Luc Besson’s Valerian announced, new Mad Max title, Ed Zwick in talks for Reacher 2 and first Maze Runner 2 trailer

The latest work of BAFTA nominated French filmaker Luc Besson has been announced. The director of The Big Blue, Nikita, Leon, The Fifth Element and Lucy will helm sci-fi comic book adaptation Valerian. The film will reportedly star Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, Lawless) and Cara Delevingne (Anna Karenina, Paper Towns) and is heading for a summer 2017 release.

Action thriller and adaptation of the Lee Child novels Jack Reacher may have been a mild disappointment to some but was a decent box-office hit with $220 million from a $60 million budget. Director Christopher McQuarrie is now preoccupied with Mission: Impossible but a new director is in line for the sequel. Oscar winner Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, Glory) is reportedly in talks for Never Go Back which has Tom Cruise (Minority Report, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, Edge of Tomorrow) confirmed to reprise his role.

With respectable box office numbers and critical acclaim, action reboot Mad Max: Fury Road is the most talked about film of the moment. Director George Miller (who also helmed the original trilogy has revealed that his plans for Mad Max 5 are going ahead. He’s also announced the current title, Mad Max: The Wasteland. We can expect Tom Hardy (Bronson, Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Warrior, Lawless, Locke, The Dark Knight Rises) to reprise his role as Max Rockatansky.

Finally, we have our hands on the first poster and trailer for the sequel to smash hit The Maze Runner. It’s slightly understated in comparison to larger young adult franchises such as The Hunger Games but it easily outgrossed the likes of Divergent with $340 million from a small $35 million. The Scorch Trials is directed by Wes Ball and stars Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf), Kaya Scodelario (Moon), Thomas Brodie Sangster (Wolf Hall), Nathalie Emmanuel (Furious 7), Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects), Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan) and Patricia Clarkson (Shutter Island).

Maze Runner: Scorch Trials – September 18th

Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets – July 21st 2017

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – 2017?

Mad Max: The Wasteland – 2018?

Josh Helman joins X-Men Days of Future Past

Joining fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman, breakout actor Josh Helman will be acting for a few weeks on the set of the upcoming superhero epic Days of Future Past. His career so far had it’s peek with co-starring alongside Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike and Werner Herzog in the above average thriller Jack Reacher.

Helman’s announcement is possibly the first from the DOFP that hasn’t come from Bryan Singer’s tweet happy thumbs. His role has only been described as “significant” and we’re still not sure who his character could be. Could we suspect unused X-Men characters such as Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man, Lucas Bishop or the more modern Syndicate? In the Ultimate X-Men comics Bishop can time travel so his role could be essential to the story.

We can expect Azazel, Angel Salvadore, Emma Frost, Banshee, Havok and Riptide to bite the dust. We know that Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, Elf) will play Bolivar Trask who creates the Sentinels to hunt and kill mutants only the time travelling efforts of Wolverine and Kitty (Hugh Jackman and Ellen Page) can save some of the X-Men in the past. The film’s story could waver from the comic’s though to allow stars such as Halle Berry (Storm), Patrick Stewart (Professor X) and Shawn Ashmore (Iceman). Other returning cast members are Daniel Cudmore (Colossus – Who we hope to see more of than X3), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), James McAvoy/Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Michael Fassbender/Ian McKellen (Magneto) and Jennifer Lawrence. It’s far too late for any additions from Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler or Taylor Kitsch as Gambit. Famke Jansenn (Jean Grey/Phoenix) will be limited to flashbacks (if anything). New characters are Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Warpath (Booboo Stewart) and an unknown role from Chinese opera star Fan Bingbing.

Josh Helmen can also be seen in Mad Max: Fury Road. The film also stars Tom Hardy (Bane in The Dark Knight Rises) as the title character. Supporting  roles include Charlize Theron (Young Adult, Prometheus), Rosie Huntington Whitley (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) and Helmen’s X-Men co-stars Nicholas Hoult (Jack the Giant Slayer, Warm Bodies) and Zoe Kravitz. Mel Gibson (star of the original) will cameo so look out for that…

X-Men Days of Future Past is out July 18th 2014

Mad Max: Fury Road is out 2014