The other day we learned from The Hollywood Reporter that actresses Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Rooney Mara (Pan, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Social Network) and Felicity Jones (Like Crazy, The Theory of Everything) were in the mix to test for the female lead of Gareth Edwards' untitled Star Wars spin-off film.
Variety has added Kate Mara (Shooter, Iron Man 2) as a new candidate for an unnamed role. Mara will be making the jump to blockbuster lead with Fox's Fantastic Four reboot in August. Like her sister Rooney, Kate's career upswing was thanks to David Fincher, casting her in the Netflix series House of Cards.
Twitter scoop following @Borys_Kit STAR WARS testing story from yesterday, hearing the fourth girl who tested is Rooney's sister, Kate Mara
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) January 21, 2015
I'd be fine if all these ladies end up being in the film.
The film is set to begin production sometime soon to make it's December 2016 release date. It's script is written by Gary Whitta and producer Simon Kinberg handling rewrites. Simon is also the writer and producer of Fantastic Four which stars Kate.
Kinberg is co-writing Josh Trank's (Chronicle, Fantastic Four) Star Wars spin-off as well, there are a bunch of connections between Fantastic Four and these spin-offs.
The Hollywood Reporter is giving us our first casting news concerning Gareth Edwards' (Godzilla, Monsters) untitled Star Wars spin-off. Actresses Tatiana Maslany and Rooney Mara are testing for the unnamed female lead in the film.
The film is said to focus on a crack team of bounty hunters gathering intel and blueprints of the Death Star. This has been our first hint that lead could be a female character.
It's release date has been set for December 15th, 2016 and production is expected to start-up very soon as reflected by this casting news. The script was provided by Gary Whitta (Walking Dead, Book of Eli) and is said to be getting rewrites from Simon Kinberg (Fantastic Four, Rebels, X-Men Days of Future Past).
Tatiana is best known for her well received series Orphan Black where she plays multiple roles in the show which is reason for her direct praise. She also was in the running for the Sarah Connor role in Terminator: Genisys losing out to Games of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke .
Rooney Mara recently broke-out thanks to her Oscar nominated role in David Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
They also mention that Oscar nominee Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, Like Crazy) is also on a wish-list but won't be testing as of yet.
Another bit of info that has come out is that Simon Kinberg and Lawrence Kasdan have indeed worked together on the script for Josh Trank's (Fantastic Four, Chronicle) other Star Wars spin-off movie.
Trank's film might actually turnout to be that Boba Fett film we've been hearing Kasdan had been writing. Then again, Gareth's film is said to focus on bounty hunters.
Just a couple of days ago it was confirmed that screenwriter Gary Whitta (Book of Eli, Walking Dead) would be leaving Gareth Edwards' untitled Star Wars spin-off. The writer would be moving-on to focus on adapting Mark Millar's comic Starlight for 20th Century Fox.
Another writer was expected to take his place since the film has a release date of December 16, 2016. As a new rumor coming from Slash Film suggests that Rebels writer-producer Simon Kinberg could be taking over where Whitta left-off.
/Film has learned, but was unable to confirm, that it will be Simon Kinberg. At Lucasfilm, Kinberg is a consultant on The Force Awakens, a writer and producer on Star Wars Rebels, and writer of at least one standalone movie. Whether or not that became this film or is another remains unclear. But Kinberg will be taking over duties for Whitta on this movie.
This shouldn't be too shocking to anyone who has been following the Lucasfilm development deals for future Star Wars projects. It was announced a while back by Lucasfilm that both Simon Kinberg (X-Men Days of Future Past, Fantastic Four) and Lawarence Kasdan (Raiders of The Lost Ark) would be handling the Star Wars spin-offs, taking-on duties of both writers and producers.
Kasdan was said to be penning the Boba Fett movie scrupt which has been in the works for at least four years. The bounty hunter's creator Joe Johnston confirmed he was pitching a Fett film to George Lucas back in 2011. Fett was mentioned along with Han Solo and Yoda as characters potentially getting spin-off installments.
Larry would later be called-up to rewrite The Force Awakens script with director J.J. Abrams. A huge promotion for him but sort of expected since Larry had penned but Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi previously.
Simon is another story, helping spearhead the successful animated series Star Wars Rebels. Like The Cone Wars, is series that is canonical to the original trilogies and new films. A huge task for any writer or producer to keep in order.
He's also heavily involved with other major projects at 20th Century Fox and Sony. Partnering with Neill Blomkamp on his films Elysium and Chappie. He's also instrumental in the development of Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises as writer-producer.
Seeing Kinberg make the jump to writing the Star Wars spin-off films feels like it was already apart of his original deal with Lucasfilm. Considering that Simon was an established screenwriter before signing-on for his Star Wars deal.
As per usual the details surrounding the film from Godzilla director Gareth Edwards are varied and unconfirmed.
However, there was talk from reliable Slash Film that the movie could revolve around a group of bounty hunters who are tasked to secure the Death Star plans. These plans helped the rebels destroy it during the original film.
Could this end-up being out Boba Fett movie since he's the most notorious bounty hunter?
You might remember that LucasArts was planning on release a video game with the working title Star Wars 1313 (demo footage above). It seemingly would focus on the underworld of the Star Wars universe which included thieves and bounty hunters.
After it's eventually cancelation along with a Darth Maul game, it was revealed 1313 was in fact a Boba Fett game with players being placed in the role of the legendary bounty-hunting Mandalorian. Concept art revealed that he would be working with a team of fellow bounty hunters in the game.
While it's possible the Lucasfilm/Disney merger could have killed many of the games LucasArts had in development. They could have also given it the axe because of this Boba Fett movie was in the works and the wanted to fold the game into the film's development. Again, this first spin-off is said to focus on a team bounty hunters and would be set around the time Boba was still alive.
In my opinion, this very likely could be the Boba Fett centric film we've been hearing about for years.
Aussie cinematographer Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, Let Me In, Snow White And The Huntsman, The Gambler, Killing Them Softly, Foxcatcher) confirms to HitFix that he'll be joining the crew of a Star Wars spin-off. The untitled film will be directed by Godzilla's Gareth Edwards. There are some rumblings this could be Boba Fett or Han Solo movie.
“I’m doing a [frick]ing Star Wars movie, which is like – I don’t know about you but Star Wars is like my first film love, do you know what I mean?… Gareth is doing a standalone film. Of course I do know some specifics, but it’s obviously something I’ve signed my kidneys away for.”
THR is reporting a new development concerning the Star Wars spin-offs. They say that Godzilla and Monsters director Gareth Edwards has been hired by Lucasfilm to direct one of their unnamed spin-offs. It's been rumored for months the first one could be the Boba Fett movie. It's rumroed to have a script penned by Lawrence Kasdan (Return of The Jedi, Empire Strikes Back, Episode VII), while the other films don't have completed scripts.
UPDATE: The release date is set for December 2016, which very well could mean this is Boba Fett. Along with the addition that Gary Whitta (After Earth, Book of Eli, Akira) has written the film. Fett is rumored to be the first spin-off released, and was expected to take the 2016 spot.
It's a huge weekend of successes for Legendary's Godzilla reboot. The film has the 2nd largest opening weekend of 2014 at $93 million (estimated), edging out The Amazing Spider-Man 2. A giant win for the project considering, it was an uphill battle since the terrible impression the 1998 American left on audiences. The studio has been vindicated and along with that is of course talk of seuqels.
Deadline reports that Legendary and it's old partner Warner Bros. will be working together on the next installment of the Godzilla franchise. The two companies recently parted-ways, with Legendary making a new distribution deal with Universal. Let's hope they come up with a better title than Godzilla 2, maybe something like Godzilla Vs (place iconic/new kaiju monster here). I would assume that director Gareth Edwards will be asked to return, considering how the look of the film seems to have won over a lot of people. On the other hand, there were so many screenwriters on the first installment. Max Borenstein and Dave Callaham were the main writers, along with David Goyer and Frank Darabont contributing to it as well. I kinda hope they stick to one or two writers next time, but that's going to be unlikely.
LatinoReview is now confirming that Aaron Johnson has signed on as Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Johnson had been linked for the role for months and has been talking like the deal was pretty much closed when being interviewed at Comic-Con and during the release of Kick-Ass 2 (based on a comic book from Marvel's offshoot company Icon). Aaron will be the third new cast member added to the sequel at this point. Sam Jackson confirmed Elizabeth Olsen for Quicksilver's sister Scarlet Witch and Marvel officially announced James Spader as Ultron. The returning cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Renner.
While speaking with WSJ, Sam "Nick Fury" Jackson dished a bit on the production of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Confirming that shooting would begin before March and that James Spader is playing Ultron. However, he added one unannounced detail about the film. That Elizabeth Olsen will indeed be apart of the film. Neither, Marvel or outlets have confirmed Olsen for the role of Scarlet Witch which she had been in talks for. Jackson previously worked with Olsen on Spike Lee's Oldboy and Aaron Johnson (Quicksilver candidate) worked with her recently on Legendary Pictures' Godzilla.
“I don’t think we begin shooting before March of next year. I know we’re shooting in London, that James Spader is Ultron and going to be the bad guy, and that we added Ms. [Elizabeth] Olsen [who will play the Scarlet Witch], but I don’t know what she’s doing, if she’s on the inside or the outside. I haven’t seen a script.”
BleedingCool recently reported on rumblings that Marvel was keen on having Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) take on the role of Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron. THR is supporting the story that early talks with Olsen are indeed true. She recently wrapped production on Godzilla which co-stars Aaron Johnson, who is currently the front-runner for the Quicksilver role. Olsen and Johnson are basically the same age which would be needed since the siblings are twins. There is also word that the pair will be using British accents instead of having a rumored Eastern European background (ala Black Widow).
The more Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass 1-2, Godzilla) talks about Quicksilver in interviews the more it sounds like he pretty much has the role. Just the passion and the detail he talks about the character gives the impression that Marvel is indeed interested. A new interview with TotalFilm has the actor giving a few character details that he likes about Quicksilver. Could these details be the building-blocks of what we'll see in Age of Ultron? Johnson's involvement reminds me of the dragged out casting of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, who gave similar answers in the early talks to play Clint Barton.
"There's years - over 50 years - of backstory on him all there to use, and I like doing that. Him and his sister [Scarlet Witch] have been abandoned by their parents and their father, and they grew up in Eastern Europe defending and looking out for themselves and each other....His sister really is his guidance - emotionally she's the one who looks after him, and vice versa. He's very overprotective physically - he doesn't want anyone touching her.....He has real anger frustration - I like that. I always thought it'd be quite funny if you saw him eating loads and people asked him why and he'd explain it's because he's burning so much energy all the time. Or ideas that you'd see him come back round - but he's already nipped out and got his lunch somewhere else. He just got bored - his attention span is so fucking quick." "That's what we're in talks about really, right now - how I could become that character and not feel forced. I might not look right with white hair, and the accent may be wrong... it just doesn't work like that....It's about - unless you're Jim Carrey or Nic Cage and go 'This is the character', people go ‘OK, OK…’ “When people haven't been shown your range like that, then they're a bit more skeptical - they may not want you to push the boundaries in that way. But that's what I'm interested in as an actor…"
TheWrap is reporting that British actor Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass 1-2, Godzilla, Anna Karenina, Savages) is the front-runner to play Quicksilver in Joss Whedon's Avengers 2. Recently, Bryan Singer cast Aaron's Kick-Ass co-star Evan Peters in the same role in X-Men Days of Future Past. However, since both Fox and Marvel share the character rights (Scarlet Witch and Qucksilver) they are eligible to hire different actors to play them. There was some question if they would have the same pair of actors play the roles in both films but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Aaron Johnson was actually in the running for a role in X-Men First Class. Which was likely Hank McCoy/Beast that ended up going to Nicholas Hoult (who was championed by then producer Bryan Singer). There was also speculation Johnson was in the mix for Cyclops or even Gambit but neither characters ended in First Class. Aaron was also a possible candidate for Peter Parker in Marc Webb's Amazing Spider-Man but role ultimately went to Andrew Garfield. So it's likely he's keen on a Marvel role it's just finding the right one. Marvel is rumored to be looking at Irish actress Saoirse Ronan (Hanna) for the role of Scarlet Witch.
Deadline reports that British actress Sally Hawkins (Layer Cake, Happy Go-Lucky, Submarine, Never Let Me Go) best known for comedic/dramatic roles has taken a role in Legendary Pictures' Godzilla reboot which is currently shooting in Vancouver, Canada. Sally will play a scientist alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, David Strathairn, Brian Cranston and Juliette Binoche.
Variety reports that Richard T. Jones (Event Horizon) has joined the cast of Godzilla which is currently shooting in Vancouver, Canada. The rest of the cast consists of Aaron Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, David Strathaim and Juliette Binoche.
Warner Bros. has announced production is underway on their Godzilla reboot with Gareth Edwards at the helm. The studio also has confirmed the reboot's cast which includes previously linked actors such as Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass 1-2, Nowhere Boy, Anna Karenina), Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston (Argo, Drive, Breaking Bad), Juliette Bincohe (The English Patient), David Strathairn (Bourne Ultimatum) and new addition Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins, Inception) who has a long history with the studio.
Variety reports that French actress Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, The English Patient) is in talks for a role for Legendary Pictures' Godzilla reboot. The rest of the cast could include Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass), Bryan Cranston (Argo, Drive) and Elizabeth Olsen (who confirmed herself).
LatinoReview has tweeted a tease for a news concerning a new writer for Justice League. It's possible they could be hinting that David Goyer or Jonah Nolan (Memento, Prestige) might be hired to take a shot at the script. Will Beall's recent script was thrown out by the studio because of it's horrible quality. Having two writers so close to the Batman franchise write Justice League seems logical. There had been rumors dating back to before the release of The Dark Knight Rises that Jonah would not only write Justice League's script but also direct it. Considering Wally Pfister is branching out with directing Transcendence anything is possible.
Jonah wrote along with brother Chris the final two Batman films with story credits from Goyer. David has his own lengthly genre credits with writing Batman Begins, Blade trilogy, Dark City along with recent reboots Godzilla and Man of Steel. He also wrote for Black Ops 1-2 which are considered some of the highest grossing video games.
Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures are single-handily resurrecting the kaiju (giant/robot monster) genre with upcoming films Pacific Rim and the Godzilla reboot. The studio has strong ties with the Japanese market understanding the massive demand for these type of films. They also have tried to adapt films with Appian Way based on iconic anime/manga material with Akira (scrapped due Americanization) and Ninja Scroll. There is plenty of existing material involving kaiju and giant robots that could end up heading to Hollywood in the next couple of years.
One project within this genre that really deserves another shot is Neon Genesis Evangelion. Back in 2003, there was development on a live-action film which saw ADV Films hire Weta Workshop (Avatar, Lord of The Rings, King Kong, Rise/Dawn of The Apes, The Hobbit) to create a slew of concept art. The project was originally announced at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival with ADV looking to provide fifty percent of the estimated $100-120 million budget. Nothing seemed to happen even with hiring John Woo to pitch it to other producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg. The company would eventually fold and the live-action film rights have been in dispute since 2011.
Other giant robot projects such as Robotech (Warner Bros.) and Gaiking (Valhalla Entertainment) have also been put into development in the last couple of months. It seems like it would be a smart move for other studios to get a hold of their own kaiju/giant robot flicks. Sony/Columbia, 20th Century Fox, Disney, Dreamworks, Wingnut and Universal should really consider trying to get a hold the film rights to Evangelion.
CASTING SUGGESTIONS
Olivia Thirlby (Dredd, Juno), Dane DeHaan (Lawless, Chronicle, Amazing Spider-Man 2) and Jane Levy (Evil Dead).
While actress Elizabeth Olsen along with Bryan Cranston had been in-talks for roles in Gareth Edwards' Godzilla reboot. Neither had been locked-in until now. Olsen has confirmed her role (via CBM) and mentions the film will be dramatic heavy.
"I'm about to film Godzilla in the Spring so that's the next thing I'm working on!" When asked about making the transition from dramas to a big budget blockbuster, Olsen jokingly added: "Well, Godzilla is actually going to be a very heavy drama! It's definitely going to be a very different take on the past Godzilla's..."
