News Shotgun 12/5
- Oscar Isaac Starring as Solid Snake for MGS Movie: After saying he would be interested in the role last year during an interview, Oscar Isaac will portray the iconic Solid Snake for Sony’s Metal Gear Solid movie. Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of Kong: Skull Island, has been developing the movie for years.
- Blood of Zeus renewed for Season 2: Netflix’s adult animation take on Greek mythology will return for a second season, as the streaming service has renewed Blood of Zeus for a second season. The show follows a young hero named Heron who discovers he is the son of Zeus and sets out on a quest to save both Earth and Olympus. The show’s creators said they have a plan for five seasons of the series.
- Hawkeye series adds cast members: The Hawkeye Disney+ series added a number of new cast members including Vera Farmiga, Tony Dalton, Florence Pugh (reprising her role from Black Widow), Fra Fee, Alaqua Cox, and Zahn McClarnon. Hailee Steinfeld will co-star alongside Jeremy Renner as Kate Bishop, who trains to inherit the mantle of Hawkeye from Clint Barton.
- Jason Statham starring in reworked Eastern Promises 2: Jason Statham will star in a movie that was originally going to be a sequel to 2007’s Eastern Promises called Body Cross but it will now be an original story with no ties to the David Cronenberg film called Small Dark Look. There’s no word on if the story is changing but the original idea was that Viggo Mortensen’s Nikolai would return as the driver to a mid-level Russian mob boss, played by Vincent Cassel, who believes, falsely, that he has inherited his father’s mob empire. Nikolai is also secretly an agent working for the federal Russian security forces.
- Warner Bros releasing every theatrical 2021 release on HBO Max: In easily one of the biggest stories of 2020 (and beyond), Warner Bros announced this week that all 17 of their major theatrical releases for 2021 will arrive day and date in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. The plan will be the same as with Wonder Woman 1984 in a few weeks; the movies will be on HBO Max for one month alongside the theatrical release and then the film will be removed from the service for a window of exclusivity for theaters before other avenues like VOD and DVD/Blu-Ray are available. It’s not clear if the movies will return to HBO Max at any point after the initial month. This plan includes Dune, Godzilla vs Kong, The Conjuring 3, In the Heights, The Matrix 4, Tom & Jerry, The Suicide Squad, and more.
- Gal Gadot starring in original spy thriller Heart of Stone: Gal Gadot will star in a new spy thriller called Heart of Stone, which is said to be a female spin on movies like Bond and Mission: Impossible. Tom Harper, who directed Wild Rose and The Aeronauts, will direct the movie with a script by comic legend Greg Rucka, whose work was most recently seen in The Old Guard on Netflix.
- Ducktales canceled at Disney: Disney has canceled their excellent reboot of Ducktales, with the current third season being the final season. The show will wrap up early next year and the creators have said they have an epic series finale in store. There is a Darkwing Duck reboot coming to Disney+ but it’s still not clear if it will be a continuation of Ducktales or it’s own thing (Darkwing and lots of other Disney Afternoon characters appeared in the new Ducktales).
- RIP David Prowse and Hugh Keays-Byrne: Two iconic movie villains passed away this week with David Prowse, the physical embodiment of Darth Vader, and Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played both Toecutter and Immortan Joe in the Mad Max series. Prowse was 85 and Keays-Byre was 73.
- New Van Helsing movie in development: James Wan is producing a new spin on Van Helsing for Universal, as part of their new attempts at classic monsters that got kickstarted with The Invisible Man. Julius Avery, who directed the awesome World War II horror movie Overlord, is directing the movie, although there are no plot details. It’s probably a safe bet that it will probably be slightly more realistic and grounded than Stephen Sommers’ over the top action movie version starring Hugh Jackman from 2004.
- Peter Dinklage starring in Toxic Avenger reboot: Legendary’s reboot of The Toxic Avenger has its star with Peter Dinklage signing on to star. Although there are not a lot of plot details, it’s assumed that Dinklage will play Melvin Junko or an equivalent character, who falls into toxic waste and becomes Toxie, a superpowered mutant who gets revenge on his tormentors and protects his hometown of Tromaville. Lloyd Kaufman is producing the movie but Macon Blair, who directed I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, is directing.
- Super Nintendo World opening on February 4th in Universal Studios Japan: The first Nintendo themed section of a Universal theme park will open in early February next year at Universal Studios Japan. Super Nintendo World will transport visitors into the world of Super Mario and features as the main attraction Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge, a roller coaster with AR elements to make it look and feel like a Mario Kart race. There is also a Yoshi-themed ride and plenty of food and shops to explore and there will be some sort of game element to the entire land through a wrist band and mobile app.
- Discovery+ streaming service coming in 2021: Just when you thought there were already too many streaming services, the Discovery family of networks are coming in a new service called Discovery+, which will launch next year. The service features the entire back catalog of Discovery Channel, Food Network, ID, OWN, TLC, History, A&E, Animal Planet, HGTV, and Travel Channel along with new original shows that are exclusive to the service. The service will be $4.99 for a version that has ads or $7.99 for an ad-free version.