Tag: ron howard

  • Marvel, Star Wars, & Pixar Updates from the Disney+ Day Announcements

    On Friday, November 12th, Disney+ celebrated its second anniversary with Disney+ Day, where they announced literally dozens of upcoming series from Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar and more. The presentations, which include some new clips, first looks, and upcoming announcements, can currently be viewed on Disney+, but Moviefone is here to break it all down for you.

    MARVEL

    The Marvel video presentation, which is now available on Disney+, begins with recaps of all the 2021 Marvel series that have been released so far including ‘WandaVision,’ ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,’ ‘Loki,’ and ‘What If…?’ Then we get an extended trailer for ‘Hawkeye,’ which drops on November 24th. We also got to see a full scene from the show, which involves Jeremey Renner’s Hawkeye and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop stealing a car and then getting into a chase while Hawkeye teaches Kate how to use his trick arrows. The sequence is one continuous shot, ending with the two heroes swinging off of a bridge on to a moving train.

    The official synopsis for the series confirms that it is set in a post-blip New York City and follows Clint Barton on a seemingly simple mission to get back to his family for Christmas. But when a threat from his past shows up, Hawkeye reluctantly teams up with 22-year-old skilled archer Kate Bishop to unravel a criminal conspiracy. In addition to Renner and Stanfield, the series also features Vera Farmiga (‘The Departed’), Brian d’Arcy James (‘Spotlight’) and Florence Pugh reprising her ‘Black Widow’ role as Yelena Belova.

    The video presentation also includes fans first look at Oscar Isaac in ‘Moon Knight.’ The series will follow the story of this complex vigilante who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. The multiple identities that live inside him find themselves thrusted into a deadly war of the Gods against the backdrop of modern and ancient Egypt. The clips basically show Isaac’s Marc Spencer being tortured by his dreams, with the character’s voice-over explaining that to the audience. We only get very quick glimpses of Isaac in the Moon Knight outfit, but the presentation ends with him in full costume jumping off of rooftops with the Moon lit full behind him. Actor Ethan Hawke is also set to appear as the show’s big bad.

    We also got new footage from the upcoming series, ‘She-Hulk.’ The teaser is narrated by Tatiana Maslany as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, as she explains that she is a lawyer but also, something else. There is a quick body shot of Jennifer fully-green with her comic book accurate costume, although it cuts away before we see She-Hulk’s face. We also get two glimpses of Mark Ruffalo, who returns as Jennifer’s cousin, Bruce Banner/Hulk.

    The first scene shows Bruce experimenting on Jennifer when she is just a child, presumably in a flashback, but what is interesting is that he is Smart Hulk in this scene. Since ‘Shang-Chi’ gave us an end-credit scene that revealed that at some point after the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ Smart Hulk reverted back to Bruce, it makes you wonder if this scene takes place between ‘Endgame’ and ‘Shang-Chi.’ If that is the case, and Jennifer was a child during that time period, it makes you wonder if the bulk of the series itself will make a time jump and take place decades after ‘Endgame’? We also get a clip that looks more like a commercial, with Jennifer and Bruce dressed in retro clothes and Jennifer saying, “”Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry,” which is clearly a nod to the 1970’s series, The Incredible Hulk.

    The last series to get new footage in the video presentation was ‘Ms. Marvel,’ which stars Iman Vellani as 16-year-old Kamala Khan. A Pakistani American and a fan-girl of the Avengers, Kamala is overjoyed when she discovers she has superpowers, and now must use them to find her place in the world. The footage shows her revealing her iconic mask for the first time and ends with Kamala standing on a New Jersey rooftop wearing a Captain Marvel Halloween Costume and preparing to use her powers to fly for the first time. Vellani is set to reprise her role, along with Teyonah Parris from ‘WandaVision’ and Brie Larson, in the upcoming feature film, ‘The Marvels.’

    But that’s not it! Marvel also announced a slew of new upcoming shows, some of which had been rumored, and also confirmed that ‘Loki’ and ‘What If…?’ will be getting second seasons. In fact, ‘What If…?’ will also be getting a spinoff with the new animated series ‘Marvel Zombies,’ which imagines a world where Marvel’s heroes have been turned into the undead. Staying with animation, Disney+ also announced a sequel to the classic 90’s animated X-Men series entitled ‘X-Men ’97,’ as well as ‘Spider-Man: Freshman Year,’ which will look at Peter Parker’s first year in high school, and ‘I Am Groot,’ a series of original shorts starring everyone’s favorite sentient tree.

    On the live-action side, ‘Secret Invasion’ was confirmed, which is based on the popular Marvel Comics series. The show will bring Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos back together to fight a faction of shape-shifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years. Also confirmed were ‘Echo,’ which will star Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez, who will be introduced in ‘Hawkeye,’ and James Gunn will write and direct ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.’

    Marvel also announced two new series based on the Iron Man franchise. First is ‘Armor Wars,’ which will star Don Cheadle reprising his role as War Machine. The second is ‘Ironheart,’ a series that will star Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a genius inventor who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. Finally, Marvel confirmed the recent rumor that Kathryn Hahn will reprise her ‘WandaVision’ role as Agatha Harkness in her own series, which will be called ‘Agatha: House of Harkness.’


    LUCASFILM

    While there was no new footage included, fans got their first look at the making of the upcoming Star Wars series, ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi.’ The video is narrated by director Debbie Chow and actor Ewan McGregor and explains what fans can expect from the new series. “For this character to come back, the fans have been waiting long enough,” said McGregor. Chow explained that this is a “dark time,” for Kenobi and that it is “not safe” for him with “Jedi hunters” on the rise. McGregor said that his character has one task, which is “to keep Luke safe,” but Chow explained how that is just a starting point for the series.

    “The most beautiful thing of all is that it has brought me back together with Hayden,” McGregor said about the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. “We couldn’t tell the story of Obi-Wan Kenobi without addressing Anakin or Darth Vader,” added Chow. We are then given some behind the scenes shots of McGregor at rehearsal practicing his lightsaber skills. “To have another swing at each other, might be quite satisfying for everybody,” the actor teased in closing.

    Disney+ also released a Boba Fett documentary called ‘Under the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett.’ It is mostly a “history of the character” video and does not include any new footage from the upcoming series ‘The Book of Boba Fett,’ which premieres on December 29th.

    Finally, the presentation included a video from the set of the new series ‘Willow,’ which is based on the 1988 Ron Howard-directed and George Lucas-produced movie. The film’s star, Warwick Davis returns as the title character, and introduced the cast that includes Ruby Cruz (‘Mare of Easttown’), Erin Kellyman (‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’), and Tony Revolori (‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’). The video was done “tongue in cheek” with Davis playing a version of his arrogant ‘Life’s Too Short’ character and getting upset when the younger cast can’t remember the original film and begin to question why anyone would want a sequel series!


    PIXAR

    Unfortunately, Pixar did not have a lot to announce outside of a Cars-based animated series called ‘Cars on the Road,’ which will feature Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy reprising their roles as Lightning McQueen and Mater, respectively. Other announcements from the animation company included behind the scenes documentaries for the upcoming feature films ‘Turning Red’ and ‘Lightyear,’ as well as a new series called ‘Win or Lose,’ which is an animated show that will highlight the perspectives of different characters as a middle school coed softball team prepares for their championship game.


    DISNEY STUDIOS AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

    On the Disney Studios side, a remake of ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ was announced, which will star Gabrielle Union (‘Bad Boys II’) and Zach Braff (‘Oz the Great and Powerful’) and is set to premiere in March 2022. ‘Enchanted’ fans will be happy to learn that the long-awaited sequel, ‘Disenchanted’ will hit the streaming network in the fall of 2022 and once again star Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey. It was also announced that comedians John Mulaney and Andy Samberg will star in the new live-action/CG animation film entitled ‘Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers,’ which is based on Disney’s popular chipmunk characters and will premiere in the spring of 2022.

    Director Robert Zemeckis’ ‘Pinocchio,’ based on the Disney animated classic, will bow in the fall of 2022 as well, and stars Tom Hanks, Cynthia Erivo, and Luke Evans, with the voices of Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Keegan-Michael Key and Lorraine Bracco. Also premiering in the fall of 2022, just in time for Halloween, is ‘Hocus Pocus 2,’ which is a sequel to the cult classic 1990’s movie. Returning stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are all set to reprise their roles as the Sanderson sisters in the new sequel. A new clip from Peter Jackson’s upcoming documentary, ‘The Beatles: Get Back’ was also released featuring the legendary band performing “I Got a Feeling” in rare behind the scenes footage. The three-part documentary launches on Disney+ November 25th.

    Disney also announced a new series based on the beloved best-selling novels ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles,’ as well as animated spinoff series from some of their most popular films, including Baymax from ‘Big Hero Six,’ Tiana from ‘The Princess and the Frog,’ and’ Zootopia+,’ which opens up the world of ‘Zootopia.’ They also announced ‘The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild,’ which will star Simon Pegg as his ‘Ice Age: Collision Course’ character.

    Finally, National Geographic announced a new six-part series for 2022 called ‘Limitless’ with Chris Hemsworth. The series will follow the ‘Thor’ actor as he helps viewers discover the full potential of the human body. Nat Geo also announced a series called ‘Welcome to Earth,’ which is set to premiere on Disney+ next month. The series will be hosted by Will Smith as he encounters Earth’s greatest wonders.

  • ‘Dads’ director Bryce Dallas Howard on interviewing her famous father and getting other celebrity dads in her new documentary

    ‘Dads’ director Bryce Dallas Howard on interviewing her famous father and getting other celebrity dads in her new documentary

    Bryce Dallas Howard is following in her father Ron Howard’s footsteps with not just a successful acting career, but she’s also started directing. Last year she directed an episode of The Mandalorian, and now she’s given us the feature-length documentary ‘Dads.’

    In this interview with Made in Hollywood, Howard talks about interviewing her father, who she says was more than a little nervous about the idea. She also shares how she got Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brian, and Jimmy Fallon to appear in her film, which then helped her convince more famous fathers like Will Smith and Judd Apatow appear as well.

    ‘Dads’ will be available exclusively on Apple TV+ on June 19, 2020.

  • Ron Howard To Direct His First Animated Film, ‘The Shrinking of Treehorn’

    Ron Howard To Direct His First Animated Film, ‘The Shrinking of Treehorn’

    IMDb

    After directing more than 20 films, Ron Howard is setting up his first animated film. He’ll direct “The Shrinking of Treehorn,” a children’s book about a boy who inexplicably begins shrinking. It was written by Florence Parry Heide with illustrations from Edward Gorey and originally published in 1971.

    According to Variety, it’s just one of four ambitious, animated and live-action hybrid films he and producing partner Brian Grazer have set up through Imagine Entertainment, in a joint venture with Australia’s Animal Logic (of “The Lego Movie” franchise).

    Illustrator Gorey, famed for his own books including the macabre “The Gashlycrumb Tinies” and the opening credits of PBS’s “Mystery” series, passed away in 2000, but the film will “closely follow Gorey’s aesthetic.”

    (The documentary, “The Last Days of Edward Gorey,” is currently in  production. And a great bio, “Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey,” came out last year.)

    Rob Lieber (“Peter Rabbit,” “Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day”) is writing the script of “Treehorn” and Paramount Pictures will release the film.

    “I’ve long had this passionate point of view that Ron Howard should make a tentpole animated movie. That’s how this started,” said Zareh Nalbandian, Animal Logic’s entertainment CEO.

    Meanwhile, the mixed live-action, animation production of another beloved classic children’s book, “Flat Stanley,” is still in development hell, last we checked. Which is fine.

    Howard’s next project is “Hillbilly Elegy” for Netflix.

    [Via Variety]

  • ‘Willow’ Director Ron Howard in Talks for Disney+ Sequel Series

    ‘Willow’ Director Ron Howard in Talks for Disney+ Sequel Series

    Willow
    Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

    Disney is working on bringing a “Willow” sequel series to its new streaming service, Disney+, and the film’s director Ron Howard is involved.

    Howard said on MTV’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that “serious discussions” are underway. He also confirmed that Warwick Davis would return as Willow Ufgood, the Nelwyn dwarf and aspiring sorcerer at the center of the story. Both Howard and “Solo” writer Jonathan Kasdan are in talks for the project, Variety reports.

    “Willow” came out in 1988 and told the story of the titular character’s mission to protect an infant from an evil queen (Jean Marsh) after a prophecy said the baby girl would bring about the monarch’s downfall. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for its sound effects editing and its visual effects. Although it wasn’t a box office giant, it has become a cult classic.

    Given the enthusiasm of “Willow” fans, it seems the film could be a good candidate for a sequel series. Howard, for one, is excited about the idea. He said on “Happy Sad Confused” that he “really [hopes] we get the chance to see the mature Willow in action,” per Variety.

    If the series does move forward, it will join others on Disney+ that are based on existing properties, including the Star Wars series “The Mandalorian” and the sequel to “The Sandlot.” The service is slated to launch on Nov. 12.

    [via: Variety]

  • ‘Super 8’ Star Gabriel Basso Lands Lead in ‘Hillbilly Elegy’

    ‘Super 8’ Star Gabriel Basso Lands Lead in ‘Hillbilly Elegy’

    Nerdist Industries

    Gabriel Basso, whose films include “Super 8,” “The Kings of Summer” and “The Hive,” just landed a potentially star-making role.

    He’ll play the lead role of J.D Wade in “Hillbilly Elegy,” which Ron Howard is directing for Netflix. He joins Oscar nominees Amy Adams and Glenn Close in the adaptation of the best-selling memoir by J.D. Vance.

    J.D. is based on the author’s own upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, where he was raised among working-class “hillbillies” dealing with poverty, alcoholism and abuse.

    Inspired to pursue an education and dream big his by his larger-than-life grandmother (Close), he eventually joined the Marines and graduated from Yale Law.

    Basso’s most recent film was the legal drama “The Whole Truth” with Keanu Reeves. He also starred for three seasons as Laura Linney‘s son on “The Big C.”

    His biggest film so far has been J.J Abrams’ “Super 8,” when he was only 15.

    And you might have caught him in the indie “The Kings of Summer,” with future “Love, Simon” star Nick Robinson.

    [Via Deadline]

  • The 14 Best Ron Howard Movies

    The 14 Best Ron Howard Movies

  • Ron Howard Narrating ‘Star Wars’ Like ‘Arrested Development’ Is the Mashup You’ve Been Looking For

    The Disney family has expanded in recent years to include several key members of the team behind beloved comedy “Arrested Development,” with directors Joe and Anthony Russo helming a little movie called “Avengers: Infinity War,” and producer Ron Howard taking over the director’s chair for upcoming spinoff flick “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” It was the latter collaboration that inspired a new mashup featuring Howard’s narrator character from “Arrested” taking a crack at summing up “Star Wars: A New Hope,” and the results may make you want to do a gleeful chicken dance.

    In a bit for The Star Wars Show, Howard put his spin on “the story of a family that wants to rule the galaxy, and the one son who had no choice but to save it.” It’s kind of amazing how many parallels run between the two properties, including the awkward bit about a guy being in love with one of his relatives.

    Howard’s deadpan editorializing works especially well here (Princess Leia, in reference to the Death Star plans she gave to R2-D2: I don’t know what you’re talking about. Howard: She actually did.), as do his winking comments weaving in well-known quotes from both “Arrested” and the entire “Star Wars” saga. Plus, the Mr. F music cue when Boba Fett appears onscreen is just plain genius.

    The best bit just might be from the “On the next ‘Star Wars,’” tag, though. That’s why you always leave a note, folks.

    We’re going to keep our fingers crossed that Howard actually does make that next episode (and just finishes out the entire series while he’s at it). In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for any “AD” Easter eggs that may make their way into “Solo.” That flicks opens on May 25, while a remixed version of “Arrested Development” season four is hitting Netflix in time for Cinco de Cuatro.

  • You’ll Never Guess the Han Solo ‘Star Wars’ Movie Title

    The untitled Han Solo “Star Wars” movie finally has a title. And it’s not much of a shocker.

    To celebrate the end of production, director Ron Howard revealed the title on Twitter: It is “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

    Howard famously took over production of the spinoff prequel in June after directors Phil Lord and Chris Miler were fired by Lucasfilm. Since then, he’s been active on social media, posting teaser pics and videos from the set.

    Alden Ehrenreich stars as the iconic smuggler first played by Harrison Ford, with Donald Glover Lando Calrissian. Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newton also star.

    It seems that all of the standalone movies will get the “A Star Wars Story” appendage after its title, but it tended to be an afterthought with “Rogue One.”

  • Ron Howard Teases ‘Spicey’ Scenes With Han Solo Set Photo

    'INFERNO' Press Conference In BerlinRon Howard is spicing up our lives.

    The Han Solo movie director shared a photo from the film’s set on Wednesday, posting it to his Instagram with a simple caption: “Spicey?”

    That was enough to excite die-hard fans, who are now eagerly speculating that the film will show Kessel Run, the hyperspace route used by smugglers to move spice from Kessel’s mines. In the Star Wars films, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is known for having traveled the route in a record-breaking 12 (not 14!) parsecs. Therefore, with the new set photo, Howard is possibly hinting that we’ll see the legendary feat.

    Spicey?

    A post shared by RealRonHoward (@realronhoward) on

    Alden Ehrenreich plays the younger version of the smuggler in the still-untitled film. The cast also includes Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Paul Bettany, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

    Whether it features Kessel Run or not, the Han Solo movie is due out in theaters on May 25, 2018.

    [via: Ron Howard/Instagram; h/t: Deadline]

  • Here’s a New Look at Young Lando Calrissian in Han Solo ‘Star Wars’ Movie

    Hello, what have we here? The first look at Lando Calrissian on the set of the untitled Han Solo “Star Wars” standalone movie!

    New director Ron Howard has been busy with filming since he came on board the project, but he’s taken the time to post some tantalizing teaser images on social media. Now, he’s shared an image of a video monitor during a scene featuring young Lando in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon:

    lining up a shot today from my director’s monitor

    A post shared by RealRonHoward (@realronhoward) on

    That could be Donald Glover, who’s playing the character originally embodied by Billy Dee Williams. It could also be a stand-in while Howard lines up his shot.

    In either case, it’s the first look at Lando in costume on set. He’s wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit — not surprising considering the character’s penchant for outlandish fashion. Howard already gave a wink at that in an Instagram post last week:

    #UntitledHanSoloMovie Care to guess whose closet this is?

    A post shared by RealRonHoward (@realronhoward) on

    Howard also posted an image, seemingly from the same scene of filming hyperspace — looks like Lando is going somewhere on the Falcon. Whether Han is with him or not remains to be seen.

    This is first we’ve seen of any of the human characters in costume (Howard recently shared an image of Wookiees), at least officially.

    The Han Solo movie is slated for release May 25, 2018.