The release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is upon us, and although the late Ivan Reitman sadly won’t get to see the movie, he did give his blessing before he died in 2022.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan told THR that Jason Reitman and himself did get to pitch the story for the sequel to Ivan Reitman. “We pitched an almost complete version of this film’s story outline to Ivan before his passing, and that was really meaningful,” Kenan said. “Obviously, we didn’t know that he wouldn’t be with us for the film, but his validation of the pitch and his joy at hearing it was something that kept us going through the writing.“

Kenan added, “I’m obviously very grateful to Jason for entrusting me with his family’s franchise. But I’m also really grateful that I was able to have a front row seat to the profound passing of the torch that took place on Afterlife between Ivan and Jason. The level of pride and love that Ivan showed, and the screenings that I was lucky enough to attend with him and audiences around the world, there was a depth to the satisfaction and the pride that I experienced in those moments that was so special. And those are core elements that we carry forward into the Ghostbusters stories going forward, starting with Frozen Empire.“

It remains to be seen if we’ll get another Ghostbusters sequel, but Kenan said that they would like to “continue the Phoebe Spengler saga” if they’re lucky enough to return.

Here’s the synopsis for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: “The Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.” The film stars Queen of Physical Media Carrie Coon, as well as Paul Rudd, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Celeste O’Connor, Logan Kim, and Annie Potts. The original Ghostbusters, consisting of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson, will also appear, and director Gil Kenan has said that they will be treated like “actual characters” this time around.

Our own Chris Bumbray recently caught the sequel, and while he had fun, he didn’t feel as though it was as good as Afterlife. “I was a big fan of Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Jason Reitman’s film skillfully blended nostalgia with a new take on the franchise that opened up the Ghostbusters universe in an inclusive way. It welcomed new fans without alienating old ones, something the 2016 reboot notoriously failed at,” Bumbray wrote. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire seems to be aimed at building the franchise out more extensively. While it’s still a fun, nostalgia-driven return to the Ghostbusting universe, it’s not as good as the last film and spreads itself too thin to do the new characters justice.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will hit theaters on March 22nd.

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Dune: Part Two has been a triumph, with many praising the sequel as one of the best sci-fi movies of all time; not only that, but it’s been kicking ass at the box office, grossing over $500 million worldwide and counting. That all but guarantees a third installment, but director Denis Villeneuve isn’t in any rush; in fact, he told Empire Magazine that he won’t make Dune: Messiah at all unless he’s sure it’s going to be better than Dune: Part Two.

“I did both movies back-to-back, which makes absolute sense for me,” Villeneuve said. “I felt that it was a good idea to move forward right after Part One. We were already designing, writing et cetera. But it also meant that for six years I was on Arrakis non-stop, and I think it will be healthy to step back a little bit. First, make sure that we have a strong screenplay. The thing I want to avoid is not having something ready. I never did it, and now I feel it could be dangerous because of the enthusiasm. We need to make sure all the ideas are on paper.“

Villeneuve added, “If we go back, it needs to be real, it needs to be relevant, if ever I do Dune Messiah, [it’s] because it’s going to be better than Part Two. Otherwise, I don’t do it.” As much as fans want to see Villeneuve complete the saga, I’d wager that most wouldn’t want him to rush it. Take your time, do it right, and we’ll be waiting.

Our own Chris Bumbray gave the Dune sequel a rave review. “In this day of assembly line blockbusters, it’s a miracle that director Denis Villeneuve has managed to get not one but two incredible, uncompromised epics like this through the studio system,” he wrote. “It works as a tentpole blockbuster, but Dune Part Two is also filmmaking at the highest level. It’s a real cinematic event everyone owes it to themselves to take in and hopefully won’t be forgotten come Oscar time. It’s a masterpiece.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.

Dune: Part Two will “explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.” The film is now playing in theaters, so be sure to let us know what you thought of it!

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Yesterday, we saw a couple first look images from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, director Tim Burton’s long-awaited sequel to his 1988 classic Beetlejuice (watch it HERE) – and now the first teaser trailer for the film has arrived online! You can check it out in the embed above. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to reach theatres on September 6th, so we still have over five months left to wait for this one.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was in development hell for decades before it finally got made. In 1990, Jonathan Gems was hired to write a sequel that was going to be titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. Burton considered having Daniel Waters rewrite that script, Pamela Norris did rewrite it, and Warner Bros. offered Kevin Smith the chance to do another rewrite. He turned it down. Seth Grahame-Smith was hired to write and produce a new version of a sequel in 2011. Mike Vukadinovich was brought on to rewrite his script in 2017.

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, co-creators and co-showrunners of Wednesday, have written the screenplay for Beetlejuice 2 that was actually filmed. Brad Pitt’s Plan B is producing the sequel, which filmed in London before moving to Vermont and Massachusetts.

Here’s the official synopsis: Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

Michael Keaton is back in the role of the titular “ghost with the most” and is joined in the cast by Winona Ryder, reprising the role of Lydia Deetz; Catherine O’Hara, back as Lydia’s stepmother Delia; Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter Astrid, Justin Theroux as a fellow named Rory,  Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s wife and Willem Dafoe as a law enforcement officer in the afterlife. Arthur Conti is also in there, in an unspecified role. 

Burton told Entertainment Weekly that, after putting off a Beetlejuice sequel for decades, he connected with the idea of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice because he was interested in catching up with the Lydia character and seeing where she is now. He said, “I so identified with the Lydia character, but then you get to all these years later, and you take your own journey, going from cool teenager to lame adult, back and forth again. That made it emotional, gave it a foundation. So that was the thing that really truly got me into it.“

He also explained the choice of the title, and why the poster (you can check it out below) has the odd 2024 A.D. addition on it, which made some of us think that was part of the title. “It’s been, what? Thirty-five years. So it didn’t feel like Beetlejuice 2 to me. It didn’t feel like that kind of a movie. The other one I thought of, because one of my favorite Dracula movies is Dracula A.D. 1972, was Beetlejuice 2024 A.D. But this (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) was a nice simple one.“

Are you looking forward to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? What did you think of the teaser trailer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Loosely based on the comic series by Mark Millar and J. G. Jones, Timur Bekmambetov’s Wanted was a stylized action movie starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman. The film was a critical and commercial success upon its release in 2008, grossing over $342 million worldwide, so it came as no surprise when the studio got the ball rolling on Wanted 2; But here we are, sixteen years later, and there’s no sequel in sight.

Michael Brandt, one of the co-writers of the original movie, told MovieWeb that while a script for Wanted 2 exists, he fears that the momentum to get it made has been lost.

“We had an idea for a sequel. We pitched it, wrote it. And it seems like there was some real interest in the studio to make it,” Brandt said. “And then Timur, who directed the first one, absolutely was interested as well. But he had a kind of a different idea for what he wanted to do… And it’s just one of those moments where somebody says the wrong thing in terms of our movie going forward, and the script that we’d written going forward. And he suggested some changes. And it kind of took the wind out of the sails at the studio. And then, the studio’s turnover is ‘fast and furious,’ to borrow a phrase. And I think the sequel of Wanted just kind of got left behind as other things started going forward.“

“So there’s a script, I’d love to see it get made, and I really liked it,” Brandt said. “I thought it was a proper sequel to the first one. But so far, the momentum has been lost.“

While Bekmambetov’s “different idea” stalled the project years ago, he did come up with an out-of-the-box idea for a potential sequel in 2020 which would have utilized Screenlife technology. The method ditches traditional cameras and tells its story using computer screens, webcams, and smartphone cameras, and Screenlife movies such as Unfriended and Searching have been very successful “Maybe do the Wanted sequel in Screenlife. I cannot imagine an assassin in today’s world would run with a gun,” Bekmambetov said. “Why? He will use drones, he will use computer technology, probably. You don’t need to bend bullets anymore. You need to bend ideas.“

Would you still like to see Wanted 2, or has its moment passed?

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Just like that, Larian Studios is done with not just Baldur’s Gate 3, its smash hit 2023 roleplaying game, but with the franchise altogether. And I do mean done, as studio founder Swen Vincke said during a talk at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) that the team is moving on from the series.

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Just like that, Larian Studios is done with not just Baldur’s Gate 3, its smash hit 2023 roleplaying game, but with the franchise altogether. And I do mean done, as studio founder Swen Vincke said during a talk at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) that the team is moving on from the series.

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The season two finale of the Halo TV series does everything a video game adaptation should do and then some, proving a point I’ve been making for well over a year: This show is good.

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The season two finale of the Halo TV series does everything a video game adaptation should do and then some, proving a point I’ve been making for well over a year: This show is good.

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While Marvel’s mutants have had their highs and lows throughout the many decades they’ve been around, one thing remains constant: the X-Men are timeless. That’s not because of the cool costumes and inventive powers the cast has. It’s because at their core, X-Men’s themes of prejudice and humanity’s capacity to hate…

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While Marvel’s mutants have had their highs and lows throughout the many decades they’ve been around, one thing remains constant: the X-Men are timeless. That’s not because of the cool costumes and inventive powers the cast has. It’s because at their core, X-Men’s themes of prejudice and humanity’s capacity to hate…

Read more…