Peter Jackson Also In The Running For STAR WARS EPISODE VIII?

During a recent Hobbit video FirstShowing spotted a possible script or outline for Star Wars: Episode VIII in Peter Jackson's desk with his name scrolled across it. It could have been a bit of joke since the video was released yesterday on April Fools. Disney/LucasFilm might be actually looking at Peter to tackle the second film. Previously, Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Gravity) had been rumored for talks to make Episode VIII. There is a bit of speculation LucasFilm could be aiming to have different directors handle the new trilogies. Similar to how the original three films worked as Lucas (Abrams now) directed the first one and godfathered the other two productions. Considering that Paramount is talking about Star Trek 3 possibly coming out in 2016, it's unlikely that Abrams will be able to make both Trek 3 and Ep. VIII.

Jackson is currently doing post-production on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug with some added Battle of The Five Armies scenes to be shot for There And Back Again this Summer. It's possible that LucasFilm could be aiming for a 2017-2018 release date for Episode VIII which could allow Jackson to clear his other projects including the upcoming sequel to Tintin which begins production sometime this year. Peter has personal and work relationships with Steven Spielberg which might have led to at least talk of him considering the project. Jackson hasn't exactly made a straight up science fiction film yet but was at one point producing the Halo movie. Not to mention producing Neill Blompkamp's stunning sci-fi sociological thriller District 9. Jackson did briefly talk about the new Star Wars films with MTV back in December. You never know making a Star Wars film could be on Peter's bucket-list or just a clever April Fools joke. Considering Jackson has always worked with both Weta Workshop and Weta Digital for his films. While ILM has provided the special effects for basically all of the LucasFilm projects. I don't think Jackson would direct but could help write/produce the film.

"Obviously if he (Lucas) had interest in doing himself, then that's what we would all like to see," he said. "But it's better to have more 'Star Wars' films than no 'Star Wars' films."

"The one thing that Tolkien said is that the wonderful thing with mythology — and George Lucas has created a mythology of his own — is that it keeps getting handed from one person to the next, and each person embellishes it and expands it," Jackson added. "It actually keeps mythology alive, because it should be a living, breathing organic thing where it expands over time. It doesn't just stay stagnant. So I think what George is doing with 'Star Wars' is terrific."

Matt Reeves Will Direct DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

Deadline confirms that director Matt Reeves (Let Me In, Cloverfield) will helm Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes for 20th Century Fox.

'DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES' Coming May 2014

20th Century Fox has announced the release date for the sequel to Rise of The Planet of The Apes titled Dawn of The Planet of The Apes. The film is set for a May 23rd 2014 release date with Andy Serkis returning as Caesar along with director Rupert Wyatt. Details on the sequel haven't been made official but  the film likely will focus on the new ape society becoming the dominate species while the human population is wiped out by a deadly virus.

Scott Z. Burns Hired To Rewrite 'PLANET OF THE APES 2'

HeatVision reports that 20th Century Fox has hired Scott Z. Burns to help rewrite the script for Planet of The Apes 2. The untitled sequel to Rise of The Planet of The Apes is gathering speed with a draft already written by Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa who wrote the first film. Burns is best known for Bourne Ultimatum, Contagion and the in-development film version of The Man From UNCLE.

Director Rupert Wyatt and actor Andy Serkis are currently locked for the sequel, no word on James Franco. I think James Franco monotoned performance was one the worst aspects of the film it's possible his character could be done away with or even recast. Normally with the Planet of The Apes sequels the humans leads are usually replaced new actors with each installment, hopefully this trend continues.

The next film will likely continue the viral sub-plot that should eventually wipe out a majority of the human population. Human survivors align themselves with Caesar and his new society. In the sequel to the original film that Rise was based on, a group from this new society goes into the now abandoned city sparking aggression with the militarized surviving humans set on wiping out the apes. These humans are armed to the teeth with guns, vehicles and tanks. It's doubtful this sequel will go that far into the lore.

'AVATAR 4' A Possibility, So What Happens With 'BATTLE ANGEL'?

It's starting look like James Cameron might be putting hold Battle Angel: Alita to focus on a numerous amount of Avatar sequels. As he recently talked to NewYorkTimes revealing that he wants to make Avatar 4. He confirms that his main focus will be the Avatar franchise and won't be developing or producing any new projects. James is currently writing Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 which is expected to start production in a year or two.

"I’ve divided my time over the last 16 years over deep ocean exploration and filmmaking. I’ve made two movies in 16 years, and I’ve done eight expeditions. Last year I basically completely disbanded my production company’s development arm. So I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the 'Avatar' business. Period. That’s it. I’m making 'Avatar 2,' 'Avatar 3,' maybe 'Avatar 4,' and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them. I’m not interested in taking scripts," Cameron said about his future plans. "And that all sounds I suppose a little bit restricted, but the point is I think within the 'Avatar' landscape I can say everything I need to say that I think needs to be said, in terms of the state of the world and what I think we need to be doing about it. And doing it in an entertaining way. And anything I can’t say in that area, I want to say through documentaries, which I’m continuing. I’ve done five documentaries in the last 10 years, and I’ll hopefully do a lot more. In fact, I’m doing one right now, which is on this, the Deep Sea Challenge project that we just completed the first expedition. So that’ll be a film that’ll get made this year and come out first quarter of next year."

Last month Cameron told MTV he still intends to direct Alita but with three time-consuming sequels to Avatar can we really believe he'll be able to fit it in? On the other hand, with Avatar 2's 2014 release date being changed could Alita (with a completed script) end up going into production first? Cameron did shoot test-footage for Alita a while back and was finishing rewrites on the script while Avatar was originally shooting (wearing a Battle Angel tee on set in the above image), so anything is possible.

Liev Schreiber, Sally Hawkins And Romola Garai Join Sci-Fi Thriller 'THE LAST DAYS ON MARS'

It looks like Ruairi Robinson's science fiction thriller The Last Days On Mars is finally moving forward. TheDailyMail (via ThePlaylist) reports on the first casting additions that include Liev Schreiber (Scream 1-3, Repo Men, Ransom) , Sally Hawkins (Layer Cake, Submarine) and Romola Garai (Atonement). The film that has WETA (Avatar, Hobbit, LOTR, King Kong) handling the effects centers on a crew of astronauts on Mars who discover evidence of bacterial life, only for them to start to being killed off when things go horribly wrong. I assume this film will end up something similar to Mission To Mars/Red Planet meets Alien/Prometheus.

Spielberg Confirms Peter Jackson Is Directing Tintin Sequel

TotalFilm was able to get confirmation from Steven Spielberg on the fate of the sequel to The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of The Unicorn. While the film hasn't made a giant splash in North America gathering just $75 million in box office. It's been a massive success internationally raking in $300 million which solidifies the sequel to move forward. Steven confirms that indeed Jackson will be directing the sequel just as soon as he is done with photography on the Hobbit.

"Peter [Jackson]’s doing it. I wanted to do it, but Peter has to because we made a deal. I said, ‘I’ll direct the first one, you direct the second one.’


“And Peter, of course, is going to do it right after he finishes photography on The Hobbit. He’ll go right into the 31, 21 days of performance capture.


“We’re not telling the world what books we’re basing the second movie on yet.”

 It was originally announced that Spielberg would direct the first film with Jackson the second and the possibly of Spielberg returning for the third. However, there have been rumors that Andy Serkis who is currently the second unit director on The Hobbit could be groomed to direct the third film in the series. When Peter took over directing duties from Guillermo del Toro for the Hobbit it looked like Jackson wouldn't end being able to direct the sequel which was originally planned.

Ruairi Robinson To Direct The Last Days On Mars

ComingSoon reports that Ruairi Robinson will finally make a big studio film. After being attached to direct Akira for Warner Bros. and leaving the project. The sci-fi horror thriller film The Last Days On Mars will be Ruairi's first full big movie after making some impressive short films. They also report that WETA Digital will handle the special effects. Hopefully this means WETA Workshop will also handle the props for the film too. WETA's credits include Avatar, King Kong, District 9 and Rise of The Planet of The Apes.

"As their last day on Mars draws to a close, the astronaut crew is on the verge of a major breakthrough – collected rock specimens reveal microscopic evidence of life. Meanwhile, communication is underway with AURORA, the approaching spacecraft that will relieve the crew of their operations. In their last hours on the planet, two astronauts go back to SITE 9, a cavernous valley on the surface of Mars, to collect further evidence of their discovery. But a routine excavation turns deadly when one of them falls to his death and his body taken host and re-animated by the very life form they sought to discover."