Keanu Reeves speaks onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
‘Little Children’s Todd Field is directing, while ‘Castle Rock’ veteran Sam Shaw will serve as writer, showrunner and exec producer.
Larson’s scrupulously researched and endlessly compelling tome covers a true story but does it in thrilling novelistic style.
It chronicles two men: Daniel H. Burnham, a brilliant and fastidious architect racing to mark his mark on the world, and serial killer Dr H. H. Holmes, who might not have gained the infamy of Jack the Ripper but is alleged to have killed a slew of people around the time of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.
That said, there is something definitely compelling about the idea of Reeves as a serial killer. It would be a real shift from his usual roles (though you could argue that John Wick has killed way more people than Holmes, even if it was out of necessity and his targets are all bad people as opposed to innocent victims).
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’
This is a project with a lengthy development history. Back in 2002, Leonardo DiCaprio learned of the book’s existence. He then discovered that Tom Cruise had already bought the movie rights and was working on an adaptation with the help of Kathryn Bigelow and her ‘K-19: The Widowmaker’ writer Christopher Kyle.
Not to be outdone, DiCaprio dug up all the public domain information he could about the case and started to put the pieces together for his own movie, looking to beat Cruise to theaters.
Yet years in limbo for both movies ended with little forward movement, and the rights eventually ended up back on the open market in 2010. Seeing his chance, DiCaprio snapped them up, intending to star in (as Holmes) and produce the project with his Appian Way business partner Jennifer Davisson Killoran. In a statement, they called the book “truly a one-of-its-kind American story about our nation’s first serial killer. We’re excited to bring it to the big screen.”
With the rights in hand, DiCaprio and his team set about working up their new version. And, in a move that should surprise exactly no one, DiCaprio planned to reunite with regular collaborator Martin Scorsese. Warner Bros. was quick to grab the package given that combo, and then had Graham Moore write at least one draft of the script.
Yet it didn’t quite gel, and then Paramount won the rights in a 2015 bidding war, sealing a new deal with DiCaprio and co, while Billy Ray wrote the latest version of the script.
Still, even that level of talent attachment is no guarantee of a greenlight and the movie version sat in limbo for a few more years. Cut to 2019, and the Hulu deal was announced, DiCaprio and Scorsese staying aboard, but only as executive producers.
This marks Reeves’ biggest TV role to date, but there’s no word yet on whether DiCaprio will be joining him on screen (his continued big screen work with Scorsese makes that unlikely). It’s just good to see some actual forward movement for this one, a killer concept if ever there was one.
Keanu Reeves onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
When a group of animals receive super powers, Lex Luthor’s (Marc Maron) guinea pig Lulu (Kate McKinnon) captures the Justice League and attacks Metropolis. Krypto (Dwayne Johnson), Superman’s (John Krasinski) dog, must now learn to work with his new friend Ace (Kevin Hart), in order to rescue his owner.
With the help of a turtle called Merton McSnurtle (Natasha Lyonne), Chip the squirrel (Diego Luna), and a pig named PB (Vanessa Bayer), Krypto must team with the other Super-Pets to defeat Lulu and save Superman, Batman (Keanu Reeves) and the rest of the JLA.
The result is a really fun, funny, and emotionally heart-warming animated movie filled with DC Easter eggs that is really about the love we share for our pets, and the unconditional love they give back to us.
The movie begins with a new origin story for Superman’s (Krasinski) dog Krypto (Johnson), which shows that Jor-El sent him with baby Kal-El to Earth to protect him while Krypton was exploding. Years later, Kal-El is all gown-up now living in Metropolis as Clark Kent by day and Superman by night, fighting crime with Krypto as his partner.
We soon meet Ace (Hart), a dog living with other animals at an animal shelter. While Ace devises a plan for he and the other animals to escape, Lulu (McKinnon), a guinea pig and former pet of Lex Luthor (Maron), utilizes orange Kryptonite to give herself and the other animals super powers. Using an army of mutated guinea pigs as her minions, she captures the Justice League and begins to destroy Metropolis.
With Superman missing, Krypto teams with the now super-powered Ace and his friends to form the League of Super-Pets in order to save the Justice League and stop Lulu. But Krypto only knows how to work with Superman and must now learn from his new friends how to be a team player.
‘DC League of Super-Pets’ works on several different levels and is a thoroughly enjoyable animated movie on all fronts. For kids, there is a lot of humor, lovable characters and fantastic animation. For adults, there is a sweet and sophisticated story about the unconditional love that our pets give us. And for DC fans, there are enough comic book Easter eggs and deep cut characters to make your head spin.
Writer and director Jared Stern, who helped pen the equally excellent ‘The Lego Batman Movie,’ perfectly captured the humor and fun of these classic DC characters that are pulled from different points of the cannon.
For example, Superman has a 1940’s Max Fleischercartoons inspired costume, but the character resembles Christopher Reeve. Aquaman has his 90’s era hook, while the filmmakers chose to include the recent version of Green Lantern from the comics, Jessica Cruz. All of this leads to a well-balanced and exciting animated version of the Justice League.
The voice cast is excellent, including actor and comedian Marc Maron, who plays a very realistic version of Lex Luthor. While her role is somewhat limited, Jameela Jamil plays an excellent version of as Wonder Woman, one that I wouldn’t mind seeing in live-action someday.
And speaking of actors we’d like to see reprise their roles in live-action, can someone please make a Batman movie starring Keanu Reeves already! The ‘John Wick’ actor is very funny but also very emotional playing an extremely depressed and haunted version of the Caped Crusader.
Kate McKinnon is also at her best in this film portraying the hilarious and absolutely evil Lulu. The actress is clearly having a lot of fun in her role, and the character is a great advisory for both the animal and human heroes in the movie.
But the film wouldn’t work quite as well as it did if not for the voice work of Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. The two actors have worked together before, and have great chemistry on and off the set, which is apparent watching the film and adds to their characters’ relationship.
Hart, who is certainly funny in the movie, gives a more layered and emotional performance than we’ve seen from him in the past, which works really well for his character. You understand by the end of the movie why Ace is destined to partner with Batman, and the film gives a new origin story for himself and the other previously established DC animal characters in the movie.
Johnson, who seems to be taking over DC with ‘Black Adam’ headed to theaters in October, was the perfect actor to play Krypto. His voice is familiar and already associated in audience’s minds with heroics, doing half of the actor’s job for him before he utters his first line. But he also brings Krypto to life in a way we haven’t seen before, showing off his fears as much as his strength, while emphasizing his unconditional love and faithfulness to Superman.
In the end, if you take the DC elements out of the film, you still have an extremely charming and funny animated movie about the unconditional love we have for our pets and they have for us. What ‘DC League of Super-Pets’ does best is remind us that every dog is a superhero!
‘DC League of Super-Pets’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.
The movie stars Dwayne Johnson as Krypto, Superman’s (John Krasinski) dog. When a group of animals receive super powers, Lex Luthor’s (Marc Maron) guinea pig Lulu (Kate McKinnon) captures the Justice League and attacks Metropolis.
Now, Krypto must learn to work with his new friends, including a dog named Ace (Kevin Hart), a turtle called Merton McSnurtle (Natasha Lyonne), and Chip the squirrel (Diego Luna) in order to defeat Lulu and save Superman, Batman (Keanu Reeves) and the rest of the JLA.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with writer and director Jared Stern about his work on ‘DC’s League of Super-Pets,’ creating new origins and designs for the characters, the DC animal characters they did not use, working with Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart, casting Keanu Reeves and Marc Maron, and why every dog is a superhero.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about creating new origin stories for Krypto and Ace the Bat-Hound in ‘DC League of Super-Pets?’
Jared Stern: We’re fans of the comics. We never wanted to do something that felt wrong. But we also wanted to do something that felt original and fresh for our universe. Krypto has a few different origin stories over the course of comics’ canon. There’s one that’s really cool where he was set up as almost a test subject to make sure that baby Superman’s escape pod worked. Then in a convoluted way, he ends up getting to Earth after Superboy has already grown a bit, which was too confusing, but it’s a very cool story.
So that one was just a little confusing but it’s so much more emotional in our movie, hopefully, and gives you the connection right away that these two are best friends forever. So, when something gets in the way of that for Krypto, it’s going to be a huge deal. So, that’s why we went with the origin story that we did there.
Then for Ace, there’s multiple origin stories for him too, but I liked the notion of telling a story about a shelter pet, a dog who’s been there for a long time. Puppies get adopted more quickly than adult dogs and just the notion of the veteran, the guy that takes care of the other pets at the shelter. They’re idiots, but they’re his idiots, like ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’ So, that just seemed to work for our Ace, to give him a bit of a grizzled backstory, befitting someone who could become a Bat-Dog.
MF: For the animal characters, you used a combination of classic DC animal heroes, as well as some new ones. Can you talk about that choice, and did you consider any other DC animal characters like Captain Carrot, Gleek, or Detective Chimp that didn’t make it into the final cut?
JS: I mean, there’s so many to choose from. It’s pretty great. You just named a few, I could name a bunch of others that I love. I’ll just think of one that no one would ever think was in the movie. Let’s see who I love. Let’s say Bat-Cow. But there’s just so many. I love Detective Chimp. There’s the original Legion of Super-Pets, which people love. So, Beppo, that’s a good one to go with. Let’s go with that, Beppo (a monkey), Comet (a horse) and Streaky (a cat).
They’re awesome, but they’re all in the Superman family. We really wanted to do a thing that could perhaps be an origin story for all of the Justice League’s pets, so that was the driving force behind. We knew that they were going to be shelter animals and that they were going to end up hopefully being Justice League pets, so that was what shaped the choices that we made.
Then from there, we picked some of our favorites and molded new origin stories for them as well. So, Chip obviously is a little bit different than what you might have seen in the comics, but still awesome. We also have Merton McSnurtle, who’s a deep cut from “Funny Stuff,” but has appeared in various ways over the years.
Then we created some new characters, like you said. Lulu is our own creation, the villain played by Kate McKinnon, a hairless guinea pig. We wanted a villain that was really actually pretty badass and capable but made sense in a movie where the pets are the ones saving the day. So, that’s where Lulu came from.
Then we have PB the pig. I love Wonder Woman’s pet Jumpa from the comics, but I couldn’t quite fathom there being a kangaroo in a local Metropolis animal shelter. So, that’s why we created PB the pig. But there’s a couple of nods to DC canon and Wonder Woman having a pig. There’s an early issue where she flies on a pig. Then there’s a famous ‘Justice League’ animated series episode where she gets turned into a pig by Circe.
MF: Can you talk about Dwayne Johnson’s involvement in this project, both as a producer and as the voice of Krypto, and what came first, casting Johnson or deciding to bring in his good friend Kevin Hart as the voice of Ace?
JS: It’s a good question. Dwayne’s involvement, I was thinking about from the very beginning. Sometimes you go to the studio and say, “With so-and-so, think this actor.” I swear to you when I pitched this movie I said, “Krypto the super dog. Think Dwayne Johnson.” Amazingly, we made it into reality. He said, yes, and he’s wonderful.
I think that is definitely when we started thinking about Kevin, because those two guys are so good together. But we didn’t want to just put them together just because it’s fun, because they have a good time, and that people love them together. That’s all true. But it only would’ve worked if we felt like Kevin was right as Ace the Bat-Hound.
We tested his voice out and listened to it. We noticed that he’s playing in a deeper register and he’s doing something very different. He’s still very funny in this. He’s still Kevin Hart, but he’s doing something really soulful and emotional. It’s a little bit of a lower voice for him, and I think it’s really fantastic. So, we didn’t want to just do it to do it. We did it because we felt like it would make for a really great story in our movie.
MF: As a DC fan, I thought you perfectly cast Keanu Reeves and Marc Maron as Batman and Lex Luthor, respectively. Can you talk about both of those casting choices?
JS: I’ll start with Maron, who I love. My co-director Sam Levine is an obsessive fan of the WTF Podcast. Sam is an animator and really smart about pairing voices. He just was like, “This is the voice.” He was absolutely right. He’s just such a great Lex Luther because he’s a guy who has everything and yet still can complain and be aggrieved. That’s our Lex. He’s a billionaire, but he’s just so frustrated that he can’t win.
Then for Keanu, our Batman is haunted. He’s a guy who’s seen a lot in his life. He’s still a badass Batman, but he’s a bit messed up. Most importantly, he’s the guy who just needs a pet. Keanu’s voice and what he did with it was really wonderful. I feel like he had a good time doing Batman and I’d love to make more Batman movies with Keanu Reeves any day.
MF: For the look of the Justice League, you went with a 1940’s inspired costume for Superman, Aquaman has his hook, and you chose Jessica Cruz from all the different Green Lanterns available. Can you talk about your design choices for the different Justice League members?
JS: I mean, it was a combination of a lot of stuff. We wanted to have a diverse lineup that looked like the whole world, so that could mean an Aquaman who’s from the South Pacific. That could mean a character like Aquaman who has a disability, a prosthetic limb. That could mean Jessica Cruz, and just trying to have a better gender balance between the characters. So, we just wanted it to look like the whole world without forcing it, without being preachy, just so that everyone could see themselves in the Justice League and the heroes.
Then in terms of the design, our character designers did a wonderful job. Even with the shapes of their body types, we wanted that to feel like the whole world. We just picked and chose from everywhere, all the stuff that we loved from the comics and then things that just felt right that were invented from our character designers.
So, there’s a little Christopher Reeve in our Superman, but there’s also a little bit of Max Fleischer in him as you noted. Our Cyborg is in some ways is a nod to the first Cyborg designs in the comics, but then he’s got his own little modern flare too. They all have a uniting gold element in them, which we felt connected to the golden age of DC and in our Metropolis.
MF: Finally, if you take the DC elements out of this movie, it’s really a film about a man that loves his dog, and vice versa. How did your own love for animals help inform you while developing and making this movie?
JS: Our producer Patty Hicks rescues and adopts German Shepherds. Everyone who worked on this, we’re all animal lovers and I think it comes through in the film. It’s a story about how much we love our pets and how much our pets love us. Every dog is a superhero because they love us unconditionally.
UPDATE: Watch the first trailer from ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ in the video player above.
Is John Wick asking for thoughts and prayers? It’s not really what you expect from a man who has been known to kill people with whatever is convenient, but in this first image from ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, he certainly appears to be having a moment of quiet reflection.
Until, that is, he starts stabbing people with candles. We don’t know if that’ll happen for sure, but we won’t rule it out.
What will happen in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ still largely remains a mystery, and studio Lionsgate is in no hurry to fill us in.
The end of the third movie, ‘Parabellum’, saw the rogue assassin become “incommunicado”; and landed with a huge price on his head. But by the end of the movie, allegiances have been tested… with The Continental and Winston (Ian McShane) assuming their neutral status once more, after the possible betrayal of Wick. Thankfully, Wick finds himself rescued by none other than the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne).
Chad Stahelski, who has been the franchise’s guiding director since making the first installment with David Leitch back in 2014, admits he worried about following the third installment, ‘Parabellum’.
Keanu Reeves as John Wick in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’
“There’s been a couple days where I’ve decided to do number four and I’ve woken up in a cold sweat going, ‘Horses! How do I beat horses?’ I have no f*****g idea, to tell you the truth,” Stahelski tells Collider. “I have a lot of really cool ideas for the next one that I think are different and shocking and fun and unique. How to do them, I have no f*****n’ idea right now. I’m still figuring it out.”
Stahelski also says that it was never the plan to make more than one movie way back when. And he’s been treating each Wick movie – despite an expanding narrative universe – as a standalone film. But there are always new ideas lurking, even on press tours…
“I think we were in Japan, and Keanu goes, ‘I think I got one more left in me,’ and we had one idea we didn’t use which we really loved, and we have to cut it out of ‘Parabellum’, just didn’t have the space for it,” he says in the same Collider interview. “So we’re like, ‘Okay, we’ll do a fourth. That’s gonna be awesome. We’ll make a plan.’ The studios went, ‘We totally get what you’re trying to do.’ We submitted an idea or thematic plan, and it was really big. So, we’re talking about doing a little bit more. We’ll see how that goes.”
So far, the only real clue we’ve had might not be a clue at all – as actors don’t always know these things for sure – but Anderson has teased the full title is ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ – Hagakure (a Japanese guide for warriors in case you didn’t already know).
Whatever it is subtitled, ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ will punch its way into theaters on March 24th, 2023.
Keanu Reeves onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.(L to R) Andrew Stanton, Chad Stahelski, and Keanu Reeves speak onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.(L to R) Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves speak onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.Keanu Reeves speaks onstage at Comic-Con at San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2022 in San Diego, California. Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Lionsgate.
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But this is certainly not the first time an A-list actor has portrayed themself in a film, and we thought it would be a good time to look back at the the greatest movies featuring actors playing themselves.
For this list, we are only including actors who’ve portrayed themselves in a movie and not athletes, musicians, or other celebrities.
A movie about the apocalypse set in Hollywood was a clever idea, but having the actors play exaggerated versions of themselves is what makes this movie really fun to watch, and Jonah Hill being possessed by a demon is a definite highlight.
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) reunites with his old flame (Julia Roberts) and the rest of his merry band of thieves in carrying out three huge heists in Rome, Paris and Amsterdam – but a Europol agent (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is hot on their heels.
One of the “cons” in the movie that Ocean and his friends are running is based on the idea that Tess Ocean (Roberts) looks remarkably like the actress “Julia Roberts.” Posing as Roberts, Tess helps Linus (Matt Damon) get close to their mark but are interrupted by the actor Bruce Willis (played by Willis), who is friends with the real Roberts.
Paul Giamatti (played by Paul Giamatti) is agonizing over his interpretation of ‘Uncle Vanya’ and, paralyzed by anxiety, stumbles upon a solution via a New Yorker article about a high-tech company promising to alleviate suffering by extracting souls. He enlists their services—only to discover that his soul is the shape and size of a chickpea.
Giamatti plays himself as a depressed yet “serious” thespian, which plays off of the actor’s real-life persona, while Emily Watson portrays Paul’s fictional wife, Claire Giamatti.
Reunited after 15 years, famous chef Sasha (Ali Wong) and hometown musician Marcus (Randall Park) feel the old sparks of attraction but struggle to adapt to each other’s worlds.
After years apart, Sasha and Marcus reconnect, only to go on a double date with their significant others. The date goes terribly wrong for Marcus when he realizes that Sasha is dating movie star Keanu Reeves (played by Reeves). The actor plays himself with all the coolness and charisma we expect from Reeves, before eventually getting into a brawl with Marcus.
Nerdy accountant Harold (John Cho) and his irrepressible friend, Kumar (Kal Penn), get stoned watching television and find themselves utterly bewitched by a commercial for White Castle. Convinced there must be one nearby, the two set out on a late-night odyssey that takes them deep into New Jersey. Somehow, the boys manage to run afoul of rednecks, cops and even a car-stealing Neil Patrick Harris (played by Harris) before getting anywhere near their beloved sliders.
Harris spoofs his own history as a child actor, playing himself as a drug-addicted, has-been child star. It’s also worth noting that ‘Harold & Kumar’ predates ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ and marked the beginning of Harris’ own career resurgence.
B-movie Legend Bruce Campbell (played by Campbell) is mistaken for his character Ash from ‘The Evil Dead‘ trilogy and forced to fight a real monster in a small town in Oregon.
Campbell basically plays himself like his ‘Evil Dead’ character Ash. He’s confident and self-assured when there is no danger, but once trouble begins, he becomes a complete coward. The movie was directed by Campbell, and is a fun spoof on the actor’s own cult status.
Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) has made a habit of running from what scares him. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) doesn’t have fears. If he did, he’d kick their ever-living ass. In a world overrun by zombies, these two are perfectly evolved survivors. But now, they’re about to stare down the most terrifying prospect of all: each other.
When Columbus and his friends enter a Beverly Hills mansion, they meet actor Bill Murray (played by Murray), who survived the zombie apocalypse by wearing makeup and pretending to be a zombie himself. The actor even busts-out his old ‘Ghostbusters‘ costume before Columbus accidentally kills him.
‘I’m Still Here’ is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix (played by Phoenix). Directed by Casey Affleck, the film follows the future Oscar-winner as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician. The film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads and explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.
Sold as a documentary, it was later revealed that the entire movie was a fictional spoof. Unknown which it was at the time of release, Phoenix gives a performance playing an exaggerated version of himself that is so believable the entire world really thought that the actor had gone crazy! It all culminated with his infamous appearance on ‘The Late Show with David Letterman,’ which is included in the film.
Directed by Robert Altman, a Hollywood studio executive (Tim Robbins) is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected – but which one?
‘The Player’ could easily have been called ‘Cameo: The Movie.’ While some actors play fictional characters (like Robbins and Whoopi Goldberg), because of the Hollywood setting, dozens of famous actors play themselves in cameo roles like Joel Grey, Anjelica Huston, and John Cusack.
Then, in a film within the film, Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts play themselves, playing fictional characters.
One day at work, unsuccessful puppeteer Craig (John Cusack) finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich (played by Malkovich). The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters its mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.
‘Being John Malkovich’ is ‘The Godfather‘ of movies featuring actors playing themselves. Malkovich brilliantly plays-off of his odd and mysterious off-screen persona and gives a dark comedic performance as good as any of his previous dramatic work. it’s also hilarious when it is revealed that his best friend is Charlie Sheen (played by Sheen himself).
(L to R) Kevin Hart as Ace the Bat-Hound and Dwayne Johnson as Krypto in Warner Bros.’ ‘DC League of Super-Pets.’
Can there be too much Batman? It’s a theory that Warner Bros. seems committed to testing, though given what it means for new animated outing ‘DC League of Super-Pets’, we’re not complaining. Because what it means is… Keanu Reeves is now Batman.
While the latest live-action example of the Caped Crusader has only just hit theaters thanks to ‘The Batman’ (which opened with a successful $134 million at the domestic box office), we’re already facing the prospect of two veteran Cowl-wearers coming back later this year in ‘The Flash’, which features both Ben Affleck’s DCEU Bruce Wayne and Michael Keaton, from 1989’s ‘Batman’ and 1992’s ‘Batman Returns’ suiting up thanks to Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen and his multiverse-traversing powers. (Keaton is also playing Batman in ‘Batgirl’).
Yet ‘Super-Pets’ promises something different all together, a Bats who is more in line with, say, Will Arnett’s LEGO Batman. The new animated movie’s spoofy take on the character finds him moodily reflecting on how he’s all alone before rattling off a laundry list of supporting characters, including loyal butler Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, his tech team and even “whoever Morgan Freeman played” (which would be gadget developer Lucius Fox in Christopher Nolan’s Bat-trilogy, in case you forgot).
It’s Batman’s tragic past that helps him bond with Ace (voiced by Kevin Hart), as they share their stories and find common ground.
Still, Batman isn’t the focus of the movie – nor are any of the human (or alien) members of the Justice League. See, ‘Super-Pets’ focuses on Krypto (Dwayne Johnson) Superman’s (John Krasinski) faithful, powerful canine best pal.
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When the League members are kidnapped by a scheming Lex Luthor (Marc Maron), it’s up to Krypto and a rag-tag group of animals granted special abilities in a strange accident to save the day. Ace the future Bat-Hound is turned seemingly indestructible, while the gang also includes Melton the speedy turtle (Natasha Lyonne), PB the pig (Vanessa Bayer) who can inflate herself, and Chip the squirrel (Diego Luna), blessed with the power to shoot electricity from his hands.
Things don’t exactly go smoothly at first – in true Johnson and Hart buddy comedy fashion, there is much bickering back and forth about Krypto’s unwavering loyalty to Superman, while earlier trailers have also focused on Ace getting into scrapes (and surviving because of his newfound abilities). And, because this is a kids’ movie about animals, there are the requisite pee jokes.
Jared Stern and Sam Levine are the directors here, working from a script by Stern and John Whittington that promises to be a family friendly superhero tale in the way that ‘The Batman’ never really could be.
It’ll be fun to see how Reeves’ Caped Crusader fits into the pantheon and how he gets judged against the approximately 73 actors who have played the role in the past.
‘DC League of Super-Pets’ will fly/hop/leap tall buildings to get into theaters on May 20.
(L to R) Dwayne Johnson as Krypto and John Krasinski as Superman in Warner Bros.’ ‘DC League of Super-Pets.’
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It shouldn’t be all that shocking then, to learn that there could be a spin-off movie featuring Berry’s character.
Out on the promotional trail for Roland Emmerich’s new disaster epic ‘Moonfall’, Berry let slip to IGN that there’s a chance. “There could possibly be a Sofia… her own movie,” Berry tells the site. “So, she might not be in ‘John Wick’, but she might be doing her own thingy-thingy.”
There’s certainly plenty more to learn about Sofia Al-Azwar, the manager of the Continental Hotel in Casablanca, who aids Wick when he’s declared excommunicado, cut off from access to assassin’s guild resources and with a price on his head.
Fortunately, not only can Sofia handle herself, but she also has two very well trained Belgian Malinois dogs. Who, let’s just say, have a bite worse than their bark…?
And the ‘John Wick’ team has certainly shown a willingness to expand the concept beyond the initial three movies (with the fourth on the way next year). ‘The Continental’, a limited series due on Starz later this year, which chronicles the younger days of hotel manager Winston Scott (Ian McShane in the movies). Starring Colin Woodell as the more youthful Scott, the series also features Mel Gibson, Peter Greene, and Jeremy Bobb.
Ian McShane in ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’
Then there’s movie spin-off ‘Ballerina’, which has ‘No Time To Die’s Ana de Armas in talks to star as the character glimpsed briefly (and there played by Unity Phelan) in ‘Parabellum’. Len Wiseman is directing and ‘Parabellum’ co-writer Shay Hatten wrote the script for the movie, which tracks a young assassin who seeks revenge against the people who killed her family. Very in keeping with ‘John Wick’, then.
But before you get too excited about the idea, this is no more than Berry dropping a hint, with nothing official on the books yet.
And we’ve been down the Halle Berry spin-off road before. When 2002 Bond movie ‘Die Another Day’ was in production, Berry’s Giacinta ‘Jinx’ Johnson led to talk of a potential follow-up, with a solo adventure planned detailing how she joined the National Security Agency.
Unfortunately, apparent lack of interest from production studio MGM scuppered the idea. Her following it up with ‘Catwoman’ in 2004 didn’t really help, and the Bond franchise effectively rebooted in 2006 with ‘Casino Royale’. Berry describes the idea of the Sofia spin-off as “putting some ointment on a little sore,” referring to her disappointment over the cancellation of a Jinx film.
‘Moonfall’ is in theaters on Friday. ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ is scheduled for release on March 24, 2023.
If you were following social media last week, you might think the only movie news was the new ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ trailer, but there was so much more than that. We saw casting announcements for the MCU’s ‘Blade’ starring Mahershala Ali, as well as director Martin Scorsese’s Grateful Dead biopic.
We also saw production updates on ‘Lethal Weapon 5’ and the announcement of its new director, and ‘Trolls 3,’ which now has a release date. As well as the release of eight new character posters for the upcoming sequel, ‘The Matrix Resurrections.’
If you missed anything, Moviefone has you covered!
CASTING NEWS:
BLADE
It was reported that Disney has confirmed acclaimed actor Delroy Lindo is joining the cast of their upcoming reboot of ‘Blade,’ which will star two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali in the title role. Lindo, who received rave reviews for his performance in last year’s ‘Da Five Bloods,’ is the first actor since Ali to be confirmed to appear in the movie, although his role is still being kept under wraps.
Of course, that didn’t stop the internet from guessing who the actor might play, which ranged from a villain to Blade’s mentor and friend, Whistler. Blade is set to be directed by Bassam Tariq (‘Mogul Mowgli’), from a screenplay by Stacy Osei-Kuffour (‘Watchmen’). Lindo can currently be seen in ‘The Harder They Fall,’ and is best known for his roles in ‘Malcolm X,’ ‘Get Shorty,’ ‘The Cider House Rules,’ and ‘Gone in 60 Seconds.’
GRATEFUL DEAD BIOPIC
There was great news for Deadheads as Deadline announced exclusively that legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese will direct a Grateful Dead biopic for Apple and that Jonah Hill has been cast as the band’s iconic frontman, Jerry Garcia. The film will be produced by Scorsese and Hill, as well as the remaining members of the band, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mikey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann.
The screenplay will be written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who are no strangers to biopics after penning ‘The People vs. Larry Flynt,’ ‘Man on the Moon’ about comedian Andy Kaufman, and the award-winning TV series ‘American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson.’ Scorsese is also no stranger to the Grateful Dead, having directed the 2017 documentary series about the band for Amazon Prime called ‘Long Strange Trip.’ The project marks the first time Scorsese and Hill have worked together since 2013’s ‘The Wolf of Wall Street,’ which earned Hill an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
PRODUCTION NEWS:
LETHAL WEAPON 5
Variety confirmed that Academy Award-winning director Mel Gibson will take over for the late great Richard Donner and helm ‘Lethal Weapon 5,’ the latest installment of the popular action franchise. The movie, which will be written by Richard Wenk (‘The Equalizer’), was developed to be Donner’s final film before his death on July 5th. His widow, Lauren Shuler Donner (‘X-Men’) will produce.
Speaking at an event in London last week, according to The Sun, Gibson talked about taking over directing duties from Donner. “He was developing the screenplay, and he got pretty far along with it,” Gibson said. “And he said to me one day, ‘Listen kid, if I kick the bucket, you will do it.’ He did indeed pass away, but he did ask me to do it, and, at the time, I didn’t say anything. He said it to his wife, to the studio and the producer. So, I will be directing the fifth one,” Gibson confirmed.
‘Lethal Weapon’ was released in 1987 and has spawned three other sequels including ‘Lethal Weapon 2,’ ‘Lethal Weapon 3,’ and ‘Lethal Weapon 4,’ as well as a TV series that ran from 2016-2019. It is assumed that Gibson will also reprise his iconic role of Martin Riggs, but it is still unknown if Danny Glover, Joe Pesci and Rene Russo will return to their franchise roles.
TROLLS 3
It was reported in Deadline that Universal has set a release date for DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Troll 3’ for November 17th, 2023. However, unlike 2020’s ‘Trolls World Tour,’ the film will be release exclusively in theaters for 17 days before going to PVOD.
‘Trolls’ premiered in 2016 and went on to earn almost $350 million at the box office and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling,’ performed by Justin Timberlake. No word yet if franchise stars Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick will return.
PHOTOS AND POSTERS:
SCREAM
Bloody Disgusting released a new photo from ‘Scream,’ which is the fifth installment of the popular horror franchise. Set to hit theaters on January 14th, 2022, the photo features David Arquette reprising his role as Dewey Ridley alongside new cast member Melissa Barrera. The film is said to take place twenty-five years after the original, and features a new killer wearing the Ghostface mask.
‘The Matrix’ was released in 1999, followed by two sequels, including 2003’s ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ and ‘The Matrix Revolutions.’ Directed by Lana Wachowski, ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ will hit theaters on December 22nd, and also stars Jada Pinkett Smith, Lambert Wilson, and Christina Ricci.
TRAILERS:
SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME
And just in case you missed it, here is the final trailer for ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ which opens in theaters on December 17th.
The latest trailer for ‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ has just been released, and it gives us more of a glimpse of what we’ll see in the film. Aside from new footage of stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter, this trailer shows us a little more of William Sadler reprising his role as Death, and we also see Kristen Schaal telling the Wyld Stallyns what they need to do to save the world (similar to the late George Carlin as Rufus).
Here’s how the official synopsis describes the film:
The stakes are higher than ever for the time-traveling exploits of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan. Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle aged best friends set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it. Along the way, they will be helped by their daughters, a new batch of historical figures, and a few music legends – to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe.
The movie is directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) and the writers of the first two ‘Bill & Ted’ films, Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, have written this latest adventure.
‘Bill & Ted Face the Music’ will be available in theaters and on demand September 1, 2020.
Now, more than ever, do we need a reminder of the wise words of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan: “Be excellent to each other.”
But it turns out Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) haven’t changed the world quite yet. Far from it – in spite of their adventures across time, the (possible) future legends Wyld Stallyns have yet to write the song that will bring humanity and the galaxy together.
As the official synopsis teases:
The stakes are higher than ever for the time-traveling exploits of William “Bill” S. Preston Esq. and Theodore “Ted” Logan. Yet to fulfill their rock and roll destiny, the now middle aged best friends set out on a new adventure when a visitor from the future warns them that only their song can save life as we know it. Along the way, they will be helped by their daughters, a new batch of historical figures, and a few music legends – to seek the song that will set their world right and bring harmony in the universe.
Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine are playing the duo’s daughters, and William Sadler reprises his role as Death. Rounding out the cast are Kid Cudi, Kristen Schaal, Anthony Carrigan, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Jillian Bell, Holland Taylor, Beck Bennett, Hal Landon Jr. and Amy Stoch.
This film is directed by Dean Parisot (director of the criminally underseen Galaxy Quest) and was written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon, the writers of the first two Bill & Ted films.
Bill & Ted Face the music is scheduled to open in theaters on August 21, 2020.
