Month: November 2024

Joker, TV series, James Gunn

There have been rumours that Barry Keoghan would be reprising the role of Joker for a TV series set between the events of The Batman Part II and The Batman Part III. However, DC Studios co-head James Gunn quickly shot down the rumours. “No there is absolutely no truth to this,” Gunn wrote on Threads. “A Joker series is not being discussed nor has even come up at this time. Sorry.

Given how successful The Penguin series has been, it sounded plausible that DC Studios might have been considering a similar series to bridge the gap between the next two Batman movies. But alas, a Joker TV series doesn’t sound like it’s in the works.

Keoghan briefly played the role of Joker (albeit unnamed) in one of the final scenes of Matt Reeves’ The Batman. He also appeared in a deleted scene, which was released just weeks after the movie premiered. The deleted scene featured Batman (Robert Pattinson) visiting Joker in Arkham Asylum to get his perspective on Gotham’s latest villain, The Riddler. Reeves has previously explained that he cut the scene because it didn’t fit into the larger narrative.

Not because anyone asked me to cut it, but [I didn’t think] it was necessary,” Reeves said. “But it’s a really cool scene with that same unseen prisoner in Arkham. There was an earlier scene where Batman, because he’s getting these cards and letters from the Riddler, and he’s thinking, ‘Why is this guy writing to me? I’m supposed to be anonymous and he’s putting a lens on me. I don’t like that,’ and so he goes to kind of profile this kind of serial killer.

Reeves continued, “And you see him meeting with somebody who is obviously a serial killer himself, who, because it’s not Batman’s origin, but it is the origins of all these other characters, you’re seeing a version of this character who, yes, when you see the unknown prisoner, you’re like, ‘well, gee, I think that’s who that is.’ Well, that is who that is, but he’s not yet that character.

While it seems likely that we will see Keoghan’s Joker again (perhaps even in The Batman Part II), Reeves told Keoghan from the start that he couldn’t promise that this would be a recurring role. “I said to Barry, right from the beginning, ‘Look, I don’t know where this is going to go. I can’t promise that it’ll even ever come back. I don’t know,’” Reeves said. “And I still feel that way now. I’m not sure exactly.

The Batman Part II will finally start shooting next year and is currently slated for an October 2, 2026 release.

The post James Gunn shoots down rumours of Joker TV series: “Absolutely no truth to this” appeared first on JoBlo.

Denis Villenueve, Quentin Tarantino, Dune

Just last month, Quentin Tarantino shared a few hot takes on recent movies, including his refusal to watch Denis Villeneuve’s Dune because he’s already seen David Lynch’s version. “I saw [David Lynch’s] Dune a couple of times,” Tarantino said. “I don’t need to see that story again. I don’t need to see spice worms. I don’t need to see a movie that says the word ‘spice’ so dramatically.

Villeneuve recently took part in a Q&A at Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal, where he had a simple response to Tarantino’s refusal to watch Dune. “I don’t care,” Villeneuve said, which prompted the audience to erupt in laughter. However, he did agree with Tarantino in one area. “I agree with him that I don’t like this idea of recycling and bringing back old ideas,” he said. “But where I disagree is that what I did was not a remake. It’s an adaptation of the book. I see this as an original.” Villeneuve then added, “But we are very different human beings.

I would say Tarantino is missing out. While Lynch’s movie and Villeneuve’s movies do share the same source in Frank Herbert’s novel, they are very different animals.

It’s one after another of this remake and that remake,” Tarantino said. “People ask have you seen ‘Dune’? Have you seen ‘Ripley?’ Have you seen ‘Shōgun’?” And I’m like no, no, no, no. There’s six or seven Ripley books. If you do one again, why are you doing the same one that they’ve done twice already? I’ve seen that story twice before, and I didn’t really like it in either version, so I’m not really interested in seeing it a third time. If you did another story, that would be interesting enough to give it a shot anyway.

As for Dune, Villeneuve is set to return to Arrakis for a third installment of the franchise. However, he’s said that he doesn’t view Dune 3 as the completion of a trilogy. “First, it’s important that people understand that for me, it was really a diptych,” Villeneuve said. “It was really a pair of movies that will be the adaptation of the first book. That’s done and that’s finished. If I do a third one, which is in the writing process, it’s not like a trilogy. It’s strange to say that, but if I go back there, it’s to do something that feels different and has its own identity.

The post Denis Villeneuve responds to Quentin Tarantino refusing to watch Dune appeared first on JoBlo.

Ice Age 6

It’s been nearly a decade since the last Ice Age movie, but Manny, Diego, Ellie, Sid, Scrat, and Baby Scrat are coming back for more. It was announced at D23 Brazil that Ice Age 6 is officially in production. Will Scrat finally get his acorn?

The audience at D23 Brazil was treated to a short video announcing Ice Age 6, with cast members Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Simon Pegg returning for the sequel. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but fans of the franchise will doubtlessly be thrilled at its return.

Ice Age was Blue Sky Studios’ first movie. It was cheap to produce and became a massive hit upon its release in 2002, grossing $383 million worldwide. It was followed by Ice Age: The Meltdown in 2006, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 2009, Ice Age: Continental Drift in 2012, and Ice Age: Collision Course in 2016. Blue Sky Studios was a subsidiary of 20th Century Animation until its acquisition by Disney in 2019. There had been talk of a sixth sequel at the time, but the studio was closed down by Disney in 2021 due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Given the current economic realities, after much consideration and evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to close filmmaking operations at Blue Sky Studios,” said a studio spokesperson at the time. A short video was later released on YouTube, which featured Scrat finally getting his acorn and eating it.

In addition to the movies, the Ice Age franchise also spawned several shorts, TV specials, and a short series for Disney+. There was also The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild, a spinoff movie featuring Simon Pegg’s character, a one-eyed weasel and dinosaur hunter. While the Ice Age franchise hasn’t always been a critical darling, it has always been a consistent performer at the box office and has legions of passionate fans.

Are you looking forward to Ice Age 6?

The post Ice Age 6 is in production with Ray Romano, Queen Latifah and the rest of original cast returning appeared first on JoBlo.

Director Barry Jenkins shared a brand-new trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King at D23 Brazil. The upcoming prequel tells the origin of Mufasa, the lion who will one day become king of the Pride Lands.

Exploring the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands, ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick,” reads the synopsis. “Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.

The film boasts quite the voice cast, with Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka/Scar, Tiffany Boone as Sarabi, Kagiso Lediga as Young Rafiki, Preston Nyman as Zazu, Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros, Thandiwe Newton as Eshe, Lennie James as Obasi, Anika Noni Rose as Afia, Keith David as Masego, John Kani as Rafiki, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Donald Glover as Simba, Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, Braelyn Rankins as Young Mufasa, Theo Somolu as Young Taka, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala.

Jenkins appeared at CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier this year to promote Mufasa, explaining that he had seen the original Disney animated movie over 200 times and knew he had to take the job. “When the script came to me I was fascinated by watching these complex people dealing with complex emotions…this film explores Mufasa rise to become the heroic king that we know,” Jenkins said. However, some have targeted Jenkins for taking the gig, saying he’s “too good and talented for [Bob] Iger’s soulless machine.” In response, Jenkins said, “There is nothing soulless about The Lion King. For decades children have sat in theaters all over the world experiencing collective grief for the first time, engaging Shakespeare for the first time, across aisles in myriad languages. A most potent vessel for communal empathy.

What did you think of the new trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King? Will you be watching when it hits theaters on December 20th?

The post Mufasa: The Lion King trailer goes back in time for an epic adventure appeared first on JoBlo.

Katherine Waterston Alien: Covenant

Last month, 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell confirmed that a sequel to director Fede Alvarez’s recently released Alien: Romulus is in the works – so when The Hollywood Reporter mentioned in an article that producer Ridley Scott “revealed he’s developing a new Alien movie for 20th in the wake of Romulus’ success,” they’re probably talking about that Romulus sequel… even though Scott thinks a better choice would be to make a follow-up to his 2017 film Alien: Covenant.

Scott told THR, “Covenant is the best one [for a sequel] because it leaves the girl in the [cryo pod] and [Michael Fassbender’s killer android] David has alien eggs and 2,000 colonists hanging around. It’s a perfect beginning.” Interviewer James Hibberd suggested that the next film could be a sequel to both Covenant and Romulus, since “both films ended with ships headed to a planet we’ve never been to; there’s no reason those characters couldn’t end up in the same place.”

Scott started the Alien franchise when he directed the 1979 film, then left the series behind for several years. Now, he has made it clear that he’s trying to take ownership of this franchise (and the Blade Runner franchise as well). He said, “I made Alien and Blade Runner, but then I moved on. I should have locked them up — as Spielberg would have with Jurassic Park, and everything he does, and Cameron has done. Studios paid for them, but there’s a way of locking yourself into [ownership] during the negotiation. I watched Alien 23 and 4 and realized, ‘Oh, you just ran that firmly into the ground.’ Then I went back to [former 20th Century Fox chief Tom Rothman] and said, ‘Listen, there’s a way out. We should resurrect Alien with Prometheus.’ They made half a billion dollars — by now probably a billion with all the resales. It’s not what happens at the box office, it’s what happens after the box office. Then I went back with Alien: Covenant, and that was big and ambitious and maybe too intellectual to play as well. It still did $250 million, and I still stupidly didn’t lock it up. I don’t blame me, because I’m busy. I blame a couple other people, which is why we parted company.” Scott admitted that Aliens was fun, “and then three and four just evaporated.

Justin Alvarado Brown, president and COO of Scott’s production company Scott Free, and the rest of the team at Scott Free now work to make sure that the company will stay involved with any continuations of Scott’s legacy titles, which is why Scott was a producer on Alien: Romulus and is producing the upcoming TV series Alien: Earth. Brown said, “It would make no sense that another (Alien or Blade Runner) movie is made without Ridley and us.” On the Blade Runner side of things, Scott Free is producing the Prime Video series Blade Runner 2099.

What do you think of Scott Free being involved with every Alien and Blade Runner project going forward, and do you agree with Ridley Scott that Alien: Covenant is the Alien film that should get a sequel? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Ridley Scott thinks a sequel to Alien: Covenant would be a better choice than a sequel to Alien: Romulus appeared first on JoBlo.