Moviefone Editorial

Category: Behind the Scenes

  • A New James Bond Movie is “Two Years Away from Filming”

    Daniel Craig as James Bond in 'Casino Royale.'
    Daniel Craig as James Bond in ‘Casino Royale.’

    ‘No Time to Die’ – and yes, we’re getting into spoiler territory for anyone who has yet to watch the most recent James Bond movie – put a definite capper on the Daniel Craig era of the super spy by killing off the character in a giant explosion.

    So where does that leave Bond going forward, because the movie still also carried the “James Bond will return” tagline at the end of the credits? Those decisions are all up to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, the producing duo who have overseen the Bond franchise for years now.

    And they won’t be drawn on who might be filling the role just yet, as the focus is on how they’re going to re-invent the character and the franchise as a whole in the post-Craig period.

    Speaking at a glitzy event in London to honor Broccoli and Wilson as they receive BFI fellowships, Broccoli addressed the question of just who might be filling the tuxedo/combat uniform/whatever Bond feels like wearing going forward.

    “Nobody’s in the running,” she told Deadline. “We’re working out where to go with him, we’re talking that through. There isn’t a script and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond. We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.”

    Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in 'Die Another Day.'
    Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in ‘Die Another Day.’

    It’s bad news for Bond fans who now face a long wait for more movies, though let’s not forget that it was four years between the end of Pierce Brosnan’s tenure in ‘Die Another Day’ and the start of Craig’s in ‘Casino Royale’.

    And figuring out a new Bond is a complicated process, particularly as Broccoli, Wilson and their team have always looked to present a new, evolving take on 007 between each new actor.

    Craig’s Bond was considerably different than most of the versions that had come before it, and while the character is one that has resisted too much change back in the past, the current incarnation was a much more modern vision for the man.

    And while the event was a star-studded event to celebrate the producing pair, it was also attended by the likes of Ralph Fiennes and Naomie Harris, who played Bond’s boss M and agent Moneypenny in several of the Craig films. “Naomie and I are the people to fix it,” Fiennes joked. “You find him and we’ll train him.”

    That, of course, assumes that a “reinvention” of Bond doesn’t mean a change in M and Moneypenny (though Judi Dench’s M, of course, reoccurred between the Brosnan and Craig Bonds).

    So yes, it does seem that if there are any villains waiting around to say, “I’ve been expecting you…”, they’re going to have to keep on waiting a fair bit longer. Maybe fire up Candy Crush on your phone?

    James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) in 'No Time To Die.'
    (L to R) James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) drive through Matera, Italy in ‘No Time To Die,’
    a DANJAQ and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. Credit: Nicola Dove. © 2019 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  • Jason Schwartzman Recruited for the ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Movie

    Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, and Adrien Brody in 'The Darjeeling Limited.'
    (L to R) Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, and Adrien Brody in ‘The Darjeeling Limited.’

    As pre-production continues on ‘The Hunger Games’ prequel movie ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’, studio Lionsgate has announced that Jason Schwartzman will play a key role in the movie, joining leads Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.

    Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the ‘Hunger Games’ movies based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling book series (‘Catching Fire’, ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’ and Mockingjay – Part 2’) is back behind the camera for this new one, which has seen script work from Michael Arndt and, more recently, Michael Lesslie.

    The story, based on Collins’ prequel novel, is set roughly 60 years before the events in the original book trilogy. It finds 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) as the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.

    But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.

    This latest bit of casting is certainly a fun one: Schwartzman will play Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman, the host of the 10th annual Hunger Games and dubbed the “voice of Panem.” Lucretius is the ancestor of Caesar Flickerman, who was played (with giant wig and gleaming white teeth) by Stanley Tucci in the original series of films). Schwartzman feels like a great call for this role – he can do charm and he can do smarm, and a Flickerman certainly needs a helping heaping of both. Not to mention a real knack for showmanship.

    Stanley Tucci and Jennifer Lawrence
    (L to R) Stanley Tucci and Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” AP Photo/Lionsgate, Murray Close.

    Probably best known for his long collaboration with Wes Anderson (he’s appeared in movies such as ‘Rushmore’, ‘The French Dispatch’, and ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ for the idiosyncratic director, and occasionally works behind the scenes with him too), Schwartzman has also appeared in the likes of ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’, ‘Saving Mr. Banks’, ‘Bewitched’ and ‘Marie Antoinette’. He’s usually memorable, and if Lucretius will likely be a relatively small role, we’re confident he’ll do something interesting with it.

    Schwartzman is one of the more established names recently recruited for the movie, as we last heard of a group of newcomers and rising stars – Jerome Lance, Ashley Liao, Knox Gibson, Mackenzie Lansing, and Aamer Husain – playing a variety of tributes and mentors.

    Then there’s ‘Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer, who scored the role of Tigris Snow. She’s Coriolanus’ cousin and confidante, who advises him in everything — from his role as mentor to the core of his moral compass.

    ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ is scheduled to hit theaters on November 17th next year.

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  • Emma Roberts Joins ‘Madame Web’

    Emma Roberts attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California.
    Emma Roberts attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images.

    As with much of Sony’s non-animated, non MCU-connected Spider-Man universe output, we’re still not sure what to expect from ‘Madame Web’. Aside from digging into the comic books to ferret out potential plot nuggets, and divine possible character choices, it’s a mystery. Especially since the studio has staunchly refused to release so much as a logline at this early stage.

    What we’ve had to go on so far is the casting, and the latest word has now made it into the world: Emma Roberts is joining the ensemble, according to Deadline.

    She joins a cast that already includes Dakota Johnson (who has the lead role, and presumably plays a version of the title character – more on that below), Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced and Tahar Rahim. There are zero details on who anyone is playing just yet.

    SJ Clarkson, who has worked on shows including ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Succession’, is making her film directing debut here, with Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless writing from the script and replacing an earlier draft by Kerem Sanga.

    Originally created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist John Romita Jr., Madame Web first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, which was published in November 1980.

    Known as Cassandra Webb, she is usually depicted as an elderly blind woman suffering from a chronic neuromuscular disease that makes it difficult to move and breathe, and as such, she’s connected to a life support system that looks like a spider web. The clairvoyant character has telepathic, precognitive, and astral projection abilities and once helped Spider-Man find a kidnap victim.
    It doesn’t exactly sound like the basis for a thrilling superhero outing, but Madame Web’s history has crossed path with various heroes. Plus, as you might expect from a comic book character, there has been more than one holder of the title.

    madame web comics
    mo Photo courtesy of Marvel Entertainment.

    In Amazing Spider-Man #636, Madame Web transfers her powers into a younger woman, Julia Carpenter, who takes over the role and oversees storylines such as Spider-Island, which finds all of Manhattan’s population developing Spider powers.

    The younger character sounds like who Johnson will be playing, though of course at this stage it’s anyone’s guess what the movie team will pick and choose to use in the final story. What if, for example, that younger cast points to a variety of potential Madame Webs… or is it Madames Web? Probably not.

    This, of course, is the latest evolution on Sony’s plan to keep its live-action Spider-spin-offs growing. They’ve been a hit and miss affair so far: the ‘Venom’ movies overcame negative critical reactions to generate big box office (a third is in the early stages)meanwhile ‘Morbius’ has… not so much.

    Next up is ‘Kraven the Hunter’, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, a ‘Silk’ TV series, and likely much further down the line, a potential ‘Sinister Six’ team up of Spider-villains.

    For now, then, ‘Kraven’, ‘Madame Web’ and the next ‘Venom’ are carrying the hopes of Sony’s Spidey time.

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  • ‘Deadpool 3’ Writers Talk About the New Movie

    Zazie Beetz, Bill Skarsgård, Ryan Reynolds, Lewis Tan, and Terry Crews in 'Deadpool 2.'
    (L to R) Zazie Beetz, Bill Skarsgård, Ryan Reynolds, Lewis Tan, and Terry Crews in ‘Deadpool 2.’

    It has been four years since the release of ‘Deadpool 2’ and fans are eager to know when we might get more from Marvel’s Merc with a Mouth as brought to sarcastic, meta-referential life by Ryan Reynolds. Yet while more is definitely on the way, the purchase of Fox by Disney and the absorption of the character into the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe makes that more complicated on a number of levels.

    So, what might we expect from a third ‘Deadpool’ outing now that writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who have been working on the script alongside Reynolds, Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin.

    Describing putting Deadpool into a MCU is “a wonderful opportunity for a “fish-out-of-water,” Reese told the Post-Credit Pod. “Deadpool is a lunatic at the center of a movie, and to drop a lunatic in a very sane world, it’s straight butter. It’s going to be really fun.”

    There is an awful lot we don’t yet know about the next ‘Deadpool’ outing – including who else might be in it, and which of Marvel’s characters will be available to interact with Wade Wilson.

    So far, what is really known about the movie is that Shawn Levy, who has struck up a productive working relationship with Reynolds through ‘Free Guy’ and Netflix’s ‘The Adam Project’, is directing the new film.

    Reynolds fighting robots
    (L to R) Walker Scobell and Ryan Reynolds in Netflix’s ‘The Adam Project’

    But just what can we expect from the new movie? While they couldn’t go into details, Wernick and Reese have been at pains to explain that they want the ‘Deadpool’ winning streak to continue, especially given that the first two movies have earned a combined $1.5 billion at the global box office.

    “We want to make it great,” Reese earlier told The Playlist, explaining the delay a little. “We’re in the laboratory working on it with Ryan Reynolds all the time, and we’re very much entertaining ourselves. So, hopefully, that translates and ultimately will entertain the world. But you know, it’s a marriage between Fox and Disney and it’s two different universes and it’s not easy. But it’s also a wonderful challenge and, you know, high-class problems to be able to merge those, those worlds. So, we’re, we’re enjoying it.”

    Oh, and talking of entertaining themselves, they mention that while they’ve been too busy to pay much attention to ‘Morbius’ and the various memes around the Sony/Marvel vampire flop, they laugh that they’ll have to include a gag about it now – because poor old Michael Morbius hasn’t been through enough?

    And in case you’re worrying that being part of Disney’s Marvel arm means a sanitized, family-friendly Deadpool, we shouldn’t have to worry about that. “They’re not gonna mess with the tone,” Reese says. “I mean, I’d never say never, I guess there’s an outside chance, but we’ve always been told it can be R-rated, and we’re proceeding as if it’s R. We would like it to be R, we always have, so I don’t think that’ll change.”

    We don’t yet know when ‘Deadpool 3’ will be released, but it could potentially be ready for 2024.

    Reynolds as Deadpool
    Ryan Reynolds in 20th Century Fox’s ‘Deadpool.’
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  • Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi Starring in New ‘Spy Kids’ Movie

    Carla Gugino as Ingrid Cortez, Daryl Sabara as Juni Cortez, Antonio Banderas as Gregorio Cortez, and Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez in 2001's 'Spy Kids.
    (L to R) Carla Gugino as Ingrid Cortez, Daryl Sabara as Juni Cortez, Antonio Banderas as Gregorio Cortez, and Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez in 2001’s ‘Spy Kids.

    Way back in 2001, Robert Rodriguez broke into the family film market with ‘Spy Kids’, which starred Carla Gugino, Antonio Banderas, Alexa Vega, and Daryl Sabara in the story of kids who have to become spies to help their secret agent parents with a world-troubling threat.

    The success of that film built a franchise that included three movie sequels and a TV spin-off, plus a variety of other media. We’ve known that he’s been planning to return to the ‘Spy Kids’ universe for a reboot and he’s now locked in the main cast to make up his new secret agent family.

    Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Everly Carganilla and newcomer Connor Esterson are the chosen group, according to Deadline.

    This latest ‘Spy Kids’ chapter is set after the children (Carganilla and Esterson) of the world’s greatest secret agents (Rodriguez, Levi) unwittingly help a powerful game developer unleash a computer virus that gives him control of all technology, leading them to become spies themselves to save their parents and the world. Rodriguez wrote the script with his son, Racer Max, who will also be a producer on the movie.

    With the new movie, it’s a whole new chapter in the story – there’s no word yet whether any of the previous cast will show up either in this movie or any potential sequels.

    Gina Rodriguez in 'Jane The Virgin.'
    Gina Rodriguez in ‘Jane The Virgin.’ Photo: Erica Parise/The CW. © 2019 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

    And unlike the previous films, the latest ‘Spy Kids’ falls under Rodriguez’s deal with Spyglass, Skydance and Netflix, and will premiere on the streaming service. It follows Rodriguez’s previous movie for Netflix, 2020’s ‘We Can Be Heroes’, and the previous ‘Spy Kids’ franchise small-screen spin-off ‘Spy Kids: Mission Critical’.

    From the beginning, Rodriguez’ mission has been to keep his stories diverse. “For me it was a big victory to have the kids in ‘Spy Kids’ be a Latin family,” he said at Comic-Con@Home in 2020. “The studio was like, ‘Why are you making them Latin, though, why don’t you just make them American?” he said. “They are American, they’re based on my family.”

    Rodriguez – Gina, not Robert – is still best known for long-running TV series ‘Jane the Virgin’ and has grown her career successfully since that breakout role. She has a busy schedule right now, between new ABC sitcom ‘Not Dead Yet’ and Amazon survival series ‘Last Known Position’. As for Levi, he’ll be back on big screens leading superhero sequel ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’, which is in theaters on and was most recently seen as football star Kurt Warner in the biopic ‘American Underdog’.

    While Esterson is mostly a newcomer, he did appear in YouTube series ‘Attaway General’. And Carganilla stole scenes as the adorable Maggie in Apple TV+ series ‘The Afterparty’. She’s also been seen in ‘Yes Day’, ‘The Haunted Man’ and, perhaps most appropriately, played the baby version of Gina Rodriguez’s character on ‘Jane the Virgin’.

    The new movie has yet to confirm a release date on Netflix.

    Jack Dylan Grazer and Zachary Levi in 2019's 'Shazam!'
    (L to R) Jack Dylan Grazer and Zachary Levi in 2019’s ‘Shazam!’
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  • Kevin Feige Teases When We’ll See More of Marvel’s Phase 5

    Kevin Feige from Marvel Studios and Brie Larson from 'Captain Marvel'
    (L to R) Kevin Feige from Marvel Studios and Brie Larson from ‘Captain Marvel’ at San Diego Comic-Con International 2016 in San Diego, California. ©Marvel Studios 2016.

    Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is not a man who gives up secrets. Nor is he particularly inclined to offer much more than veiled hints about the next steps in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But he did at least say something…

    “As we’re nearing the end of Phase 4, I think people will start to see where this next saga is going,” confides Feige in the latest issue of Total Film. “I think there have been many clues already, that are at least apparent to me, of where this whole saga is going. But we’ll be a little more direct about that in the coming months, to set a plan, so audiences who want to see the bigger picture can see a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap.”

    Right now, the remaining titles to come from Phase 4 are movies including ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ (more on that below), ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ and ‘The Marvels’. TV output will include ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’, the untitled Halloween special, a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’, ‘Secret Invasion’, ‘Ironheart’ and ‘Armor Wars’.

    Big themes for this phase so far have definitely been the multiverse, with the introduction of Kang (Jonathan Majors), who will crop up in a few more stories, and more cosmic characters.

    In related Marvel news, we got a new look at the next movie to arrive in the hugely successful MCU.

    ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ is headed to theaters on July 7th and sees the return of Chris Hemsworth’s Asgardian warrior.

    In this latest outing, he’s still hanging around with the Guardians of the Galaxy but starts to crave a more peaceful existence. The chances of that are slim to none, though, not least because Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher is out to destroy all beings like our hero.

    And then there’s the not-so-inconsequential matter of his former flame, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who has somehow acquired the powers of the Thunder God himself, including the ability to wield restored hammer Mjolnir.

    With Taika Waititi once more co-writing and directing, it promises to be another blend of comedy and character drama, plus a full helping of thunder-powered action. In this latest look at the movie, we see Thor confronting Gorr and attempting to rally the people of Earth’s New Asgard – a task not helped by insectoid Miek’s screechy whiteboard use.

    And to be filed under the more of a wish list item, Chris Evans has been addressing whether he’d return to the MCU. It sounds like he’s happy keeping Cap wrapped but wouldn’t mind returning as someone else from his Marvel – albeit not MCU – cinematic past.

    “Look, I would love it,” Evans told MTV news about playing Johnny Storm/Human Torch again. “I would love it. That would actually be an easier sell to me than coming back as Cap. You know what I mean? Cap is so precious to me. And you know, I almost don’t wanna disrupt what a beautiful experience that was. But Johnny Storm, I feel like he didn’t really get his day. That was before Marvel really found its footing. So, I loved that role and, you know, who knows?”

    Given that Marvel is developing a new take on the Fantastic Four, we’d guess he won’t be back. But, as Evans says, who knows? It’s a big movie multiverse out there.

    Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm in 2005's 'Fantastic Four.'
    (L to R) Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm in 2005’s ‘Fantastic Four.’
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  • ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Adds New Cast

    Donald Sutherland as Coriolanus Snow in Lionsgate's 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.'
    Donald Sutherland as Coriolanus Snow in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.’ Photo: Lionsgate.

    As pre-production continues on ‘The Hunger Games’ prequel movie ‘The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’, studio Lionsgate has announced five new cast members, who join leads Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth.

    A variety of newcomers and rising stars, Jerome Lance, Ashley Liao, Knox Gibson, Mackenzie Lansing, and Aamer Husain are the latest recruits for the prequel.

    Francis Lawrence, who directed three of the ‘Hunger Games’ movies based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling book series (‘Catching Fire’, ‘Mockingjay – Part 1’ and Mockingjay – Part 2’) is back behind the camera for this new one, which has seen script work from Michael Arndt and, more recently, Michael Lesslie.

    The story, based on Collins’ prequel novel, is set roughly 60 years before the events in the original book trilogy. It finds 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Blyth) as the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Zegler), the girl tribute from impoverished District 12.

    But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.

    Jerome Lance
    Jerome Lance is set to play Marcus, tribute from District 2 in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo: Michael Shelford.

    Lance, who is in his final year at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, will play Marcus, a tribute from District 2.

    Ashley Liao
    Ashley Liao is set to play Clemensia Dovecote, one of Coriolanus’s closest friends and mentor to a tribute from District 11 in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo: Paul Smith.

    Liao, who’s had roles in ‘Always Be My Maybe’, ‘Secret Society of Second Born Royals’ and Apple TV+ series ‘Physical’, will be the character of Clemensia Dovecote, one of Coriolanus’s closest friends and mentor to a tribute from District 11.

    Knox Gibson
    Knox Gibson is set to play Bobbin, tribute from District 8 in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo: Dejan Arsovski.

    Gibson, recently seen in Netflix’s ‘Forgive Us Our Trespasses’ is an athlete and amputee and has spent six years acting in a variety of shows, movies, and commercials. He’ll be seen as Bobbin, tribute from District 8.

    Mackenzie Lansing
    Mackenzie Lansing is set to play Coral, a tribute from District 4 in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo: Jessica Osber.

    Lansing, meanwhile, who appeared in ‘The Deuce’ and ‘Mare of Easttown’ and has shot a role in Gareth Edwards’ new sci-fi movie ‘True Love’, has scored the part of Coral, tribute from District 4.

    Aamer Husain
    Aamer Husain is set to play Felix Ravinstill, mentor to a tribute from District 11 in Lionsgate’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.’ Photo: Curtis & Cort Photography.

    Finally, there’s Husain, making his film debut after working on an episode of Canadian cop drama ‘Hudson & Rex’. He’ll be Felix Ravinstill, mentor to a tribute from District 11.

    Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson are back as producers alongside Lawrence, and the new movie will explore unseen territory, looking into the earlier days of the Hunger Games and their dreadful impact on society of Panem.

    ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ will land in theaters on November 17th, 2023.

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  • Neve Campbell Won’t be Back for Next ‘Scream’ Movie

    Neve Campbell
    Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”

    In the months since the most recent entry in the Ghostface franchise – simply titled ‘Scream’, despite being the fifth movie – we’ve had a flurry of stories that represent good news for fans.

    In February, a month after the latest movie opened, we learned that the next one is already in the works, with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, part of the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence, returning behind the camera along with writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.

    That was followed by word that ‘Scream 4’s Hayden Panettiere would be back as her character, Kirby Reed. And just this month, Dermot Mulroney was recruited to join the movie, set to play a cop (which doesn’t point to the healthiest life expectancy for his character).

    But then came the bad news: Neve Campbell, one of the veterans of the franchise, the woman who has brought stalker slasher survivor Sidney Prescott to life in every one of the movies so far, would not be returning for this new one.

    And, as it turns out, it’s because she’s taking a stand over a lowball pay offer. “Sadly, I won’t be making the next ‘Scream’ film,” Campbell says in a statement. “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to ‘Scream’. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”

    Neve Campbell
    Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”

    Campbell has a point – this is a run of movies that has so far made around $774 million in the last two decades plus, and fans do keep coming back to see how Sidney fares.

    She goes on to add: “It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my ‘’Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”

    The movie has yet to start shooting, so there remains hope that Paramount could dig into its pockets (recently lined with lots of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ money) and put forth a better offer.

    Fellow ‘Scream’ stalwart Courtney Cox will be back for the new movie as Gale Weathers, and the cast is led by the survivors of this year’s ‘Scream’ – Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks-Martin), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks-Martin) and Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), whose characters are moving out of Woodsboro to try and start the next chapter of their lives.

    Little else is known about the plot so far, save that Ghostface will naturally be back to terrorize everyone and there’ll be plenty of references to horror movies. Ortega has described the script as getting “more and more gory” as it goes along, and that the masked menace will be “the most aggressive and violent version” yet.

    ‘Scream 6’ is due in theaters on March 31, 2023.

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  • Todd Phillips Offers ‘Joker’ Sequel Update

    Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips' 'Joker.'
    Joaquin Phoenix in Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker.’

    It has been a few months since we heard anything new about the ‘Joker’ sequel that co-writer/director Todd Phillips has been busy scripting.

    But from the looks of Phillips’ latest Instagram post, things are moving smoothly along, with the script reaching its latest draft and, according to the other image on the post, star Joaquin Phoenix reading it.

    There’s also that title: ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ which in case your high school French isn’t up to the task, translates to the term for a mental disorder that affects more than one person.

    No story details were offered up, but that highbrow title could refer to the pervasive influence of Arthur Fleck’s (Phoenix) actions in the first film. His brand of chaos certainly appeared to be spreading in Gotham. Phillips’ film was a dark, gritty, take on the Clown Prince of Crime, much more in the mood of a Martin Scorsese crime film than you usual superhero outing. It told the story of Fleck, a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society.

    A clown-for-hire by day, he aspires to be a stand-up comic at night… But finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty, Arthur makes one bad decision that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events.

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    According to Deadline, Phoenix liked what he saw enough to kick off negotiations to return as Fleck, as while he had a sequel clause in his contract for the original, he has enough clout that Warners will need to stump up a hefty pay rise to make sure he returns for sure.

    News of further developments will be good news for Warner Bros. Discovery and DC, which saw the first ‘Joker’ go on to gross more than $1 billion at the box office and pick up 11 Oscar nominations, winning two – for Phoenix as Best Actor and Original Score for composer Hildur Guðnadóttir.

    Phillips has dropped hints of his working on a sequel in the past, and as recently as this January mentioned he and co-writer Scott Silver delivering earlier screenplay drafts to the studio.

    Naturally, the companies would like a follow-up now that Phillips has the story he wants to tell. From the looks of this, we could see the movie start filming this year.

    And Phillips’ involvement with the DC Movies structure as a whole could be changing since incoming Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav has apparently asked him to consider serving as an advisor for the DC movie universe going forward. Unlike Kevin Feige, who runs Marvel Studios for Disney, overseeing their movies and TV shows, Phillips would strictly work on a non-executive level.

    Also, unlike Feige, Phillips doesn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of the comic books, so if he does take the job, chances are he might be paired with someone boasting that sort of experience, while he’ll handle filmmaking choices. Whether that comes about, of course, remains to be seen, though for now he’ll be focused on figuring out this one movie.

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  • First Look at Leslie Grace as ‘Batgirl’

    Leslie Grace as 'Batgirl'
    (Via Instagram) Leslie Grace as ‘Batgirl’

    “Holy new costume, Batgirl!”

    Actress Leslie Grace set the Internet ablaze late on Friday when she premiered on her Instagram account a first look photo of herself as Barbara Gordon in her full superhero costume for the upcoming HBO Max movie ‘Batgirl.’

    The film is currently shooting in Scotland for a late 2022 release on the streaming service and will also see Oscar winner J.K. Simmons return as Barbara’s dad, Commissioner James Gordon, as well as Michael Keaton’s return as Bruce Wayne/Batman, after his upcoming appearance in November’s ‘The Flash.’

    The photo reveals a purple and yellow Batgirl suit reminiscent of the costume the character wore in DC Comics’ 2011 reboot “The New 52,” which was also the template for most of the previous DCEU movies.

    Grace also posted along with the photo a quote from the seminal 2003 series, “Batgirl: Year One” by Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon. “I use their expectations against them. That will be their weakness. Not mine. Let them all underestimate me…and when their guard is down, and their pride is rising, let me kick their butts.”

     

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    A post shared by Leslie Grace (@lesliegrace)

    Created by television producer William Dozier, editor Julius Schwartz, writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino for inclusion in the 1960’s ‘Batman’ TV show, the character made its debut first in Detective Comics #359 before appearing in the third season of the series in 1967.

    ‘Batgirl’ will mark the third time the iconic crime fighter has appeared in live-action following Yvonne Craig in the ‘Batman’ TV series, and Alicia Silverstone’s performance in 1997’s ‘Batman and Robin.’

    In the comics, Gordon is eventually injured by the Joker, and becomes the paraplegic computer expert, Oracle. While there is no indication that this version of the character will appear in “Batgirl,’ Oracle has appeared in live-action television series including the 2002 show ‘Birds of Prey’ played by Dina Meyer, and more recently in the third season of ‘Titans,’ portrayed by Savannah Welch.

    With ‘The Flash’ set to introduce the idea of the DC Multiverse, and bring Michael Keaton’s Batman back into the fold, it’s a little unclear which DC universe the movie will take place in. Simmons returning as James Gordon would indicate that it is a continuation of Zack Snyder’s DCEU, but Keaton’s inclusion, and not Ben Affleck’s, means all bets are off.

    Directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (‘Bad Boys for Life’), written by Christina Hodson (2020’s ‘Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)’), and also starring Brendan Fraser as the villain Firefly, ‘Batgirl’ is set for release on HBO Max later this year.

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