1979’s ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Preview:
John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are developing a new ‘Star Trek’ Movie.
They’ve come up with a new idea not connected to previous movies or shows.
They’re also writing the script.
While the TV side of the franchise has been ticking along nicely, big-screen ‘Star Trek’ fell into something of a black hole, with little progress towards theaters.
At least, they’re aboard to develop a new movie (more on that below), with the hopes of kickstarting the franchise back to life. Will they succeed? Others have tried and failed (again, see below), but we’re certainly hoping to see them give it a shot.
What has been happening with big-screen ‘Star Trek’?
(L to R) Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto in ‘Star Trek Beyond’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
The movies have been mired in development limbo since ‘Star Trek Beyond’ opened to less-than-thrilling box office in 2016.
There have been various films announced or reported upon, including a return for Chris Pine’s Kirk and co. from J.J. Abrams’ “Kelvin” timeline movies, a one-off by Quentin Tarantino (which always seemed less likely to happen) and the more recent word of a prequel/origin story to be directed by ‘Andor’s Toby Haynes with a script by Seth Grahame-Smith.
The latter may still happen (with Paramount going on a “try anything” spree), but there was more recent word of ‘X-Men’ veteran Simon Kinberg being hired as the producer overseeing the whole thing. There’s no mention of him in Deadline’s story about Daley and Goldstein’s deal, but perhaps he will be around to help out?
What’s the story for this latest ‘Trek’ development?
Chris Pine in 2009’s ‘Star Trek’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Little is known about what Daley and Goldstein have planned for ‘Star Trek’, though new Paramount overseer David Ellison said on a recent earnings call that it would not be a sequel in the Pine-led series but something different with new actors.
Which is almost a shame, since Pine clearly enjoyed working with the directors on ‘Dungeons & Dragons’…
When will this new ‘Star Trek’ movie head to screens?
If you’ll pardon us, given recent history we won’t hold our breath just yet until this thing actually has a trailer.
(L to R) Directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley and Chris Pine on the set of ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
‘Bridgerton’ breakout Regé-Jean Page will star in a new movie based on ‘The Count of Monte Cristo.’
It’s the latest adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas novel.
Page plays a man who seeks revenge against those who wronged him.
Having broken out impressively playing Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings in the first season of Netflix’s period drama smash ‘Bridgerton,’ Regé-Jean Page has spent the last few years securing some interesting supporting work and a few leading roles.
And, like many of his peers, he’s also turned his hand to producing movies and TV shows, looking to keep his schedule busy with roles he chooses and develops.
He formed production company A Mighty Stranger with business partner Emily Brown, and the pair are now, via Deadline, setting up a new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel ‘The Count of Monte Cristo.’
It’s all coming together via independent production studio Department M, overseen by producers Mike Larocca and Michael Schaefer, who are developing the movie with Page and Brown.
Guy Pearce in 2002’s ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’. Photo: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.
Originally serialized from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of Dumas’ most popular works, along with ‘The Three Musketeers’ and ‘Man in the Iron Mask.’
The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the era of the Bourbon Restoration through the reign of Louis Philippe I.
Before he can marry his fiancée Mercédès, Edmond Dantès, a French nineteen-year-old first mate of the merchant ship Pharaon, is falsely accused of treason, arrested, and imprisoned without trial in the Château d’If, a grim island fortress off Marseille.
A fellow prisoner, Abbé Faria, correctly deduces that romantic rival Fernand Mondego, envious crewmate Danglars, and double-dealing magistrate De Villefort are responsible for his imprisonment.
Over the course of their long imprisonment, Faria educates Dantès and, knowing himself close to death, inspires him to retrieve for himself a cache of treasure Faria had discovered.
After Faria dies, Dantès escapes and finds the treasure. As the fabulously wealthy, powerful and mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, he enters the fashionable Parisian world of the 1830s to avenge himself.
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Having long been considered a classic, the book has been adapted countless times before, including the most recent movie in 2024, directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière and starring Pierre Niney.
“Bold, adventurous storytelling with heart is the reason I got into this business, and is the backbone of everything we’re making. Working alongside incredible collaborators, A Mighty Stranger is building a slate of creative-led projects that will broaden the cultural lens through pure entertainment. That’s why we’re so excited to be bringing ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ to global audiences, unlocking the depths of Dumas’ work in ways not seen yet.”
Though he’d been working on stage and on screens big and small before ‘Bridgerton,’ it was his role in the Shondaland series that really brought him to major public attention and onto the list of filmmakers looking for leading men.
Other credits include another Shonda Rhimes’ series, ‘For the People’ and his role as “Chicken George” in 2016 in History Channel’s miniseries remake ‘Roots,’ nominated for seven Emmys.
He’s been attached for a while to a new movie take on action series ‘The Saint,’ though that is currently in development limbo, and is more actively gearing up to appear in ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ series, for the Russos’ AGBO company, with Page in the Cassidy role.
When will ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ be on screens?
With no distributor aboard just yet, we’ll have to wait and see when the new movie scores a release date.
(L to R) Justice Smith plays Simon, Chris Pine plays Edgin, Rege-Jean Page plays Xenk, Sophia Lillis plays Doric and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
(L to R) Hugh Grant plays Forge in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
Hugh Grant, a man not normally known for starring in horror movies –– please, no jokes about ‘Nine Months’ or ‘Mickey Blue Eyes’ –– is taking a rare dip into scary territory for a new film.
He’s boarding ‘Heretic’ which has a script from, and will be directed by, ‘A Quiet Place’ duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods for arthouse movie specialists A24.
(L to R) Andie MacDowell and Hugh Grant backstage during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
What’s the story of ‘Heretic’?
With the details and deals still all coming together, ‘Heretic’ is still mostly a mystery at this point. Still, Deadline has heard that it is rumored to center on two young women of faith who are lured into a cat-and-mouse game in the home of an eccentric man.
Grant, unless he’s really taking a chance this time, is most likely playing the eccentric. We can well imagine him switching from charming to creepy.
It’s the latest project from Beck and Woods, who last co-wrote and co-directed sci-fi movie ‘65’, which saw Adam Driver as an astronaut from another planet crash-landing on Earth during the time of the dinosaurs.
A24 might appear an unlikely landing spot for their new outing, but the company has never shied away from genre, and saw ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ take off to box office and Oscar success.
When he’s not busy being snarky and obscure on red carpets, Grant has been enjoying something of a renaissance in his career of late, thanks partly to a vanity-free and sometimes showstopping turn as preening performer Phoenix Buchanan in 2017’s ‘Paddington 2’ and his switch to a more villainous side with the likes of Guy Ritchie’s ‘The Gentlemen’ and ‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’. He also tapped into a darker aspect in HBO miniseries ‘The Undoing’ playing the cheating husband of Nicole Kidman.
More recently, he was smooth-talking conman Forge Fitzwilliam in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’, chewing the scenery and proving to be one of the highlights of a movie not short of them.
The fun career choices are continuing as later this year, he’ll be seen as, of all things, an Oompa-Loompa, opposite Timothée Chalamet in Warner Bros.’ origin story prequel film ‘Wonka’. That movie, due out on December 15th, was directed by ‘Paddington’s Paul King.
In keeping with the quirkiness, another movie awaiting release (this time via Netflix) is Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘Unfrosted’ the story of rival cereal companies vying to create what became the Pop-Tart.
Grant will also be back on HBO with ‘The Regime’, a drama with satirical underpinnings starring Kate Winslet that follows the unravelling of an authoritarian regime. That one is set to arrive next year but doesn’t have a specific date yet.
Like ‘The Regime’, it’s too early for ‘Heretic’, but we can’t imagine it much before late 2024 at the earliest, particularly with the writers’ strike still in full swing.
(L to R) Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine and Hugh Grant from Paramount’s ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
(L to R) Justice Smith plays Simon, Chris Pine plays Edgin, Sophia Lillis plays Doric and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
They’re helped by a charming cast that have solid chemistry, a witty script that channels everything from ‘Lord of the Rings’ to ‘Monty Python’ and an enchanting visual style that is bursting with impressive effects work.
If you’re a longtime player of the game, chances are you’ll have a good time spotting the various references and easter eggs sprinkled within the film, but if you don’t know your Paladin from your Cleric, you don’t need to swot up to understand the story.
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What happens in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’?
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ takes as its basis the tabletop gaming system invented in 1974 by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and currently overseen by the company known as Wizards of the Coast. It’s the sort of elemental fantasy world that has been copycatted many, many times. And yet, it still feels original here.
We’re introduced to Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), a charming bard-turned-thief and his best friend, barbarian Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez), who are cooling their heels in prison after being caught on a job trying to steal magical artefacts.
Betrayed by Forge Fitzwilliam (Hugh Grant) and dark magic acolyte Sofina (Daisy Head), the pair must make good their escape and recruit a band of unlikely adventurers (including Justice Smith’s lackluster wizard Simon Aumar and Sophia Lillis’ shape-changing druid Doric to undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
The stakes are high: the artifact that Edgin and his original associates retrieved has been used by Sofina and her group of evil red wizards to unleash an army of the undead and general chaos upon the fantasy world. Our heroes must make things right, assuming they can stop squabbling along the way…
(L to R) Hugh Grant plays Forge in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
‘Dungeons & Dragons’ is powered by fun performances
Making full use of the entertaining script written by writer/directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, the cast make this latest stab at ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ work far beyond the ill-fated 2000 movie.
Pine, who has proven he can handle a blend of comedy, heart and action with movies such as the ‘Star Trek’ franchise, here makes for a typically appealing leading man while sending himself up at times. His Edgin is such a charming rogue, just this side of annoying but never smug.
Key to his character’s appeal is the fact that he’s not your basic action protagonist –– he’s heroic and can handle himself, but he’d much rather let Holga deal with any fighting. Rodriguez, usually found within the ‘Fast & Furious’ ensemble, gets more of a chance to have fun here, similarly undercutting the expectations of her character and proving to have a great buddy comedy connection with Pine. One of the smartest moves was to eschew a basic romantic storyline for these two, making the story feel like it isn’t the 500th variation of a well-used tale.
Her character is also the focus of a very enjoyable cameo from a big movie star that has yet to be widely reported, so we won’t spoil it here.
Grant mostly channels his smooth-talking Phoenix Buchanan from ‘Paddington 2’ to play Forge, but while he’s a low-level antagonist who only has a few key scenes, he steals most of them.
Smith and Lillis make for a great duo: he the nervy wizard struggling with self-esteem and his magical abilities, she the cagey druid who can become almost anything she wishes to be but would rather not hang out with humans. And while Pine and Rodriguez enjoy the lion’s share of the material, Grant, Smith and Lillis all have enough moments to keep their characters memorable.
Plus, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Regé-Jean Page’s Xenk Yendar, who the crew seeks out for help. A ramrod straight hero in the classic mold, he’s a blend of Drax from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and Christopher Reeve‘s Superman. He doesn’t appear in a lot of the movie, but he certainly makes an impact.
The movie as a whole has been carefully calibrated to have as wide an appeal as possible, putting a truly entertaining spin on heroes, villains and even exposition –– the image of heroes getting information out of a series of resurrected corpses is one that will stick (and still make you laugh) for days afterwards.
(L to R) Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga, Justice Smith plays Simon and Chris Pine plays Edgin in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
‘Dungeons & Dragons’ might not be for everyone
There are still elements of the movie that could turn people off: if you’re not a fan of the “Marvelization” of blockbusters putting jokes into adventure or action, this movie might not be the best entry point.
The jokes tend to be more on the chuckle level than giant belly laughs (though there are certainly a few of those here, including a moment featuring both the “dungeon” and “dragon” part of the title). And, yes, it is another movie where a group of quippy heroes have to go on a quest to find a magic thing to fix a situation wrought by a magical baddie. But it does some interesting things with that very basic concept.
At more than two hours, there are small moments that drag and odd sections that don’t support the running time expended on it, but those are few and far between. And if you came to the movie expecting to see plenty of Page’s character, he’s in a couple of scenes and then vanishes for most of the movie until the end. That’s not necessarily a problem, but he works so well with the rest of the ensemble and is so straightforwardly heroic that you might actually miss him when he leaves (in a straight line, jumping over a rock… it’s a thing).
Fantasy is a tricky genre to infuse with humor, but ‘Honor Among Thieves’ pulls it off with aplomb. In a world where even the shoddy 2000 movie can generate sequels, this one deserves to roll a saving throw and spawn a franchise, as, handled correctly, these are characters you’ll want to spend more time with.
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.
(L to R) Justice Smith plays Simon, Chris Pine plays Edgin, Rege-Jean Page plays Xenk, Sophia Lillis plays Doric and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
Other Movies Similar to ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves:’
If there was one major take-away from the ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, it was that Hugh Grant should be on as many panels as he wants to be. Whether he’s in the show, movie, comic or game being pimped or not.
If there was another major take-away from the panel, it was that ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ looks like a whole lot of fun.
While ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ as a concept doesn’t have the greatest cinematic history (the 2000 version, which starred Jeremy Irons, Justin Whalin and Marlon Wayans is infamously divisive among movie fans, and scored terrible reviews), ‘Honor Among Thieves’ – or at least the footage shown at Comic-Con – is certainly on a better footing so far.
(L to R) Regé-Jean Page, Sophia Lillis, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Pine and Hugh Grant from Paramount’s ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
Daley and Goldstein, who previously made the likes of ‘Game Night’, both had history as D&D players, and the cast also made mention of the board games’ impact of their lives – even if it was limited to knowing it exists.
In a funny, relaxed panel dominated by Grant’s humorous reactions to every question – he ran the gamut from S&M jokes to dropping a ‘Notting Hill’ referencing while quipping that this was his first time at the Con “but we tried to come for ‘Sense & Sensibility’ – the cast and creators offered some insight into making the movie but also showed off their easy chemistry.
‘Honor Among Thieves’ promises the story of a charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers, who undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
Pine plays a Danny Ocean-in-fantasy world style character, who makes plans but also plays the lute. Rodriguez is a powerful barbarian who provides the muscle, while Page is a heroic paladin. Smith is a sorcerer, Lillis a druid and Grant appears as Forge Fletcher, a rogue and the movie’s main antagonist.
Paramount’s ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
There are magical items to find (naturally) and one in particular that has unleashed a terrible evil. But basic fantasy plot aside, the movie has a very Taika Waititi feel to it, blending comedy with action and subverting our expectations.
As the panel ended, the first full trailer for the movie played (find it above) and showed off just some of what the movie will have to offer. Dragons? Check. Dungeons? Yep. Magical mayhem? Sure. Creatures galore? You betcha.
Effects teams are still hard at work on this one (Daley shouted out ILM and Legacy Effects “who brought you Baby Yoda” as the main providers) and we can expect to see ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ in theaters on March 3 next year.
(L to R) Justice Smith plays Simon, Sophia Lillis plays Doric, Chris Pine plays Edgin and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures.(L to R) Chris Pine plays Edgin and Regé-Jean Page plays Xenk in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures.Paramount Pictures’ ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ opens in theaters on March 3rd 2023.
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Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt in ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout,’ from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
It might boast one of the biggest movie stars left in the world – also known as Mr. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV in its stable -but Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation didn’t quite match the scale of some of the other studios preceding it on the schedule.
Still, Paramount did have some news to share, with Cruise sending a video from (because of course) a plane above South Africa where he’s busy filming the eighth ‘Mission: Impossible’ movie. Which is fitting, because the big announcement from Paramount is that the seventh ‘Mission’ movie is called ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’.
We do know that the two movies are supposed to be connected, and the title gives ominous feelings as to what could be happening to heroic agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise). Still, this is a man who has cheated death many times over, so don’t count him out just yet.
“Let’s all try to have a great summer. See you at the movies!” Cruise exclaimed before his plane plummeted into a canyon (it was all part of a bit, he’s fine as usual). He introduced the first look at a teaser for ‘Dead Reckoning Part One’ and the entirety of his latest movie, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’. While no direct mention was made, there’s a good chance the ‘Mission’ trailer will be attached to ‘Maverick’ when the long-awaited ‘Top Gun’ sequel touches down on May 27th.
‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ arrives in theaters on July 14th next year, followed by the eighth film on June 28th, 2024.
(L to R) Knuckles (Idris Elba) and Sonic (Ben Schwartz) in ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 2’ from Paramount Pictures and Sega.
Paramount has been having a good year in terms of box office so far – with movies including ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 2’ ‘Jackass Forever’ and ‘Scream’ topping the charts upon release and making money.
“When I started this job six months ago, I was asked what do I think the business will be in a post-pandemic world?” studio chief Brian Robbins told the crowd. “What I responded was pretty much exactly what Paramount looked like so far this year. All four of our releases this year have opened to No. 1 at the box office and with ‘Top Gun’ we think we have a really good shot at making it five for five. None of this would have been possible if we had not doubled down in our faith in our release dates.”
In lieu of bringing up separate filmmakers and actors to introduce its upcoming batch of releases (probably because screening ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ ate up much of the time), the studio showed a sizzle reel.
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ will open in theaters on March 3rd, 2023.
Also shown? Footage from ‘La La Land’ director Damien Chazelle’s new jazz-era old-Hollywood drama. Margot Robbie stars as an anxious actress, demanding her close-up, intoning, “You don’t become a star, you either are one or you ain’t.”
And the new ‘Mission’ wasn’t the only title announced by Paramount: we now know that the ‘A Quiet Place’ spin-off, to be directed by ‘Pig’s Michael Sarnoski, will be called ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’, and, as the name suggests, is a prequel.
It’ll explore a family other than the usual Abbots of the first two main ‘Quiet Place’ movies trying to survive on the day the aliens first arrive – which was briefly show in the dramatic opening to ‘A Quiet Place Part II’.
‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ will be in theaters on September 23rd next year. ‘Quiet Place’ overseer John Krasinski is also developing a third main movie, though no details were offered.
(L-R) Noah Jupe and director John Krasinski and on the set of Paramount Pictures’ “A Quiet Place Part II.”
