen while Dexter Fletcher (director of Sunshine on Leath and Wild Bill and star of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) will be calling the shots.

We move onto the latest adventure of Conan, Bullet to the Head and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa. The portrayer of HBO’s Khal Drogo is now negotiating for a role in Zack Snyder’s superhero mashup Batman vs. Superman. The Hollywood Reporter had the scoop about Momoa entering talks to join Ben Affleck (Batman), Henry Cavill (Superman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent) and Laurence Fishburne (Perry White). We’ve no idea who he could be playing or if it’s actually a character from the comics but the current favourites seem to be DC’s Martian Manhunter and Hawkman.

We do apologies for the lack of movie news this week and today but we thought we’d make up for it by allowing you to revel in the spectacle of the new trailers for two epic new films. The first is Godzilla. This new vision of the tale is from Monsters director Gareth Edwards and stars Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Wantanabe, Bryan Cranston and Sally Hawkins and the trailer can be found here.

The next film is Jupiter Ascending. Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Sean Bean, Terry Gilliam, Douglas Booth, Eddie Redmayne, Doona Bae and James D’Arcy all star for this sci-fi from the ever imaginative Wachowskis who brought us The Matrix and Cloud Atlas. Find out more with the first official trailer.

Freddie Mercury – late 2014?

Batman vs. Superman – July 17th 2015

Godzilla – May 16th 2014

Jupiter Ascending – July 25th 2014

Divergent posters, first Cinderella pic, more Warcraft casting and Radcliffe denies Mercury rumours

Kenneth Branagh (Harry Potter’s Lockhart, Shakespeare regular and director of Marvel blockbuster hit Thor) directs Cinderella, Disney’s live-action adaptation of their animated classic of the same name. The production started recently and the first picture was unveiled.

Lily James (Downton Abbey, Wrath of the Titans, Fast Girls) will play the titular character, whose name is now shortened to Ella. Cate Blanchett (The Lord of the Rings, Blue Jasmine), Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter, The King’s Speech), Stellan Skarsgard (Thor, Good Will Hunting), Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, Doctor Who), Holliday Grainger (The Borgias, Jane Eyre), Sophie McShera (Waterloo Road, Downton Abbey), Hayley Atwell (Marvel’s Agent Carter from Captain America) and Nonso Anozie (The Grey, Conan the Barbarian) are all also going to The Ball. Richard Madden (BBC’s Birdsong and Robb Stark in Game of Thrones) will be giving a very different tone to the often generic Prince Charming.

“It is impossible to think of Cinderella without thinking of Disney and the timeless images we’ve all grown up watching. And those classic moments are irresistible to a filmmaker. “With Lily James we have found our perfect Cinderella. She combines knockout beauty with intelligence, wit, fun and physical grace. Her Prince is being played by Richard Madden, a young actor with incredible power and charisma.” If you can’t wait until 2015 to see Branagh’s work, you’ll be excited about Jack Ryan: Shadow One – a kind of prequel to The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger and various other Jack Ryan films which Branagh directs and plays the villain in, alongside Chris Pine, Kiera Knightley and Kevin Costner.

It was announced yesterday by Duncan Jones (Source Code, Moon and son of David Bowie) that Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) and Colin Farrell (Total Recall, In Bruges) where potential stars of his World of Warcraft film. The new possible stars are Anton Yelchin and Paul Dano. Yelchin starred in Like Crazy, Terminator Salvation and Fright Night as well as playing Chekov in Star Trek: Into Darkness. Dano has just finished promoting new thriller hit Prisoners and 12 Years a Slave and will be known for his roles in Looper, Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood. They amongst a few names that Jones has put into consideration for Warcraft. The others were Travis Fimmel (lead of hit TV series Vikings) and Anson Mount (Jason Statham’s Safe).

Ever since Sacha Baron Cohen’s (Borat, Ali G, The Dictator, Les Miserables, Madagascar, Hugo) leaving of the project, the internet has had much speculation on who will take up his position in the now troubled Freddie Mercury biopic. Daniel Radcliffe was the favourite but he’s been quick to gun down the rumours of him playing the Tanzanian born, glam star and Queen frontman.

“There is no truth to it at all,” he tells Empire, half laughing, “Everyone on the internet who I presume is saying I’m totally wrong for that part is correct. I am completely wrong for that part!”

Finally, we’ve got some new Divergent posters. Neil Burger’s sci-fi follow in the footsteps of other young-adult adaptations hits like Twilight and The Hunger Games as well as this year’s flops The Host, Beautiful Creatures and The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Hopefully, Neil Burger’s previous experience, with Limitless, The Asset, The Lucky Ones and The Illusionist on his CV, as well as successful stars like Kate Winslet joining rising stars like Shailene Woodley, Theo James and Zoe Kravitz means he could could it balance right. Here’s the trailer. I do hope this sparks some interest in you for the upcoming big projects.

Cinderella – March 13th 2015

Jack Ryan: Shadow One – December 26th

Warcraft – 2015

Divergent – March 21st 2014