News Shotgun 8/22
- Alfre Woodard cast in Luke Cage: The State of Affairs and True Blood actress will be featured on the upcoming Luke Cage Netflix series as “Minetta” a “powerful woman in local politics who will have an impact on Luke Cage’s life”. It’s believed she will be the main villain of the series up against Mike Colter.
- George Miller rumored to be in talks to direct Man of Steel 2: For the solo sequel to Man of Steel, WB might be going back to the man who was supposed to launch the DC universe originally, George Miller, fresh off the phenomenon that was Fury Road this summer. Miller was supposed to direct the movie Justice League: Mortal.
- Toby Kebbell joins Skull Island: Escaping the disaster that was Fantastic Four, Toby Kebbell is the latest actor to join Skull Island, the upcoming King Kong prequel from Universal. Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly and Corey Hawkins are co-starring and the movie is supposed to be out March 2017.
- Hugh Jackman may star in Odyssey movie: After Wolverine, Hugh Jackman may become a mythological hero by playing Odysseus in what is possibly going to be a multi-movie series from Lionsgate. Jackman is apparently in talks to star and Francis Lawrence, director of the last three Hunger Games movies, is directing.
- SHIELD spin-off is back on at ABC: After seemingly passing on the idea around the time of the upfronts in May, ABC has picked the Agents of SHIELD spin-off back up and it’s now called Marvel’s Most Wanted. The show will star Adrianne Palicki as Mockingbird/Bobby Morse and Nick Hunter as Lance Hunter but the characters will still be featured on the main show, so it’s not clear if the show would be a prequel or something else. ABC ordered a pilot of the show.
- Tom Holland joins Lost City of Z: The new Spider-Man will be heading into the jungles with Charlie Hunnam as Tom Holland joined the cast of The Lost City of Z. Based on the book of the same name, Hunnam plays Percy Fawcett, a turn of the century explorer who disappeared trying to prove his theory that a massive city was hidden somewhere in the Amazon. Sienna Miller and Robert Pattinson are also co-starring.
- WB developing a Carl Sagan movie: Possibly due to renewed interest thanks to the return of Cosmos last year or just the fact that the man was incredible, Warner Bros is developing a movie based around the life of Carl Sagan. Lynda Obst, who produced Contact and Interstellar, is one of the producers on the movie.
- The Rock starring in a Jungle Cruise movie: Disney is turning yet another of their classic rides into a movie as The Rock will be captaining a boat into the depths of the jungle with a Jungle Cruise movie. It will apparently be a period piece set in the 30’s, so that should be an interesting new environment for The Rock.
- RIP David A. Prior, Lenny Robinson and Yvonne Craig: A bunch of sad deaths occurred this week as we lost Deadly Prey director David. A Prior, philanthropic Batman impersonator Lenny Robinson and the original Batgirl, Yvonne Craig.
- Post-Apocalyptic Zorro still in development: Based on the success of Fury Road, the post-apocalyptic Zorro movie is apparently still moving forward from studio Sobini Films. The studio plans on shooting next year but there’s no director, writer or star attached.
- Tag comic gets movie adaptation: A new twist on the zombie genre is coming with an adaptation of the horror comic “Tag”. Fox is developing the movie and John Leonetti, who directed Annabelle last year, is on board in some capacity. The comic is about a man who is attacked by a zombie, who passes a curse to him that causes him to turn into a zombie unless he finds someone to pass the curse to, a la It Follows.
- WB bringing Scooby Doo back in 2018: A new animated movie for Scooby Doo is coming in 2018 according to Warner Bros and Tony Cervone will be directing. Cervone was one of the showrunners on Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated, which was the incredibly well received most recent incarnation of the gang. There may also be new versions of The Flinstones, Jetsons and Tom & Jerry coming in the near future.