News Shotgun 3/20/21
- Jake Gyllenhaal starring in Combat Control: Jake Gyllenhaal is starring in the next movie from Extraction director Sam Hargrave, Combat Control. Gyllenhaal will play real-life Medal of Honor recipient John Chapman, who was awarded the medal posthumously after dying in a battle in the mountains in Afghanistan against Al-Qaeda forces. The movie will follow an Air Force Captain, Cora Alexander, as she investigates what happened and if Chapman was actually worthy of the Medal of Honor due to the fact there were no witnesses and he was a classified Combat Controller, one of the most secretive units in the US military.
- Ace Ventura 3 in Development: Current rights holder to Ace Ventura, Morgan Creek, is developing a third movie in the series that would be an Amazon Prime exclusive. The writers behind Sonic the Hedgehog are writing the new movie but it’s not clear if Jim Carrey will return or not. Morgan Creek acquired the rights to a number of properties and has been actively exploring reboots, TV shows, and more for movies like Major League, Young Guns, Nightbreed, and more.
- Gotham Knights delayed to 2022: WB Montreal this week announced their upcoming Bat-family game, Gotham Knights, has been delayed to 2022. The game was announced at DC Fandome last summer and was expected to be out sometime this year but the company says they are taking more time to complete the game. The game seems similar to the Arkham games but can be played in co-op and is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. Another DC game, Rocksteady’s Suicide Squad, is expected in 2022 as well.
- Three new Game of Thrones spin-offs in development: HBO is developing three new Game of Thrones spin-off shows to go along with House of the Dragon and the Dunk and Egg series. One of the new shows is The Sea Snake, following Lord Corlys Velaryon, the eponymous Sea Snake, and the Lord of the Tides and head of House Velaryon. 10,000 ships follows Princess Nymeria, a warrior queen who founded House Martell and the kingdom of Dorne and the third series would be set in Flea Bottom in King’s Landing. House of the Dragon, a prequel focusing on House Targaryen, is expected to start shooting in the UK in April.
- Matthew McConaughey returns to the Grishamverse: Matthew McConaughey is reprising his role as attorney Jake Brigance from A Time to Kill for a new HBO series based on the sequel novel, A Time for Mercy. Brigance is called to Clanton, MI to defend a teenager who is accused of killing a police officer. The novel is actually very recent and was published last year while A Time to Kill came out in 1989 and the movie adaptation came out in 1996.
- Venom 2 delayed to September: Venom: Let There Be Carnage, has been delayed again to September 17th this year. The movie has been jostled around due to Covid and had a June 25th release date before this new delay.
- WB/DC developing an Hourman movie: A more obscure DC hero is potentially getting a film as WB/DC is developing an Hourman movie. Gavin James and Neil Widener, writers of upcoming films like Now You See Me 3 and San Andreas 2, have been hired to write a script for an Hourman movie. It’s not clear if it would focus on the original Hourman, Rex Tyler, or his son, the more popular iteration and the one currently featured on Stargirl. Both iterations of Hourman had the ability to gain super strength and stamina, but only for 1 hour a day. The current version on Stargirl has a magical hourglass that he flips over to gain his strength but the original comic version had a chemical concoction that he took.
- Rare Star Wars spin-offs coming to Disney+: Disney+ is getting some Star Wars spin-offs that most fans probably thought they would never officially see again. The Ewok TV movies, the Ewok cartoon series, the animated segment of the Star Wars Holiday Special, and Genndy Tartakovsky’s version of The Clone Wars are all coming to the streaming service on April 2nd.
- RIP Yaphet Kotto: Legendary character actor Yaphet Kotto passed away earlier this week at age 81. Kotto was probably best known for his roles in Alien as Parker and as Mr. Big in Live and Let Die but also appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street, The Running Man, Midnight Run, and more.
- Justified team developing new series for FX: The team behind Justified is developing a new Elmore Leonard-inspired series and Timothy Olyphant may return as Raylan Givens in some capacity. The new show is based on City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit, which does not feature Raylan and instead follows a homicide detective in Detroit named Raymond Cruz, who is after a serial killer named Clement Mansell. It’s not clear if the team is changing the book to be a new Raylan-led series or if Olyphant would be a guest star alongside a new lead.
- King of the Hill revival may be on the way: King of the Hill may be returning according to former writer Brent Forrester, who said during a recent Reddit AMA that he, Mike Judge, and Greg Daniels were in “hot negotiations” to bring the series back for a revival. If it comes back, the show would be set 15 years after the end of the original run. Disney owns the rights to the series thanks to their Fox acquisition and the original run of the series is streaming exclusively on Hulu.
- Rian Johnson developing first TV series: Rian Johnson is developing his first TV series, a mystery series called Poker Face that will stream on Peacock. The show has gotten a 10 episode first season and Russian Doll’s Natasha Lyonne will star in the lead. The show is inspired by classic mystery shows like Colombo and will be a case of the week-style show.