Moviefone Editorial

Tag: seth-grahame-smith

  • ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Duo Directing new ‘Star Trek’ Movie

    1979's 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture.' Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    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.

    But that hasn’t stopped Paramount from trying to shove it back into warp speed and now Deadline brings word that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who developed a fresh, funny and heartfelt take on fantasy with ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ for the studio, have been handed the keys to the film franchise.

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    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.

    Related Article: Simon Kinberg Reportedly to Oversee Future ‘Star Trek’ Movies for Paramount

    What has been happening with big-screen ‘Star Trek’?

    (L to R) Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto in 'Star Trek Beyond'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
    (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.
    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.
    (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.

    Other ‘Star Trek’ Movies and TV Series:

    Buy ‘Star Trek’ Movies On Amazon

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  • ‘Green Lantern’ TV Series Being Redeveloped

    Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps from DC Comics.
    Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps from DC Comics. Photo courtesy of DC.Fandom.com.

    It’s (almost) all change for the DC Comics-based ‘Green Lantern’ show that had been moving forward at HBO Max. Though it had gotten to the point of casting Jeremy Irvine and Finn Wittrock in the lead roles, the series is headed back to the drawing board with a new take.

    Back in 2020, ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ Seth Grahame-Smith hopped aboard to write and run what HBO Max was picturing its most expensive series to date, a space-set ‘Green Lantern’ drama whose focus would be the Alan Scott and Guy Gardner iterations of the character among the first and most popular versions.

    It also represented movement on representation, with Scott, whose comic book character is openly gay these days bringing that across to the show.

    The concept of the ‘Green Lantern’ comics is that of a super-powered, police force, battling evil doers with rings that allow them to channel energy into different forms. There are many Lanterns, who patrol the known and unknown universe.

    Greg Berlanti, who has had a hand in pretty much every DC TV series (and a whole host of others) – and who was one of the writers on the 2011 Ryan Reynolds-starring movie – was producing the show via his Berlanti Productions.

    While Berlanti is staying aboard, the changes mean that Grahame-Smith is departing the show, despite having written eight scripts already and overseen the casting process for Wittrock and Irvine.

    Jeremy Irvine in Steven Spielberg's 'War Horse.'
    Jeremy Irvine in Steven Spielberg’s ‘War Horse.’ Photo: Andrew Cooper, SMPSP. ©DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

    No new creative team has been appointed for the series, but the budget will apparently be less and the focus will instead be on John Stewart, the first Black iteration of the Lantern character. His version was introduced in the 1970s and used Sidney Poitier as its inspiration.

    The history of the Lantern on screen has been seriously mixed. Though different takes on the character have flourished in animated movies and series, their live-action counterparts have had less luck. The Reynolds movie didn’t triumph at the box office, and there have been fleeting glimpses on the small screen.

    Even Zack Snyder didn’t manage to realize his chosen Lantern – John Stewart – in his mammoth Snyder Cut of ‘Justice League’. Despite shooting a cameo with Wayne T. Carr as Stewart, Warners asked him to remove the character because of the studio’s own plans. In the end, Snyder swapped in Martian Manhunter.

    Warner Bros. Discovery has been on a cost-cutting binge of late, cancelling movies and in-the-works TV series all over the place, including ‘Batgirl’ and ‘Wonder Twins’. Since the merger with Discovery, new company chief David Zaslav has announced it is taking billions in tax write-downs as it reduces budgets and reverses decisions.

    ‘Green Lantern’ will now be a much smaller and cheaper series, which and though it was supposed to shoot last year, is now back in development and much further from any eventual release date.

    The Green Lantern Corps from DC Comics.
    The Green Lantern Corps from DC Comics. Photo courtesy of DC.com.
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  • ‘The Flash’ Movie Lands Director Seth Grahame-Smith

    "Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Slayer 3D" New York Premiere - Outside ArrivalsThe big screen version of “The Flash” has finally found its director: “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” mastermind Seth Grahame-Smith.

    The Hollywood Reporter writes that Grahame-Smith — who’s penning the “LEGO Batman” script — is currently in negotiations to both write and direct “The Flash,” which follows the superhero adventures of the young speedster Barry Allen. The flick, which was at one time being developed by “The LEGO Movie” directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (who abandoned the project to direct Disney’s upcoming Han Solo “Star Wars” spinoff film), is part of studio Warner Bros.’s big rollout of the DC Comics superhero properties, which is set to start with next spring’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”

    Lord and Miller left behind a story treatment for Grahame-Smith, who would make his feature directorial debut on the project, and the movie already has a locked-in release date for early 2018. Actor Flash” series — not to mention its star, Grant Gustin — the flick is completely unrelated to that show.)

    “The Flash” is due to hit theaters on March 3, 2018.

    [via: The Hollywood Reporter]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

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  • Twisted Video Game ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ to Become a Movie

    Five Nights at Freddy's
    Fans of demonic bears are in luck: Video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is getting the big screen treatment.

    The Hollywood Reporter writes that Warner Bros. will distribute a film version of “Freddy’s,” the popular game created by Scott Cawthon. Seth Grahame-Smith (“Dark Shadows,” “Beetlejuice 2“) and David Katzenberg are producing, alongside Roy Lee. (That trio is currently at work on Cary Fukunaga‘s adaptation of Stephen King‘s “It.”)

    The game description, per THR:

    The game takes place in Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a darker version of Chuck-E-Cheese, where an animatronic animal band performs kiddy songs by day, and goes on murderous rampages by night. The goal of the game is survive a night locked inside, knowing that a furry death machine might jump out of the dark at any moment.

    Grahame-Smith noted that the flick would be “an insane, terrifying and weirdly adorable movie.”

    “The story really lends itself to being a movie and it taps into a largely unexplored niche of horror that a lot of people will be able to relate to,” Cawthon added.

    The project is currently searching for a writer.

    [via: The Hollywood Reporter]

    Photo credit: Scott Cawthon/THR

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  • ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Could Start Shooting Later This Year (Fingers Crossed)


    Buzz about a potential “Beetlejuice 2” has been ongoing pretty much ever since the classic Tim Burton film first hit theaters in 1988. But now, with Burton confirming that a sequel is indeed in the works, it seems that the movie is actually, really, 100 percent happening — and may begin production as early as this year.

    Writer Seth Grahame-Smith (“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”), who’s co-writing the script and co-producing the flick with his “Dark Shadows” collaborator Burton, gave a status report on the project in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, and dished out a bunch of scoop about the follow-up.

    First, Grahame-Smith confirmed what Burton had alluded to during a recent press tour for “Big Eyes”: Winona Ryder will be back. And after publicly hinting that he’d be interested in the sequel, Michael Keaton is also on board, according to Grahame-Smith.

    As for what the writer’s script entails, Grahame-Smith didn’t provide any actual details about a plot, though he did say he’d already written several drafts, and has gotten approval from Burton and Keaton.

    “I think we landed on the right idea, landed on the right approach,” the writer told EW. “It’s just now making sure that-for me-I don’t want to s–t my pants in front of the entire world making a sequel to one of my favorite movies.”

    As for when the world might finally see the heavily-anticipated flick, Grahame-Smith indicated that production could begin sometime later in 2015.

    “Where it stands now is Tim’s got to get ready to make [‘Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children’], and then hopefully we are set, deals are done, and we’re waiting in the wings ready to go right after ‘Peregrine’s’ wraps up,” Grahame-Smith told EW. “The ideal timeline is we’re really getting into it toward the end of this year.”

    We can’t wait.

    [via: Entertainment Weekly]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

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