Moviefone Editorial

Tag: 2018

  • ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ Reveals Release Date With Impressive Mannequin Challenge

    a wrinkle in time, release date, mannequin challenge, ava duvernay, storm reidDirector Ava DuVernay is hard at work on her upcoming big screen adaptation of classic novel “A Wrinkle in Time,” but couldn’t resist roping the cast and crew into participating in the latest internet craze, the Mannequin Challenge. Luckily for fans eager to learn more about the film, the fun diversion also served a dual purpose, with the clip ultimately ending on the reveal of the flick’s release date.

    But first, viewers were treated to an impressive display of dozens of crew members — including camera operators, sound techs, craft service employees, hair and makeup artists, and any and every other position you can imagine that makes a film set hum — all standing frozen in place. The camera pans through the maze of people, up the steps of what appears to be the Murray house (the home of the film’s central family), where several young actors are prepping for the shoot (including recent addition Rowan Blanchard).

    The clip ends with DuVernay herself framing a shot of the film’s main star, Storm Reid (playing Meg Murray, the protagonist searching for her missing scientist father), clutching a copy of the film’s script. On the cover is scrawled the release date: April 6, 2018.

    “A Wrinkle in Time” also stars Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis, André Holland, Levi Miller, Deric McCabe, Bellamy Young, and Will McCormack. We can’t wait to see the impressive cast in action in 2018.

    [via: Ava DuVernay]

    Photo credit: Ava DuVernay/Twitter

  • James Cameron Claims There Will Be Four ‘Avatar’ Sequels Now, and They Have (Alleged) Release Dates

    There’s no denying the success of “Avatar,” James Cameron’s groundbreaking 2009 blockbuster, which still holds the record as the highest-grossing movie of all time worldwide, with a whopping $2.79 billion in the bank. But its long-planned sequels have been anything but successful so far: An ambitious shooting schedule has still not begun; the initially promised two follow-ups suddenly morphed into three; and the films’ planned release dates have all been pushed back multiple times, before being abandoned altogether.

    Will these films ever see the light of day? (Or better yet, even begin production at all?) Cameron still claims the answer is yes, and has revealed that he’s now adding a fourth sequel to the mix.

    Cameron’s surprising announcement came on Thursday during a panel at CinemaCon, in which the director proclaimed that the four flicks — “Avatar 2,” “Avatar 3,” “Avatar 4,” and “Avatar 5” — would be hitting theaters around Christmastime in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023, respectively.

    “We’re making four epic films, each one of which stands alone but together form a complete saga,” Cameron told the crowd, adding that it became clear after beginning work on the first two sequels that there was a larger tale to be told.

    “There is too much story and visionary ideas for two sequels,” the writer-director explained. “So we talked to Fox and expanded it to three sequels. Now that the script work is finishing up, it’s not three. It looks like four. So after talking it through with our partners at Fox and giving it a lot of thought, we decided to embark on a truly massive cinematic project.”

    Massive is certainly the right word for it. But can anyone believe Cameron at this point? Sure, the director took his time making “Avatar,” his eagerly-awaited follow-up to 1997’s “Titanic” which needed 12 years to materialize. But that flick eventually actually started production, and actually was released.

    In the sequels’ case, the first follow-up was tentatively scheduled to hit theaters in late 2016, before moving to late 2017, and then moving off the schedule entirely. (That was after a third flick was added to the mix; back in 2012, when there were still only two planned sequels, “Avatar 2” was optimistically slated for release sometime in 2014.) And the last update on the project noted that production (set for back-to-back-to-back shooting in New Zealand — perhaps now back-to-back-to-back-to-back?) still hadn’t begun. So forgive us if we remain more than a little skeptical at this point.

    Stay tuned to see if this ambitious plan pans out. We suppose if anyone is up for the challenge, it’s Cameron. Just don’t be surprised if those release dates change yet again — or if “Avatar 6” is announced soon after.

    [via: WSJ Speakeasy]

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  • ‘Blade Runner 2’ Gets 2018 Release Date (and Possible Oscar Campaign)

    It’s been more than 30 years since Ridley Scott‘s sci-fi flick “Blade Runner” first hit theaters, and at long last, a sequel is set to begin production later this year. Now, that long-awaited follow-up has an official release date, though its location on the Hollywood calendar has provoked some head scratching.

    Here’s what we can say for certain so far: Studio Warner Bros. has announced January 12, 2018 as the release date for “Blade Runner 2,” which will be overseen by original director Ridley Scott, and toplined by returning star Harrison Ford and new addition Ryan Gosling. Throw in original co-writer Hampton Fancher, back to co-write the sequel script, and director Denis Villeneuve, hot off critical darlings “Prisoners” and “Sicario,” and you have quite the impressive pedigree for a project some three decades in the making.

    That pedigree is precisely why so many industry watchers are confused about the aforementioned release date, though. It’s long been known that January is considered a dumping ground for less-than-stellar Hollywood projects. But with its high nostalgia factor, talented crew, and big-name cast, “Blade Runner 2” doesn’t exactly appear to be one of them. So why the apparent banishment to January?

    As Collider speculates, that day could actually be the wide release date, with a limited December 2017 run — just in time for Oscar eligibility — planned out later for awards-seeking purposes. It’s the same strategy that Warner Bros. took with “American Sniper,” which wound up with a bunch of Oscar nominations (not to mention other awards season love), and a huge box office haul, too; WB may be hoping to recreate that success with “Blade Runner 2.”

    Whatever the reasoning, fans of the original are no doubt thrilled that this flick is happening at all, and has a real, tangible release in sight. Production on “Blade Runner 2” begins this summer. Perhaps an Oscar campaign will follow?

    [via: Collider]

    Photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

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  • ‘Transformers’ 5, 6, and 7 Get Release Dates

    There will be at least three more movies in the money-printing “Transformers” series, with studio Paramount announcing on Friday release dates for the fifth, sixth, and seventh installments in the franchise.

    Fans of the series should be pleased, since they’re guaranteed a new film in the franchise every year for at least three years, beginning in 2017. “Transformers 5” is slated for release on June 23, 2017, followed by “Transformers 6” on June 8, 2018, and then “Transformers 7” on June 28, 2019.

    Like Marvel and DC before them, it seems that Paramount is rolling out an ambitious “Transformers” schedule in an effort to establish itself as an anticipated annual presence at the summer box office. The series will face some big competition from the DC camp and Warner Bros. when “Transformers 5” opens against “Wonder Woman” next summer. It will then go head-to-head with “Godzilla 2” (another Warner Bros. property) when “Transformers 6” hits in 2018.

    The first four “Transformers” flicks have earned a combined $3.8 billion at the worldwide box office, and Paramount no doubt hopes that there’s plenty more where that came from. Director Michael Bay will be back at the helm for his fifth outing with the franchise, though he’s said it will be his last “Transformers” flick. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” star Mark Wahlberg is also set to return.

    [via: The Hollywood Reporter]

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