Back in February, it was announced that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg would become the first filmmaker to take the helm of two films in the Predator franchise, as he was moving ahead with a new Predator film titled Badlands, working from a screenplay by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison (based on a story crafted by Trachtenberg himself), with filming expected to begin this summer. In June, it was revealed that Super 8‘s Elle Fanning had been cast in the film. Predator: Badlands has since gone into production in New Zealand – and during a conversation with Empire, Trachtenberg revealed that the Predator is the protagonist in this movie!
According to a casting call, Predator: Badlands has the following synopsis: A groundbreaking film in which one of the two main storylines delves into the intricate bond of two very different sisters, their familial ties are put to the ultimate test as they pursue divergent paths and missions. We’ve previously heard that the story is set sometime in the future.
The casting call was searching for a lead actress who could take on the dual role of twin sisters Thia and Tessa: This casting is for a dual character, and describes both characters. Character identifies as female or non-binary, open ethnicity, mid 20s – mid 40s. Thia has spent most of her life in a laboratory and is now embarking on her first big adventure in the world. She is incredibly smart, witty, enthusiastic, and unflappable. She has an innate disregard for danger, not because she’s fearless, but simply because she’s naive. Strong comedy chops required. // The other sister, Tessa, has a militant intensity when it comes to achieving her family’s goals and mission objectives. She will not let anything get in her way, not even her twin sister. These are the roles Elle Fanning is playing.
Speaking with Empire, Trachtenberg revealed, “The creature is front and center, leading the charge. He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally, too. Creating a character you connect with, but are also super-intimidated by, has been challenging. But exciting.” The idea for Predator: Badlands came from Trachtenberg’s desire to “find another essential piece of cinema that does what Prey did spiritually — pushing the franchise’s boundaries, letting us root for a hero we rarely get to root for — but in a different way. And that transformed into this big idea of rooting for the Predator.“
Predator: Badlands will be receiving a theatrical release sometime in 2025 – and Trachtenberg has actually made three Predator movies. Before Badlands reaches the screen, we’ll be seeing another Trachtenberg-directed Predator project that’s rumored to be an animated anthology.
Are you looking forward to finding out how Predator: Badlands will present a heroic Predator that we’ll be rooting for? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
While everyone’s enjoying the new Zombies mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Marvel Studios is ready to unleash hordes of infected and bitey superheroes onto Disney+ with Marvel Zombies. The animated mayhem shambles onto the streaming platform in October 2025, but Marvel wants to spill the beans about the anticipated project’s voice cast.
Bryan Andrews (Primal, Jackie Chan Adventures) directs Marvel Zombies from a teleplay written by Zeb Wells, based on a story by Andrews and Wells. While there’s no official plot synopsis, the title gives us all we need, more or less. I’ll bet every long box in my comic book collection that a Marvel hero gets infected by a nasty virus, becomes zombified, and then passes the disease on to others. I’m sure there are more twists and turns, but zombie stories are usually a by-the-numbers affair.
Regarding the Marvel Zombies voice cast, the studio revealed an exciting list of Marvel alums, including Awkwafina, Elizabeth Olsen, David Harbour, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Randall Park, Hailee Steinfeld, Dominique Thorne, Iman Vellani, and Todd Williams, who voice Rick Mason in Insomniac’s 2020 Spider-Man: Miles Morales video game.
Speaking with The Directlast year, Iman Vellani offered her impression of what fans can expect from the show, including the story focusing on Vellani’s Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel.
“We’ve done the whole thing. It was amazing. It was so much fun. And I love—there are a lot of cool characters in the Marvel Zombies show,” said Vellani. “And Kamala is kind of the center of the show. They described it to me, it’s like, ‘She’s basically the Frodo of the story.’ And I was like, ‘That’s amazing.’ And I get to interact and meet all these people along her journey. And, yes, they’re only the voices, and I don’t get to hear their voices in real-time. But just, it’s my fantasies, right? Like, knowing Kamala is going to interact with some really cool people, even if it’s just animation, is so special in a lot of ways.”
Iman Vellani’s enthusiasm for Marvel Zombies is infectious (see what I did there), and I can’t think of a better character to lead Marvel’s upcoming animated apocalypse. Vellani’s genuine love for the Marvel Cinematic Universe reminds us what it’s like for the MCU to still be a magical corner of Hollywood.
Are you excited about the Marvel Zombies voice cast? Will other actors show up to voice their respective characters? Who do you want to see battle zombie hordes or become one of the infected? Let us know in the comments section below.
HBO’s The Penguin only exists because The Batman was wildly successful and audiences really gravitated to Colin Farrell’s against-type rendition of Oswald Cobblepot, or Oz Cobb as he’s known in this universe. So why isn’t Robert Pattinson’s caped crusader anywhere to be found in the show’s eight-episode tour of…
HBO’s The Penguin only exists because The Batman was wildly successful and audiences really gravitated to Colin Farrell’s against-type rendition of Oswald Cobblepot, or Oz Cobb as he’s known in this universe. So why isn’t Robert Pattinson’s caped crusader anywhere to be found in the show’s eight-episode tour of…
Back in 1956, director Fred M. Wilcox and writers Cyril Hume, Irving Block, and Allen Adler brought the world one of the most popular science fiction films ever made, Forbidden Planet, which earned an Oscar nomination for its special effects and, in 2013, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, as the film is regarded as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Of course, there have been rumblings of a remake for a long time. Fifteen years ago, there was even some talk about James Cameron directing the remake, and Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski was working on the screenplay. That take on the concept never made it into production, but now Deadline reports that Hugo and Eisner Award-winning comic book writer and screenwriter Brian K. Vaughan, who created the comics Y: The Last Man and Runaways and worked on the TV shows Lost and Under the Dome, is writing a new screenplay for a Forbidden Planet remake.
The project is set up at Warner Bros., with Emma Watts producing. According to Deadline, Forbidden Planet remake hopes have previously been held back by rights issues, but apparently Warner Bros. and Watts have figured out how to overcome those issues.
Loosely based on Shakepeare’s The Tempest, Forbidden Planet is set in the 23rd century, where the starship C-57D arrives at the distant planet Altair IV to solve the mystery of what happened to another starship sent 20 years prior. One of that original ship’s scientists, Dr. Edward Morbius (played by Walter Pidgeon), warns them not to land for safety reasons, but C-57D does so anyway. Their rescue attempts are hampered by a creature that begins killing members of the crew. The ship’s commander John J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen, back when he exclusively did serious roles) unravels a mystery that involves a relic from a long perished race that heightens intellect and does much worse. The film also starred Anne Francis as the wife of Morbius; a major character in the film is Robby the Robot, the first in a sci-fi film that didn’t come off like a cheap tin can, and began the trek of AI-fueled robots that became staples of major sci-fi films to follow.
Years ago, Straczynski said that his approach to the material was to make something that was “not a remake, not a reimagining, not exactly a prequel.” There might have even been trilogy plans in place. There’s no word on what sort of approach Vaughan will be taking.
Are you interested in seeing a Forbidden Planet remake? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
It’s that time of year again when Christmas movies are pulled out of boxes to revisit, and new ones debut on big screens and small screens. With Hallmark and Lifetime having cornered the market on the schmaltzy brand of Yuletide fare, it is easy to ignore or dismiss the countless other movies and shows with feel-good messages for this time of year. One such film is the new Shout Studios film A Sudden Case of Christmas, starring Danny DeVito, Lucy DeVito, Wilmer Valderrama, Andie MacDowell, and newcomer Antonella Rose.
Set in the Dolemite Mountains of Italy, A Sudden Case of Christmas is set during the summer when young Claire Randall (Antonella Rose) is heading to visit her Grandfather Lawrence (Danny DeVito), who owns and manages an exclusive hotel in the beautiful mountains. Claire is visiting with her mother, Abbie (Lucy DeVito), and father, Jacob (Wilmer Valderrama), and she has no clue that they are preparing to divorce. When Claire realizes what is happening, she demands the family convert the hotel to a Christmas theme to celebrate her favorite holiday one last time as a family. With Jacob’s parents, Rose (Andie MacDowell) and Mark (Jose Zuniga), joining them, what follows is a comedy of errors as the family copes with hijinks, arguments, and rekindled romance while getting a dose of Christmas at the same time.
I got the chance to chat with the father-daughter duo of Danny and Lucy DeVito about A Sudden Case of Christmas. We chatted about what it meant for the two to work together on screen, the talent of young Antonella Rose, and what their favorite Christmas movies are. Check out the full interview in the embed above.
A Sudden Case of Christmas opens in theaters, digitally, and on-demand on NOW. Read our review HERE!
It’s that time of year again when Christmas movies are pulled out of boxes to revisit, and new ones debut on big screens and small screens. With Hallmark and Lifetime having cornered the market on the schmaltzy brand of Yuletide fare, it is easy to ignore or dismiss the countless other movies and shows with feel-good messages for this time of year. One such film is the new Shout Studios film A Sudden Case of Christmas, starring Danny DeVito, Lucy DeVito, Wilmer Valderrama, Andie MacDowell, and newcomer Antonella Rose.
Set in the Dolemite Mountains of Italy, A Sudden Case of Christmas is set during the summer when young Claire Randall (Antonella Rose) is heading to visit her Grandfather Lawrence (Danny DeVito), who owns and manages an exclusive hotel in the beautiful mountains. Claire is visiting with her mother, Abbie (Lucy DeVito), and father, Jacob (Wilmer Valderrama), and she has no clue that they are preparing to divorce. When Claire realizes what is happening, she demands the family convert the hotel to a Christmas theme to celebrate her favorite holiday one last time as a family. With Jacob’s parents, Rose (Andie MacDowell) and Mark (Jose Zuniga), joining them, what follows is a comedy of errors as the family copes with hijinks, arguments, and rekindled romance while getting a dose of Christmas at the same time.
I got the chance to chat with the father-daughter duo of Danny and Lucy DeVito about A Sudden Case of Christmas. We chatted about what it meant for the two to work together on screen, the talent of young Antonella Rose, and what their favorite Christmas movies are. Check out the full interview in the embed above.
A Sudden Case of Christmas opens in theaters, digitally, and on-demand on NOW. Read our review HERE!
Plot: Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.
Review: Taylor Sheridan has continued to expand Paramount’s roster of series to the point that they may want to reconsider naming their services after him. The writer-director has created shows centered on cowboys, outlaws, criminals, prisoners, soldiers, and historical figures. With Yellowstone returning to complete its original run and five other series on the air, I was prepared to discount Sheridan’s latest series, Landman, as another variation on his established formula. After seeing the new series led by Billy Bob Thornton, I am excited to say that Landman is Taylor Sheridan’s best series since the debut of Yellowstone. With a stellar cast including Ali Larter, Jon Hamm, and Demi Moore, Landman is another look at the wealthy and working class tied to the oil business and how the dangerous world of fracking and drilling claims lives in different ways. It is a fascinating blend of drama and an edgy sense of humor, making for a very entertaining new series.
Billy Bob Thornton leads the series as Tommy Norris, a crisis executive who works for the CEO of MTex Oil, Monty Miller (Jon Hamm). Previously a tycoon in the industry himself, Tommy lost everything when the market bottomed out and now works in the fields of Midland, Texas resolving issues for MTex. In the first five episodes, Tommy must contend with multiple deaths, each a potential liability for Monty’s company and each involving complex issues that resonate profoundly with the petroleum engineers and rig operators risking their lives to pump oil from the ground. Tommy lives with friend and engineer Dale (James Jordan) and MTex attorney Nathan (Colm Feore) while interacting by phone daily with Monty about how to navigate each legal and financial crisis. Thornton is charismatic as Tommy switches between hardhat and cowboy hat depending on the situation and deals with lawyers, drug cartels, and the most complex challenge of them all: his family.
While Tommy is the main character, Landman also follows his twenty-two-year-old son Cooper (Jacob Lofland), who has aspirations of his own but feels he must work in the oil fields to earn his place, his seventeen-year-old daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) who is trying to find her place in life, and a tumultuous yet sexually-charged dynamic with his ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter) that gives him extra stress daily. With the subject matter of Landman heavily dramatic and some brutal moments punctuating each episode, Billy Bob Thornton gets to have some fun with truly funny moments that stand out in each episode. Taylor Sheridan’s writing plays with life and death, with the body count rising almost every episode. Still, I was laughing just as much either through the hilarious circumstances Tommy ends up in or Thornton’s perfect deadpan delivery of some biting one-liners. I appreciate the somber and violent moments punctuated by some humor, which gives Landman a balance missing from some of Taylor Sheridan’s other series.
The trailers for Landman note Jon Hamm and Demi Moore’s inclusion in the cast, but both are featured very little in the five episodes made available for this review. Hamm does get to deliver as Monty Miller has to hear the challenges Tommy apprises him of each day, feeling the stress piling on his shoulders. Hamm and Thornton share no screen time in the first half of the season, with Demi Moore being relegated to just a few lines overall. I expect more from both characters in the back half of the season. The additional screen time is allotted to Kayla Wallace as MTex attorney Rebecca Falcone, a surprising character I initially underestimated but who rivals Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton from Yellowstone as a woman you do not want to underestimate. We also have nice turns by Mustafa Speaks as crew leader Boss, Mark Collie as Sheriff Joeberg, and Paulina Chavez as Ariana, a widow whose connection to Cooper is a major factor in the first half of the season. Everyone here is quite good, with the established actors and the newcomers meshing well as an ensemble that fits into Taylor Sheridan’s brand of storytelling.
Co-created with Christian Wallace, the host and writer of Boomtown, the podcast that inspired Landman, all ten episodes of this first season were written by Taylor Sheridan. Sheridan also directed the first two episodes, while Stephen Kay helmed six of the remaining ten, with Michael Friedman on the remaining two. If you look back at his prior projects, the ones where Sheridan has written the entirety of a season tend to be his stronger narratives, and Landman is no exception. The balance of lighter moments does not shy away from the intensely dramatic and heavy material that this story centers on. Landman does not glorify the oil business but has some stark commentary on how our reliance on fossil fuels shapes our world. While series like Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age have looked at the disparity between the upper class and the workers who shape their lives, Landman straddles both sides with Billy Bob Thornton’s performance serving as an example of a relatively wealthy man whose life exists on the boundary of the working class and the leadership of the executive level.
Landman offers a mix of melodrama, sex, and the spoiled lifestyles of the rich and powerful with the high stakes of those who may not survive working in the oil fields and yet put their life on the line day after day. This story blends the gritty tone of Mayor of Kingstown with the guilty pleasure glimpse of the rich from Yellowstone with the just right sense of humor of Tulsa King for a fantastic television experience. Landman is not about rich people behaving badly as much as it is a peek into a world many of us know nothing about. Taylor Sheridan has built each perspective in this series and pulled them together into a fascinating portrait of what people do to make a living. I have enjoyed most of Taylor Sheridan’s series so far, but Landman is the best work he has done since the first season of Yellowstone. I am excited to see how the back half of this season wraps up, but based on the first five episodes, this already ranks as one of my favorite series of the year.
Landman premieres with two episodes on November 17th on Paramount+.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s ending is one of the best segments in the game if not the whole series. But its secret ending, one you unlock by doing specific side quests and finding certain artifacts throughout the world, is a bit more controversial. After fans unlocked the scene in question, some weren’t thrilled at…
Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s ending is one of the best segments in the game if not the whole series. But its secret ending, one you unlock by doing specific side quests and finding certain artifacts throughout the world, is a bit more controversial. After fans unlocked the scene in question, some weren’t thrilled at…
