News Shotgun 2/3/24
Here’s all the movie and TV news you need to know from the past week, it’s the News Shotgun
RIP Carl Weathers: One of our all-time favorites passed away this week as the great Carl Weathers died at age 76. Weathers started his career as a football player, playing linebacker for the Oakland Raiders. He transitioned into acting with a few smaller roles in film and TV before being cast as Apollo Creed in Rocky, a role he reprised in the next three Rocky movies. Predator, Action Jackson, The Mandalorian, Happy Gilmore, Arrested Development, Force 10 from Navarrone, and Toy Story 4 are just some of the other credits of his legendary career.
Tim Burton directing a remake of Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman: Tim Burton has signed on to direct a remake of the 1950s sci-fi classic Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman. Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn wrote the script and Warner Bros is producing the movie. The original movie follows a rich heiress who grows to gigantic proportions after encountering an alien. There’s no casting or release date info yet.
Obliterated canceled at Netflix: Obliterated won’t get a second season on Netflix, as the streamer has canceled the action/comedy series. Created by Cobra Kai’s Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald, the series followed a Special Forces team who believe they have stopped a terrorist attack in Las Vegas and proceed to celebrate with all sorts of debauchery. They soon learn that the threat is still active and have to regroup and stop it while drunk, stoned, etc. The trio of creators are currently working on the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai.
Bryce Dallas Howard and Orlando Bloom co-starring in Deep Cover: Bryce Dallas Howard and Orlando Bloom are co-starring in an action/comedy movie Prime Video UK, Deep Cover. The movie follows a trio of improv actors who are recruited to go undercover for the police, using their improv skills to ingratiate themselves with criminals. Sean Bean, Nick Mohammed, Ian McShane, and Sonoya Mizuno co-star with Tom Kingsley directing. The script was written by Jurassic World’s Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly.
Donnie Yen starring in a Kung Fu remake: Donnie Yen is stepping into the shoes of David Carradine for a film remake of the 1970s TV series Kung Fu. Yen will star in the new Kung Fu, which is being produced by David Leitch, who may direct as well. The original series saw David Carradine as a martial artist who travels to the Wild West after fleeing China when his master is murdered. He helps the downtrodden and innocent with his martial arts skills, taking on the various desperados and scoundrels of the West.
Hijack renewed for a second season: Apple TV+’s thriller series Hijack is getting another season on Apple TV+, as it was renewed this week for season 2. It seems like Idris Elba’s Sam Nelson will be back in some new predicament but details are not available yet on what the new season will entail.
HBO developing Dark Places from Gillian Flynn into a limited series: Along with scripting the new Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, Gillian Flynn is also co-creating a limited series for HBO based on her novel, Dark Places. The novel follows a woman named Libby Day, whose family was murdered when she was a girl and she accused her brother Ben of the crime. 25 years later, a pair of “true crime” detectives show up and want to dig into the story, forcing Libby to relive the events and begin to realize she may have accused the wrong person. Flynn previously worked with HBO on Sharp Objects, which starred Amy Adams, and was nominated for multiple Emmy awards.
SNL biopic adds cast members: SNL 1975, a dramatization of the early days of Saturday Night Live, has found some key cast members. Lamorne Morris is playing Garret Morris (no relation), Dylan O’Brien is playing Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith is playing Chevy Chase and Matt Wood is playing John Belushi. The movie is set on October 11th, 1975, the first ever episode of SNL, and the build-up to airing that first episode live.
Supergirl cast for new DC Universe: James Gunn and Peter Safran have found their Supergirl with House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock cast in the role. Alcock will star in a solo Supergirl movie based on Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic and may appear in next year’s Superman: Legacy to introduce the character. Alcock is the third recent actress to play Supergirl, following Melissa Benoist and Sasha Calle.
Rogue Trooper animated movie coming soon: 200AD’s Rogue Trooper is getting an animated theatrical film directed by Warcraft, Source Code, and Moon director Duncan Jones. Hayley Atwell, Aneurin Barnard, and Jack Lowden will star in the movie and it is being animated via Epic’s Unreal Engine 5. Barnard will star as Rogue Trooper aka 19, a “Genetic Infantryman” fighting a war against the “Norts”. When his squad is betrayed and he is the only survivor, 19 looks to find the traitor, accompanied by the electronic personalities of his squad mates who are now contained in his helmet, gun, and rucksack.