IRON MAN 3's Shane Black Directing New PREDATOR Sequel, Will Schwarzenegger Return?

It sounds like Fox isn't waiting around for Robert Rodriguez's Predators sequel. THR reports that Iron Man 3 and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, Last Boy Scout) will return to his early career roots, by directing a new Predator film. His Monster Squad partner Fred Dekker (Tales From The Crypt, Night of The Creeps) will handle the scripting duties with Black helping with the treatment. Black had a supporting role in the original film, and even wrote an early draft that was never used.

Collider adds that Fred Dekker and Black will be scripting the film as a sequel, rather than a reboot. Expanding on existing mythology setup by the original films. This could leave the door open to have Danny Glover or Arnold Schwarzenegger return. There had been ideas from Robert Rodriguez to have Glover and Arnold's characters taken to the Predator homeworld to battle aliens in a gladiator arena. It's unknown if that's the angle for this new film, but with Arnold reprising his classic roles (Terminator, Conan, Twins), returning as Dutch wouldn't be very shocking. Arnold was originally set to cameo in Predators, but had to turn it down and Laurence Fishburne took the part instead. Let's not forget that Shane and Arnold worked together on Last Action Hero.

Fox has a sequel to Prometheus about to begin production too. Could we see all these worlds eventually connected? Or, at the very least better connected, than the horrible AVP films? We should forget those movies ever happened and expect the studio trying to at least have all these films connected. Ridley Scott has already connected Prometheus to Blade Runner, by having Eldon Tyrell as the mentor of Peter Weyland. This establishes the cinematic universe is also connected that franchise as well, which is also getting a sequel.

While having the xenomorphs, predators, engineers and replicants existing in the same universe, but not exactly interacting/fighting each other. Darkhorse Comics is already putting together a series of comics, which connects all the films (Alien, Prometheus and Predator). Connecting the sci-fi horror franchises could be a good idea, but needs to be executed properly. Shane Black has experience with grand mythology and expanding film universes, dipping his toes into the MCU with Iron Man 3.

We recently heard from Sigourney Weaver that she wants to play Ripley again in Alien 5. Considering Fox is pushing forward with so many sci-fi projects, they'll finally give fans an end to the main Alien saga. The studio hasn't commented on this, but I'm sure they're strongly considering it. Since Weaver will be appearing in all three of the Avatar sequels, her awareness will be pushed into the international markets again. Originally, Prometheus was set to be a two-part feature, ending with the second film. Having Ripley return and complete her story would make sense post-Prometheus 2.


SOURCE: THR

The First Trailer For Legendary's DRACULA UNTOLD Is Batty!

Guillermo Del Toro Officially Directing PACIFIC RIM 2 And It's Coming April 2017!

There was a giant-wave of anticipation last summer, concerning what to expect from Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim. An original cinematic universe influenced by the the world of anime, manga and kaiju films. It made a rather large splash internationally, earning $411 million worldwide. A decent amount of box office considering the genre and the fact it's not an existing franchise or IP. There had been talk from everyone invovled that a sequel could happen. Although, many people believed it still needed to earn more for that to happen. Critics mostly embraced the silliness of it and took it for what the film was (giant robots versus giant monsters).

The film also had a comic book and toys in stores at the time of it's release. Pacific Rim does have major merchandising potential, not unlike the Marvel/Star Wars universes. This seemingly has been picked up by the people over at Legendary Pictures, who produced the film and own the rights to it.

Guillermo has announced (via Legendary Picture's Youtube channel) that Legendary is moving forward with the sequel and he will be returning as it's director. Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim) and Zak Penn (Incredible Hulk, Avengers) will be working with del Toro to create the script. The release date has been set for April 7th, 2017, which is very similar to the Marvel's The Winter Soldier's date. It's a better placement for the release, as it will have less summer competition next time. Also, Universal will be partnering with Legendary on the project. The two companies recently developed a deal, which would see Universal distribute their films.

Production on Pacific Rim 2 would likely return to Pinewood Studios in Toronto. Where del Toro shot the original and is currently finishing-up production on his next film Crimson Peak. Actors such as Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Ron Perlman are expected to return for the sequel.

Legendary Pictures is highly invested in the kaiju genre, and is already moving forward with a Godzilla sequel. Gareth Edwards is attached to direct, but is also involved with an unnamed Star Wars spin-off coming in 2016. Oddly enough, Godzilla has currently earned even more than Pacific Rim. Taking in about $478 million worldwide, let's just remember Godzilla is known property that has been stomping cities since 1954. While Pacific Rim is just getting put together.

Milo Ventimiglia Wants A Shot At Playing THE PUNISHER?

We've seen actors campaign for Marvel roles, but ultimately never land their choices. A new actor has joined that club, but for a character we don't often have actors asking to play. That role just happens to be Frank Castle aka The Punisher. Heroes alumni Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls, Pathology, Mob City, Wolverine) has taken to Twitter to tease the idea of taking the role of Castle, including a photo of himself looking very different and wearing a Punisher shirt.

#FrankCastle says go fuck yourself Friday. LA, CA. @RussCundiff @nathanedmondson @Marvel. MV pic.twitter.com/bd9z6Xi39M
— Milo Ventimiglia (@MiloVentimiglia) June 20, 2014

We know there currently aren't any film plans to bring The Punisher back to screens (since regaining the film rights from Lionsgate), Disney is seemingly opposed to releasing R-rated Marvel movies. While the rating is unknown we know Marvel has partnered with Netflix to release a bunch of gritty street-level shows. These 13-episode series include Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and The Defenders. All of them will be set in and around New York City's notorious Hell's Kitchen, and are expected to be more crime focused than previous Marvel productions.

The city is also the stomping ground of violent vigilante Frank Castle, so it's not impossible that the character will show-up or at the very least be mentioned in these shows. It's expected that The Kingpin would have to cross paths with The Punisher at some point. We've also been considering a Punisher and Blade series being apart of the next wave of Netflix shows for Marvel.

Milo has a history of working in both television and film, not to mention a Marvel connection voicing Logan for the Wolverine anime series. He's looking the part in recent photos, and if he trains enough could nail the fighting/gunplay the character is best known for. If Castle is indeed apart of the Netflix MCU, should Milo play him?

SOURCE: TWITTER

Joe Carnahan Working On Bruce Willis Action Flick FIVE AGAINST THE BULLET For Sony

Joe Carnahan (Narc, The Grey) is a treasured and unappreciated action director. His recent film Stretch was shelved by the studio and was pulled-off Fox's Daredevil reboot when the rights reverted back to Marvel. That hasn't stopped him with his awesome series The Blacklist and developing Mark Millar's Nemesis for Fox. It sounds like he's getting a chance to make another hard-boiled action flick for Sony.

While talking with Collider producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura mentions that Carnahan is helping with their Bruce Willis flick Five Against The Bullet. The film centers on a Mexican politician who, after his father is killed by a drug cartel, hires the five best bodyguards from around the world to protect him through a contentious election. The assumption is that Joe will direct and also add rewrites to the existing script from Alex Litvak. Let's just pray that Joe is able to get a non-wooden performance from Bruce Willis, who is notorious these days for putting zero effort into his performances.

“Joe [Carnahan] we just put on a project called Five Against a Bullet, which I’ve loved for a long time. It is a tale of a group of men who have become cynical, sort of lost their sense of hope about life and the world, who are rekindled and betrayed and rekindled and betrayed in this story, and it’s got some of the coolest action and some of the greatest characters, and it’s a really fantastic action movie that I think will really grab people. And Joe’s working on it right now.” 

“We have a great script and no doubt he’ll put a little pen to paper as well, but we’re already in great shape and Sony loves the project and no doubt we’ll start trying to figure out how to cast that.”

SOURCE: COLLIDER

DOCTOR STRANGE Starts Filming Next Spring And Releasing July 2016?

TotalFilm was to speak with Marvel's Kevin Feige about the upcoming production of Doctor Strange. Firstly, Kevin confirmed that Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil) is indeed directing the film and revealed casting will be underway in the next month or two. An actor will be announced soon, we've been expecting said lead to be unveiled during Comic-Con. We've been hearing names like Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Leto and Tom Hardy linked for the role.

"Scott Derrickson has been announced as the director. Doctor Strange is a character that I've been interested in for many, many years and that I've talked about in interviews for probably 14 years, because I believe it's very, very important for us to explore every nook and cranny of the comic-book universe and we've done the street-level heroes, and we've done the billionaire superheroes [on Earth]. We've now done the cosmic side with Thor and Avengers and most obviously with Guardians, but there's a whole other side of the Marvel comics, which is that supernatural side - the interdimensional side of the Marvel universe, and Doctor Strange is, I believe, our entry point into that other realm, which has dozens of characters and storylines all of its own.

So Strange is very, very important, not just because it's an amazing character study, and a journey of a man who's gone from this very arrogant surgeon to somebody who is quite zen and literally keeps all of reality together on a daily basis, but it also is going to open up a whole other side of storytelling for our movies. So we're about to hire a writer to redo a draft, and we think we'll be casting probably in the next month or two, and announcing an actor, and then we get into production in the spring of next year."


Feige also went on to confirm that production is set to begin in the spring of next year, I assume this will happen when Captain America 3 wraps. The assumption is that Strange will take the second 2016 spot on July 8th. Other sources say that the release date could be set later in the year. Currently, Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Black Hole) is doing rewrites to the original script.

SOURCE: TOTALFILM

Guy Pearce Wants To Return For PROMETHEUS 2

Prometheus has had it's share of problems pointed-out, but one thing Ridley Scott nailed was casting Guy Pearce as an ambitious young Peter Weyland. His scenes at Ted Talk were cut-out of the main film and used in the viral campaign instead. They plant the seeds of Weyland's search to find immortality, space exploration and his god-complex. Weyland is a twisted and ruthless character that never really got flushed-out in the film, but he could in Prometheus 2.

During a recent interview with IGN, the Aussie actor revealed a desire to join the cast of Prometheus 2, and would jump at the chance to work with Ridley Scott again. The film is being eyed for a March 4th, 2016 release date. Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace are already set to return in their roles. Guy mentions being open to playing Weyland again, or someone else entirely.

"I'd love to go back and play that character again..To work for Ridley again, you know, he's great -- really wonderful to work for. So yeah, I'm very curious to see what he will do next with it."

"Based on my character's request for immortality and then getting whacked in the head with Michael Fassbender's head, uh... no. [Laughs] But I think it's possible. I just think it may not be for Peter Weyland. I mean, who knows? When you look at science fiction and the ways in which you can cut the pie and things can develop -- technologically speaking, etcetera -- anything's possible, really, isn't it? Particularly with Ridley at the helm."

Of course, there are plenty of ways Guy could be used in the film. Flashbacks or propaganda company videos being the first things that come to mind. Perhaps, cloning is used to keep Peter Weyland around, even after his death. Alien Resurrection used cloning to bring back Ripley, it wouldn't be hard to imagine Weyland having access to that kind of technology. Another angle could be he plays an heir to the Weyland dynasty. A relative that happens to be the spitting-image of Peter Weyland.

An even simpler way would be to pull a Bishop, and have a Weyland look-a-like android. We've already had talk of many Davids (Fassbender) in the sequel. Adding another android acting on the behalf of the interests of Weyland Industries looking like Peter sounds about right. I'd also think it's possible we could see a ship computer not unlike mother/father, with a hologram persona in the guise of young Peter Weyland.

SOURCE: IGN

RUMOR: Are We Getting A Cameo From NOVA In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY?

We've already had hints that Adam Warlock will be appearing in some form (possibly cocoon) in Guardians of The Galaxy, but another cosmic character is rumored for the outer-space action comedy. LatinoReview is claiming we'll see Nova also known as Richard Rider make a cameo in the film, possibly in an end-credits scene. It's not hard to imagine that happening since The Nova Corps. are a well established force in the film.

They Add that this character could be played by none-other-than Nathan "rumored for every Marvel role" Fillon. Previously, the talk was he was going to play Peter Quill's father. We'll have to wait until August to find out for sure, where they'll be using him. Fillion could be playing a cantina bartender for all we know.

This image that popped-up on Reddit has fuelled the idea Nova film is in the works. However, we haven't heard this from trades or other blogs. While a Guardians sequel was mentioned recently by JoBlow, making Nova a major character in the next film would more sense than getting his own film. I have to call bullshit on this image, since Captain America 3 and Doctor Strange are currently the only films eyed for Marvel's 2016 slate. Nothing says that Marvel isn't developing a movie, there had been rumblings that Adam Warlock and Nova could get movies in the future.

SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW

RUMOR: Does Villain Darren Cross Steal The Yellow Jacket Suit In ANT-MAN?

There have been a couple of rumors circling via JoBlow and TheWrap concerning who the villains of Peyton Reed's Ant-Man will be. There is talk of actors Corey Stoll and Patrick Wilson taking the roles of the villains, with Stoll playing main industrial baddie Darren Cross. I assume the pair are the ones who are hellbent on stealing Hank Pym's technology, which leads us to the "big heist" of the picture.

BadassDigest seems to try to clear things up a bit, mainly noting that it very well could be the Yellow Jacket suit that is being stolen from Pym. The suit is best known as giving Hank Pym a personality disorder, which leads to him hitting his wife Janet. A rather large and shocking plot-point for comics in that era, since domestic abuse wasn't the subject of hero's daily lives back then. It's uncertain who Stoll and Wilson will be playing, but Devin confirms Darren Cross is one of the villains. Also, hinting one of the two could be donning the Yellow Jacket suit. This would make a lot of sense and allow the darker side of Pym to be explored without making Hank out to be total piece of garbage.

SOURCE: BADASSDIGEST

Rosario Dawson Moves From SIN CITY To Hell's Kitchen, Joins DAREDEVIL Cast

Another actor has been cast in Marvel's Daredevil series, and THR reveals the newest addition is Rosario Dawson (Trance, Sin City 1-2, Death Proof, Kids) in an unnamed role. One that very well could be Jessica Jones, considering her high profile it's a strong possibility. The production for the series will begin soon in New York City and as expected Marvel is looking a strong film talent to fill roles.

Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire, Stardust) will play Matt Murdock/Daredevil and recently announced Vincent D'Onofrio (Jurassic World, Full Metal Jacket, The Cell, Brooklyn's Finest, Run All Night) will play Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin. Our suspected main villain of the series, or likely most of them.


SOURCE: THR

LOOPER Director Rian Johnson To Write/Direct STAR WARS EPISODES VIII And XI

Lucasfilm is putting together some of the best filmmakers for their new film universe. A new report from Deadline gives the best directing news to date. They say that Brick and Looper director Rian Johnson will take the Episodic reigns of Star Wars, for Episode VIII and Episode XI (some are claiming his is only doing the script treatment). This is confirming that Abrams won't be directing the next two installments, and his future within the Star Wars franchise is unknown.

We've been hearing for months that Lucasfilm has been meeting with directors to round out both the spin-offs and main trilogy. The Star Wars machine is now in full gear (taking cues from Marvel Studios) and needs to move forward. I believe J.J. was never going to direct the entire trilogy and his pre-production/script problems may have cemented that fate. They need the new generation like Rian Johnson, Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Monsters) and Josh Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four) to keep the franchise fresh and inventive.

Rian Johnson is dedicated filmmaker and has the vision/originality to push the boundaries of the franchise. Rather than just paying homage to what has come before, I expect Johnson will add greatly to the existing universe. Fans should rejoice that we finally have an indie director back directing Star Wars, if this doesn't shut-up film nerds I don't know what will.



SOURCE: DEADLINE

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY's Karen Gillan Wants To Play A Web-Slinging Marvel Heroine

Scottish actress Karen Gillan spoke to SFX and mentioned that she wants a crack at playing Spider-Girl/Spider-Woman. I think a large percentage of Spidey fans are now currently fan-casting her as the new Mary Jane Watson, for Amazing Spider-Man 3. However, here's a little bit of what I think of this extremely cool idea.

If you could play a superhero, which one would you choose?Yeah, who is there…? I want to play a version of Spider-Man that’s a lady.

Spider-Woman?Spider-Woman – does she exist?

There’s a Spider-Woman and a Spider-Girl.I want to play Spider-Girl!

Let's try to forget that producer Avi Arad has been hard-headed when it comes to the Spider-Man franchise, and closing-the-door for characters like Ben Reilly and Miles Morles to take-up the mantle. This didn't seem to rule-out lady versions of the character showing-up eventually. We know that Felicia Hardy (Felicity Jones) is already been established in the last installment, so anti-heroine Black Cat is on the horizon. We've never really seen a female heroine in the Spider-Man franchise, while the studio has access to many of these characters. Sony would be mad not even consider partnering Parker with a female counterpart, other than Hardy. These characters include May Parker the first Spider-Girl, redhead Anya Corazon the second Spider-Girl (happens to have the best costume of the bunch which is very similar to Arachne's).

A couple might also might in the hands of Marvel Studios, which seems to lend themselves to more supporting female characters and a greater chance of this happening. The original Spider-Woman who is Jessica Drew, is very likely not in control by Sony but Marvel Studios. As the character has origins in other comics, ties to Hydra and very little connection to the Spider-Man universe.

Julia Carpenter is the second Spider-Woman and like Jessica Drew has ties to The Avengers and most importantly is involved in the Civil War comics which is expected to play a role sometime in the MCU. Julia is also known as Arachne, which could be a great way to get around the whole confusion of calling the heroine Spider-Woman and getting her confused with the Spider-Man franchise.

However, considering she's playing an action-driven role as villainess Nebula in Guardians of The Galaxy, anything is possible. We've seen actors like Ryan Reynolds, Ray Stevenson and Idris Elba play multiple Marvel roles, so this wouldn't be unheard-of. Considering she is almost unrecognizable as Nebula, it wouldn't be impossible for Marvel Studios or Sony to place her in another future role.

SOURCE: SFX

THE EQUALIZER Franchise On The Way And Director Antoine Fuqua Comments On Sequels

The R-rated American action film is becoming a dying breed, we've seen franchises like Fast And Furious flourish within the PG-13 rating, tempting studios to water-down the genre. Which has led to The Expendables 3 wimping-out and scaling back the shoot-em-up gore to get a bigger box office. One voice in the genre has taken the attitude Hard-R is the way to go with these adult-action films. That is surprisingly Antoine Fuqua, who is better known for his crime thrillers such as Training Day and blew us away with his balls-to-the-wall action flick Olympus Has Fallen.

His next feature will see him re-teaming with his Oscar winner lead from Training Day, Denzel Washington. The film based on the widely popular series The Equalizer, sees Washington as a total badass only interested in levelling the playing field. The studio doesn't have a bunch of original action franchises lying around to fill release spots. They also have to try to develop whatever existing properties they have to their fullest potential, so it makes sense that they would want this to be very successful and make more installments.

Back in February, TheWrap reported that Sony is indeed moving forward with a sequel. They had rehired screenwriter Richard Wenk (Expendables 2, The Mechanic) to pen the script. Wenk wrote the first installment and has apparently closed a deal to write it's second installment with the working title The Equalizer 2. They add that test-screenings have earned the highest scores for an R-rated film for the studio. This basically should give the impression Sony could have a massive hit on their hands, and will actually be worth franchising.

Director Antoine Fuqua actually took on that question head-on with ScreenRant, and gave a hopeful but coy response to the talk the studio wants more installments.

Ah, you know, I would be lying to you if I said I wouldn’t love for it to become a franchise, I would love for it to become a hit and all that great stuff. Who knows-you just make the best movie you can make, you know it’s like, eat the whole thing, one piece at a time. And then, we’ll see what happens, I would love for it to be.

I'm a massive fan of both the work of Washington and director Antoine Fuqua, so I'm totally on board for this. The only thing is that Fuqua has setup franchises before and left, case-in-point he didn't return to direct London Has Fallen the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen. I believe the deciding factor will be what the studio will offer Fuqua via future projects, and if Denzel is willing to stick around. The trailer is extremely promising, and it's hard to not to want to see that Training Day magic return.

SOURCE: SCREENRANT

RUMOR: Matt Damon Teaming-Up With Jeremy Renner For BOURNE 5?

Sometimes when a rumor is too good and extremely likely, it has a very hard time going away. We've been hearing for years that Matt Damon has been considering returning to Universal's Bourne franchise. There were even rumblings that Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross could be paired-up with Bourne in future films. Well that talk has resurfaced, and it's coming from a very creditable source.

LatinoReview is reporting that the reason Universal has delayed Justin Lin's (Fast And Furious 6) Bourne 5, is to include Matt Damon in the film. THR reported the fifth installment was originally set for August 14th, 2015, the film is being delayed and is now being released on July 15th, 2016. LR believes this new delay is to allow Damon join the production.

It's not surprising since Bourne Legacy didn't set the world on fire, and Matt's last few movies haven't done too well at the box office. Damon returning to the series that allowed him to make the jump to the world of action films, might be just what he needs to reenergize himself. I doubt that Renner will be stepping-aside, since he's about to take a big role in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW

RUMOR: WB Planning On Releasing THE BATMAN In 2019 And Will Ben Affleck Direct?

LatinoReview has another big DC scoop, this time it concerns our favorite caped crusader. We recently learned that Warner Bros. is setting-up a large slate of DC films, shockingly a solo Batman movie wasn't on that list. LR reveals that the studio is tentatively placing a new Batman standalone in their 2019 release lineup, and giving it the working title of The Batman. Fans might recognize that title, as it was the original title for Batman Begins.

There is also a bit of speculation that Ben could also direct the film, something we've been expecting since he was originally announced for the role. There had been rumblings that Ben's deal with Warner Bros. was so extensive, that it could include clauses to direct as well. This was never confirmed or announced by the studio, so it's currently unknown if this is indeed their plan or if Ben is obligated to direct.

After watching Affleck's films Gone Baby Gone and The Town. It's easy to see the director has a grasp on the gritty world of crime, and could be a decent successor to Christopher Nolan. The release date is also another hint to Affleck directing as well, since it would allow him plenty of time to film Batman v Superman, Justice League and his period gangster film Live By Night.

At this point there isn't even talk of a script being put together, which might be another reason for the 2019 release date. Giving the studio plenty of time to setup a new trilogy and make the first installment a solid one. Let's not forget that Ben also has an Oscar for screenwriting.

SOURCE: LATINOREVIEW