News Shotgun 4/24/21
- Lionsgate developing Saw and American Psycho TV shows: Lionsgate is looking to turn more of their franchises into TV shows with shows based on Saw and American Psycho in development. There’s really not any info besides the fact that they are being developed, which was revealed in an interview with Deadline by Lionsgate TV chairman Kevin Beggs. Lionsgate is also working on a John Wick prequel series called The Continental.
- Captain America 4 in development: (Spoilers) With The Falcon and The Winter Soldier finale fully giving Sam the mantle of Captain America, Anthony Mackie will be back and starring in a new Captain America movie that is in development. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman is writing the script but there’s no director or other details. There are definitely threads left at the end of Falcon and Winter Soldier, like Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’ plans for US Agent and Sharon Carter’s heel turn as The Power Broker, that this new Cap movie could explore.
- The Conjuring comic coming from DC: DC is introducing a new line of horror comics called, appropriately, DC Horror, and their first title will be a prequel to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The Conjuring: The Lover, will be a limited comic series from the movie’s screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and writer Rex Ogle, and featuring art by Garry Brown. The series will be five issues that will set up the upcoming third Conjuring movie and will also feature backup stories that will explore various artifacts in the Warrens vault. The series will start on the day the movie hits theaters, June 4th.
- Fast and Furious movies returning to theaters for free: Starting next weekend, and then every weekend until F9 comes out, select theater chains will feature screenings of all 8 previous Fast and Furious movies for free. Regal, AMC, Marcus, Harkins, and Showcase are some of the chains participating and you’ll have to check with your chain of choice on details on how to get the free tickets. You can go to https://www.fastfridayscreenings.com/ for more info.
- Justice League Unlimited getting a new comic series: Following up on Batman: The Adventures Continue, the comic series set in the Batman: The Animated Series universe, another beloved DC animated series, Justice League Unlimited, is getting a new comic continuation called Justice League Infinity. The series will be a digital-first series will be written by the show’s producer, James Tucker along with J.M. DeMatteis, with art provided by Ethen Beavers and it will feature the original roster of the show while adding characters and exploring plots that the show didn’t get a chance to. The first issue will be available digitally on May 13th, with physical copies hitting on July 6th.
- Jim Henson biopic in the works: Jim Henson is getting the biopic treatment with a new movie in development called Muppet Man from Disney and The Jim Henson Company. The movie will explore Henson’s life and specifically focus on his attempts to get The Muppet Show on the air. Michael Mitnick, who wrote The Current War and The Giver, is writing the script. No word on if this will be a theatrical release or a Disney+ movie.
- Disney/Sony sign a new massive licensing deal: Speaking of Disney, they also signed a massive multi-year deal with Sony to get their back and future movies onto Disney+, Hulu, and other Disney-owned platforms. Sony recently signed a deal with Netflix to get future movies streaming on that platform after their theatrical runs but this new Disney deal will see those movies hitting Disney platforms after their licensing at Netflix is over and will sooner get back catalog movies onto Hulu. Stuff like Venom, Jumanji, and Spider-Man are some of the heavy hitter involved.
- The Flash movie begins production: After many, many delays, The Flash movie directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller is finally in production. The start of production officially confirmed that Michael Keaton will return as Bruce Wayne/Batman as the movie will explore Flashpoint and the multiverse, bringing in characters from across the past of DC film and TV, as there was a rumor that the movie Flash may return to the Arrowverse at some point in the new movie.
- Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman join Secret Invasion: Two heavy hitter British actresses have joined Secret Invasion as Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman signed onto the Disney+ series this week in unspecified roles. The series will star Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and follow-up on the threads left in the after-credits scenes of Spider-Man: Far From Home and Wandavision with the Skrulls. Ben Mendelsohn and Kingsley Ben-Adir are co-starring as well. The show doesn’t have a release date yet.
- Furiosa movie will be the biggest film in Australian history: Director George Miller revealed some new details about the upcoming Furiosa movie at a press conference this week in Australia. He said the movie will span years to cover the backstory of Furiosa, who will be played by Anya Taylor-Joy in the new movie, and that it will be the largest production in Australian film history. They are expecting to start shooting next year, although everything from the vehicles to the stunts is ready to go. There was the possibility that tax incentives for films were going to expire and Miller was rushing to shoot a massive action sequence before then but the government kept the incentives intact, so Miller and his team were able to relax and begin next year.
- Joe Exotic series casts its Tiger King: While Nicolas Cage is playing Joe Exotic in a rival production, the other Tiger King dramatic series has cast its Tiger King with John Cameron Mitchell, a Tony-winning actor who was in Hedwig and the Angry Itch on stage and in the film adaptation. Kate McKinnon is playing Carole Baskin and this series will focus on her side of things and her feud with Joe Exotic. The Nicolas Cage series is coming to Amazon but this show will be on NBC, Peacock, and USA Network.
- Vin Diesel starring a Rock Em Sock Em Robots movie: Vin Diesel will be producing and starring in a movie based on the iconic toy Rock Em Sock Em Robots. It’s not clear who Vin is playing or what the plot is but it’s hard to think of what this movie could do that Real Steel didn’t do. Vin and his team are apparently looking to make this into a new franchise and are working with Mattel, who currently has the Rock Em Sock Em Robots license.
- Russell Crowe is playing Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder: A month or so ago, we learned Russell Crowe had a role in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, and this week he revealed in a radio interview that he is playing Zeus. The movie will find Thor battling Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher and Natalie Portman will return and take on the mantle of Thor herself.