Britt Hayes
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‘The Equalizer 2’ Casts Pedro Pascal as Denzel Washington’s Punching Bag
Now that he’s off that Scarface remake (which has about as much luck keeping a director around as Channing Tatum’s Gambit movie), Antoine Fuqua has plenty of time to devote to more pressing matters…like The Equalizer 2. The sequel to 2014’s big screen reimagining of the classic TV series is still on track for a 2018 release, and Fuqua has officially found the next guy who will get on Denzel Washington’s bad side.
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Live-Action ‘Aladdin’ Adds ‘Prison Break’ Star Numan Acar
Things are moving along quite nicely for Disney’s live-action redo of Aladdin, and the casting momentum of recent weeks continues today with yet another new addition: Numan Acar, best known for recurring roles on Homeland and FOX’s Prison Break revival, has joined the ensemble for Guy Ritchie’s upcoming reimagining of the 1992 animated classic.
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St. Vincent’s Annie Clark to Direct Gender-Swapped ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’
After three blissfully grotesque seasons of Penny Dreadful, it’s difficult to imagine anyone reinvigorating the familiar story of Dorian Gray as well as John Logan did in his tragically-short-lived gothic series. Enter Annie Clark, better known to fans as musician / rock god St. Vincent, who is set to make her feature directing debut with a gender-swapped take on The Picture of Dorian Gray.
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‘The Lion King’ Remake Casts Alfre Woodard as Simba’s Mom
On the heels of last week’s Aladdin update comes another exciting bit of casting news for another big Disney remake. This time it’s Jon Favreau’s take on The Lion King, which has enlisted Alfre Woodard as the voice of Sarabi — head lioness, partner to Mufasa, and mother of Simba in the upcoming live-action (ish) version of the studio’s beloved animated classic.
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‘Deadpool 2’ Reveals First Official Look at Josh Brolin’s ‘Grumpy, Heavily Armed’ Cable
If you’ve got a serious case of the Mondays, then Ryan Reynolds has just what you need to turn that frown upside down. Deadpool 2’s leading man has unveiled our first official look at Josh Brolin’s Cable, whose frown remains firmly planted in the downward position, seemingly (and predictably) unimpressed with Reynolds’ signature snark. Regardless of his grouchy demeanor, Brolin does look pretty awesome as the Merc With a Mouth’s classic foil.
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‘Wonder Woman’ Gearing Up for Serious Oscar Campaign
It takes a lot for Academy voters to recognize or even acknowledge a superhero film, but perhaps the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman could do the trick. With a worldwide box office gross of $781 million (to date) and a 92 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Wonder Woman is a certified hit. Critics and audiences alike have fallen head over heels for Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot’s solo superhero film, but can Warner Bros. get Oscar voters to do the same?
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‘IT’ Trailer: And You Thought Clowns Were Scary Before
You know what they say: Everything is better with friends. That includes fighting an evil demonic clown who lives in town sewer system and has an affinity for Victorian era garb. Wardrobe preference notwithstanding, Pennywise is still pretty darn terrifying, especially if you’re already scared of clowns — in which case, you might want to avoid the new trailer for IT.
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‘Atomic Blonde’ Review: More Bond Than ‘Blonde Wick,’ And That’s Not a Knock
Atomic Blonde is an easy sell: It’s Charlize Theron in a stylish spy thriller from one-half of the directing duo behind John Wick. But the first solo directorial effort from David Leitch is a little more James Bond than Blonde Wick — James Blonde, maybe, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s certainly more plot-driven (and at times, slightly convoluted) than John Wick, but no less enjoyable, and though the action scenes are every bit as awesome as you’d hope, it’s not quite the film you might be expecting.
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‘The Emoji Movie’ Parodied ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and Twitter Was Not Having It
An animated film featuring anthropomorphic emojis like Poop and High Five is probably not the best, um, vessel for a parody of a dystopian series in which fertile women are forced to procreate with wealthy men. But that’s exactly what happened late yesterday afternoon, when the marketing for The Emoji Movie took a decidedly dark and exceedingly ill-advised turn. In a tweet that has since been deleted, the film’s official account shared a promotional photo parodying The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu’s acclaimed series adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s classic novel. Unsurprisingly (and delightfully), the public response was swift and savage.
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Those ‘Justice League’ Reshoots Are Reportedly Very Extensive and Super Expensive
Rumors began circulating earlier this year about “extensive” reshoots on Justice League, which are now being overseen by Joss Whedon following Zack Snyder’s recent exit. Although reshoots are fairly typical and often factored into the post-production schedule, particularly on big budget blockbusters such as this, the film’s cast downplayed the matter at Comic-Con over the weekend. But a new report doubles down on earlier rumors and reveals just how complicated things have become for Justice League in the final stretch.
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Universal Reportedly Wants Channing Tatum for ‘Van Helsing’ Dark Universe Reboot
Universal’s recent attempt to launch a “Dark Universe” of monster movies with The Mummy didn’t exactly go as planned. The action-horror flick starring Tom Cruise is just the first of several reboots the studio has in development, and though it grossed $390 million worldwide, it earned a fairly disappointing $79 million stateside — hardly enough to merit the creation of an entire franchise, but Universal is determined to move ahead with their plans all the same. Those plans now reportedly include trying to land Channing Tatum for the lead role in a reboot of Van Helsing.
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‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ Suits Up for Comic-Con in New Character Posters
You may not be ready for Comic-Con, but the cast of Kingsman: The Golden Circle is all dressed up and ready to head to San Diego. The highly-anticipated sequel will hold court in Hall H this week, and 20th Century Fox has officially revealed which stars will be participating in the panel via a new series of very bespoke character posters. Spoiler: Pretty much everyone you want to see will be there — yes, even Jeff Bridges.
