BIG RUMOR: Could Jon Favreau Direct JURASSIC PARK 4?

This one isn't very solid but according to an exchange (over the phone) between a Jurassic Park forum poster and the Universal Canada office confirmed that Jon Favreau is directing Jurassic Park 4. It sounds like a incredible goof on the person answering the phone but could be completely false as well. Then again I'm not so sure the Canadian offices would be getting many calls like that in the first place and know how to handle it. Allowing information like that to accidentally slip out could be a possibility. Frank Marshall denied the rumor via Twitter but denials don't always mean an actual no these days. Take with a grain of salt because a director should be announced anytime now. The movie has a release date of June 2014 and should begin production by Summer.



I don't entirely believe the source of the rumor but Favreau could be a strong contender now that Matt Reeves, Duncan Jones and J.J. Abrams are busy with other projects. Jon Favreau has been working on his Magic Kingdom film for ages and even threw his hat into the ring for Star Wars. He sounds like he wants another crack at a franchise and Jurassic Park seems oddly perfect for him. Elf became an instant family friendly Christmas classic. While Iron Man is still considered one the best Marvel action flicks. If he could do for dinos that he did for Tony Stark we could be in for a real treat. Favreau does have a bit of connection to Spielberg having him as a producer on Cowboys And Aliens which was also setup at Universal. Jon had been attached to direct John Carter during it's days setup at Paramount before exiting to focus on Iron Man (Carter's rights reverted back to Disney).

Jon Favreau Most Likely To Direct STAR WARS EPISODE VII?

HollywoodLife talked to directors J.J. Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness) and Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Cowboys And Aliens) on the possibilities of them directing the new Star Wars trilogy. Abrams stating he's too close to the material and seeming pulls himself out of the running. J.J. had been linked a couple times to the project but doesn't sound interested here. He joins a growing group of directors uninterested in the project which includes Steven Spielberg, Zack Synder and Quentin Tarantino (via ThePlaylist). On the other hand Favreau has more of an open mind to the gig.

"I think both J.J. and I come from a generation of people who formed our whole creative persona around what we experienced as kids from watching those films, and I have had the good fortune of working with George [Lucas] and around George, and whether it is doing a voice on Clone Wars, or being at the Skywalker Ranch mixing Iron Man – so I have been very happy and lucky to just experience the culture that Lucas has created, both in my own life growing up as a kid and professional – whether it was interviewing him at film festivals on stage, he is just a really wonderful, talented gifted guy who has changed the business so much, so I am just giddy, first and foremost as a fan, to see what happens with it. I think there is a lot of question marks of how they are going to do it, and who they are going to do it with, and what the story is going to be about; but to say that I am not excited about it is definitely an understatement. We’ll see." 

 He doesn't come out and say it but it's sounding like he has the strongest working relationship with LucasFilm. Iron Man opened the gates leading to the massive Marvel franchise now setup at Disney. Jon helped shepherd the Marvel Cinematic Universe (before Whedon took over) and could do the same within the Star Wars universe. He has connections working with ILM on Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Cowboys And Aliens. Jon has even voiced a character on the Clone Wars cartoon an his icon on Twitter for months has been R2D2. Recently, he was working with Disney on breaking a story for a live-action film based on Magic Kingdom. Originally, Favreau had been tapped to direct John Carter before it landed at Disney who hired Andrew Stanton. In a recent interview with Lucas and LucasFilm's Kathleen Kennedy they mention what they're looking for in a director. My belief after weighing all the options, Jon is currently the strongest candidate to direct the new trilogy.

Damon Lindelof Wants To Write 'IRON FIST'

ComicBookMovie was able to chat with Prometheus writer Damon Lindelof (Lost, Star Trek 2, Cowboys And Aliens) about what superhero he'd love to take a shot at adapting. Damon reveals he would like to change the minds of comic fans turning a sort of an unknown lame character like Iron Fist into a badass on screen hero. He points to Matt Fraction's recent comics as his favorite run. Did you hear that Marvel? Damon Lindelof is putting it out there he'd want to write Iron Fist which would be a giant upgrade from xXx writer Rich Wilkes (who had previously worked on a script).

"I think I would rather do a character that not many people knew, and maybe saw as lame and couldn't carry their own movie. One character I've always loved is Iron Fist, and Matt Fractions incredible run with him a couple of years back. I always thought that would make a really cool movie. But I am hard pushed to think of me doing anything better than The Avengers which I just thought was phenomenal."


"Yeah well I mean I think it's because he's even more fringy than Iron Man was, and also because he's called IRON Fist they may be worried about some confusion with the Iron Man franchise, even though obviously they are very different characters. But I have to imagine that with the success of The Avengers, they are planning to give Black Widow and Hawkeye their own spin-offs, and there are many more characters on the fringe of the Marvel universe that I feel are equally worthy, like Iron Fist."

One giant issue concerning Iron Fist is that you're going to need an extremely good script that doesn't take itself too seriously. There's so much genre involved martial arts, Eastern settings, immortality, mystical powers, shoot em' ups, noir, terrorists and flashbacks to different time-periods. Damon could certainly pull these elements together. Marvel is aiming to make a film featuring a character outside of the Avengers' world for it's second 2014 release and Danny Rand fits that criteria. It would also be an excuse to bring in Luke Cage as a supporting character.

Idris Elba (Thor, Prometheus, Pacific Rim) and Dwayne Johnson have recently lobbied to play Cage. While fans have been championing actors like Charlie Hunnam (Pacific Rim, Sons of Anarchy, Children of Men) and Ryan Gosling (Gangster Squad, Drive, Only God Forgives) for Danny Rand. Personally, I'd love to see Charlie and Idris re-team for something like this. Hunnam had been a Thor candidate so he's definitely on Marvel's radar and co-starred with Elba in Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim.

Alex Kurtzman And Roberto Orci Hired To Rewrite 'AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2'

Deadline reports that Sony Pictures have hired writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to do some rewrites on The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Director Marc Webb is set to return for the sequel along with cast members Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), who wrote the first film had been writing the sequel but it looks like Sony wants more development on it. The screenwriting duo are best known for writing the two new Star Trek films along with actions films like The Island, Cowboys And Aliens and MI3. That said, they also contributed to trainwrecks like the first Transformers films. It will be interesting to see what direction the second film will go. Amazing Spider-Man 2 is expected to start shooting in the first quarter of 2013 with a May 2nd 2014 release date.

Their involvement gives me the impression that sequel will be bigger and more action packed than this first film. I have to believe that they'll continue giving us Spidey villains we haven't seen. Spencer Smythe and his robotic Spider-Slayers could very well be antagonists of the sequel. Considering the screenwriters background is in science fiction and robots focused films. The slayers were funded by J. Jonah Jameson and created by Smythe a robotic scientist. There were many different versions of the robots so it could be interesting to see these drones alongside another Spidey baddie perhaps Kraven or Green Goblin.

Walton Goggins Joins 'DJANGO UNCHAINED'

It looks like film and television character actor Walton Goggins is the latest addition to Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. The actor confirmed this along that he'll be in the role of Billy Crash to GQ (via ThePlaylist). Billy is one of Calvin Candie's (DiCaprio) slave wranglers so it's expected he'll have scenes with DiCpario and Kurt Russell. Goggins is best known for roles on shows like The Shield and Justified but has also had supporting roles in films like Predators, Bourne Identity, G.I. Joe Retaliation, House of 1000 Corpses, Lincoln and Cowboys And Aliens.

"This movie is radical. It's like a kid walking into a candy store, to use a trite, overused metaphor. I can't believe it. I just started work this week, and my very first day, I'm looking up, and there's Quentin. I'm in Quentin's world, in his imagination. His cinematic acumen is unparalleled, and he's able to draw from all these resources, which are all the movies that have ever been made. He's seen most, if not all of them, and he really is an auteur. He's a savant auteur who is as passionate and as playful as any artist I've ever worked with. His enthusiasm is infectious, and the story is a movie that only Quentin Tarantino could make."

The rest of the stunning cast includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx (Colatteral, Miami Vice), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), Kerry Washington, Kurt Russell (Death Proof, Escape From New York), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Sascha Baron Cohen (Hugo, Sweeney Todd), James Remar (Dexter, Warriors), RZA (American Gangster), Anthony LaPaglia (The Client, Empire Records), Don Johnson (Machete), Evan Parke (King Kong), Laura Cayouette (Kill Bill Vol.2), Gerald McRaney (Red Tails, Deadwood), Tom Savani (Machete, Dusk Till Dawn) and Tom Wopat (Dukes of Hazard).

POSTER: Cowboys & Aliens

First Look: Daniel Craig In Cowboys & Aliens

Abigail Spencer Joins Cowboys & Aliens

Abigail Spencer from Mad Men has officially joined Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens. The impressive cast already includes Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano.

First Look: Cowboys & Aliens, Is It Daniel Craig?

I don't believe Jon Favreau is going to be as reserved with posting images from the set of Cowboys & Aliens as he was with Iron Man 2. Yesterday he posted a picture from the set of a cowboy backlit, possibly from test shoots or even costume fittings. You'll notice some sort of shackle on his wrist too. It's possible this could be Daniel Craig in costume since his character wears a shackle in the film.

Dano, Brown & Carradine Join Cowboys & Aliens

Deadline is confirming that Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Clancy Brown (Highlander, Starship Troopers) and Keith Carradine (Dexter) have joined Jon Favreau's Cowboys & Aliens.

Daniel Craig In Cowboys & Aliens?

According to Collider Daniel Craig is in talks to replace Robert Downey Jr. in Cowboys & Aliens. The Jon Favreau directed film will start shooting in July. This could put those rumors of Bond 23 starting it's production in the summer in question.