The fact that we received a prequel to the 2009 thriller Orphan in 2022 was mind-boggling – especially since the surprisingly entertaining Orphan: First Kill still starred Isabelle Fuhrman as Leena Klammer / Esther, an adult serial killer from Estonia who is able to pass herself off as a 9 year old kid. Looking 9 was easy for Fuhrman when she made the first movie, because she was a child at the time… but now she’s an adult, and the filmmakers had to try to figure out how to make her look like a kid again for the prequel. It worked well enough, and the movie went over well enough with viewers (you can read our review HERE), that we started hearing rumblings of an Orphan 3 around the end of last year – and now it’s official. Lionsgate has announced, via Variety, that they’ve officially given the greenlight to Orphan 3!
This sequel is coming our way from the Orphan: First Kill team of director William Brent Bell and writer David Coggeshall. Their previous team-up had the following synopsis: Esther’s terrifying saga continues in this thrilling prequel to the original and shocking horror hit, Orphan. After orchestrating a brilliant escape from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Esther travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family. Yet, an unexpected twist arises that pits her against a mother who will protect her family from the murderous “child” at any cost. Details on the new film have not been revealed, but it has been confirmed that Fuhrman is coming back as Esther again.
Lionsgate is working with Dark Castle Entertainment and Alex Mace of Gnosis Films to bring Orphan 3 to us. Norman Golightly, Co-CEO of Dark Castle Entertainment, provided the following statement: “Dark Castle is excited to announce another terrifying chapter in the Orphan saga. With the past success of the first two movies and another thrilling storyline, we are confident that Orphan 3 will be a must-see movie for both current fans of the franchise, and new fans alike.” David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, the writer of the original Orphan, serves as an executive producer.
Are you glad to hear that we’ll be getting an Orphan 3 with Isabelle Fuhrman back as Esther? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
Marvel Studios last Wednesday conjured the final two episodes of Agatha All Along on Disney+, delivering one of the superhero studio’s most satisfying series yet. Not knowing what to expect, the WandaVision spinoff, starring Kathryn Hahn as the witch Agatha Harkness, presented fans with a spooky series that pushes the boundaries of any Marvel-related content. While Agatha’s journey along the Witch’s Road is filled with twists, tragic romance, and self-discovery, it almost featured another fan-favorite character, Hulkling, but Marvel said no.
According to Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer, there were early talks about Billy’s boyfriend Eddie (Miles Gutierrez-Riley) being named Teddy, as in Teddy Altman, aka Hulkling. While fans of the green-skinned Young Avenger would have popped for the character’s inclusion, Marvel shut the idea down for unclear reasons. I could speculate why Hulkling was left out of the show, but Jac Schaeffer is a far better source:
“There were early conversations [about Hulkling],” Schaeffer told Entertainment Weekly. “[Eddie] was originally called Teddy because we were looking at the artwork and thinking about that. That was a Marvel decision to not have him be Hulkling for the purposes of our show. Within our show, he is not Hulkling…but we pivoted to Eddie because he is named after a person that is important to the writers’ room. It wasn’t sort of teasing the fans, it was one of those lovely tributes to somebody who matters to us.”
If the after-credits scene for The Marvels is any indication, Marvel Studios plans to introduce the Young Avengers at some point, seemingly led by Iman Velani’s Kamala Khan. In this case, Marvel could see introducing Teddy in Agatha All Along as a misstep for the character. Considering his importance to the team and intimate ties to Joe Locke’s Wiccan, Marvel could have a more significant introduction in mind. I’m not sure Hulkling would have fit into Agatha All Along, given that the trek along the Witch’s Road covers most of the show’s runtime. Teddy is a big deal, and I understand why the studio might want to save him for another title or opportunity.
Do you think Teddy would have been a great addition to Agatha All Along? Does Marvel already have their hands full with Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk set to debut in Captain America: Brave New World? Let us know in the comments section below.
Filmmaker Mike Flanagan believes that “Physical media is critical,” which is not a belief that was shared by his former employers at the Netflix streaming service. Flanagan recently said that he tried very hard to get Netflix to release the work he did for them on Blu-ray and DVD, but they “refused at every turn.” But while several Flanagan projects remain on Netflix and aren’t available on physical media, he did confirm earlier this year that he has taken his 2016 film Hush away from the streaming service so he can give it a long-awaited physical media release. The 4K UHD and Blu-ray release is coming from Scream Factory on November 26th (copies are available for purchase at THIS LINK) – and they have just revealed that this physical media release of the movie is going to be packed with extras!
Hush has the following synopsis: After losing her hearing as a teenager, author Maddie Young has lived a life of isolation fully retreating into her now silent world. When the masked face of a psychotic killer appears in the window of her secluded home, she must push herself beyond her mental and physical limits in order to survive the night. Kate Siegel stars alongside John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, and Emma Graves.
Here’s the list of extras that will be found on the 4K and Blu-ray release, which includes a “Shush Cut” that’s in black & white and has no musical score:
Disc One (4K UHD, ORIGINAL VERSION): – NEW 2024 “Shush Cut” Audio Mix – NEW 2024 4K Restoration Supervised And Approved By Director Mike Flanagan – NEW Audio Commentary With Mike Flanagan, Actor & Co-Writer Kate Siegel, And Actors Samantha Sloan, John Gallagher, Jr., And Michael Trucco.
Disc Two (4K UHD, “SHUSH CUT”): – NEW 2024 4K Restoration – B&W “SHUSH CUT” Supervised And Approved By Mike Flanagan – NEW Audio Commentary With Mike Flanagan And Kate Siegel – NEW 2024 “Shush Cut” Audio Mix
Disc Three (Blu-ray, ORIGINAL VERSION & “SHUSH CUT”): – NEW 2024 4K Restoration Supervised And Approved By Mike Flanagan – NEW Audio Commentary With Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, John Gallagher, Jr., And Michael Trucco (Original Version) – NEW 2024 4K Restoration – B&W “Shush Cut” Supervised And Approved By Mike Flanagan – NEW Audio Commentary With Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel (“Shush Cut”) – NEW 2024 “Shush Cut” Audio Mix
Disc Four (Blu-ray, Special Features): – NEW Feature-Length Picture-In-Picture Video Commentary Eith Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, John Gallagher, Jr., and Michael Trucco (Original Version) – NEW Interview With Samantha Sloyan – NEW Interview With Kate Siegel – NEW Interview With John Gallagher, Jr – NEW Interview With Michael Trucco – NEW Interview With Mike Flanagan – NEW Interview With Producer Trevor Macy – NEW Interview With Composers The Newton Brothers – NEW Interview With Director Of Photography James Kniest
Will you be buying a copy of Hush on 4K and Blu-ray? What do you think of the extras that will be on the discs? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Here’s something a little different. Today, Lionsgate announced that it landed the worldwide theatrical rights to the suspense thriller Hurry Up Tomorrow, the first feature film from Grammy-winning artist The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye). The feature-length project serves as an extension of The Weeknd’s upcoming album of the same title. Hurry Up Tomorrow is the film’s score, orchestrated by The Weeknd and Daniel Lopatin. Tesfaye won’t approach this ambitious project alone. Trey Edward Shults directs Hurry Up Tomorrow from his script, with Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, X, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and Barry Keoghan (Saltburn, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Eternals) leading the film.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the film, Adam Fogelson of Lionsgate said, “Abel is a visionary whose art cannot be confined by any single medium. With Hurry Up Tomorrow, in partnership with Trey, his musical universe expands onto the big screen with a psychological thriller that will usher in a new cinematic experience for fans. We are thrilled to be bringing it to audiences worldwide.”
According to Lionsgate, Hurry Up Tomorrow is “the culmination of his trilogy of studio albums, following the blockbuster hits Dawn FM (2022) and After Hours (2020). This third album represents the creative apex of the project, serving as the final chapter crafted with existential and self-referential themes and accompanied by visionary teasers that have set fans ablaze with anticipation for this concluding installment.”
Tesfaye’s Manic Phase and Reza Fahim produce, along with the late Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss. It is executive produced by Jenna Ortega, Trey Edward Shults, Michael Rapino, Ryan Kroft, Wassim “Sal” Slaiby, and Harrison Huffman.
Earlier this year, multi-hyphenate artist Donald Glover released Bando Stone & The New World, the soundtrack for his sci-fi film of the same name. In the bizarre action film, Glover plays Bando Stone, a famous musician navigating a world empty of people. He meets a woman and her child, and together, they journey through a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world.
The Weeknd is, without question, one of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. You can’t surf the Fortnite shop without seeing his skin pack every few weeks, and he gave society one of its best memes/gifs, thanks to his Super Bowl performance. Oh, yeah, and he’s sold over 75 million records, including seven diamond-certified #1 singles and the world’s biggest-selling record of all time. Not too shabby.
Would you believe I’ve never heard his music until today? I’m listening to Dawn FM right now, and it’s groovy AF. Are you intrigued by The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow? Let us know in the comments section below.
Nearly three years have passed since it was first announced that Abbey Lee (Old) and Christopher Abbott (Possessor) had signed on to star in the Australian Outback thriller Fear Is the Rider, which is coming to us from John Michael McDonagh, the BAFTA-nominated writer/director of the 2011 film The Guard… and while the project has lost Abbott in that time, it’s still alive, and Abbey Lee is still attached to star in it. Deadline reports that Lee has now been joined in the cast by Ben Mendelsohn (Star Wars: Rogue One), Toby Wallace (The Bikeriders), and Eliza Scanlen (Babyteeth). Film Constellation and CAA Media Finance will be seeking distribution deals at this week’s American Film Market.
McDonagh’s plan is to make a trilogy of Fear Is the Rider thrillers – and if you look at the synopses provided, you’ll see that the current version of the film is much different from the one that was announced in early 2022. The film will follow a lone woman, searching for her missing mother, who is pursued into the Australian Outback by a terrifying family of serial killers, with only an ex-con and a young girl willing to help her. When the project was first announced, this was the synopsis: John Shaw, a photojournalist, arrives in Australia trying to recover from his experiences reporting on the Vietnam War. After meeting a young woman in a small-town bar, he decides to detour into the Outback to photograph cave paintings. Out there, under the baking sun, people can die within hours. But the elements are not the most hazardous thing in the bush, and Shaw and his mysterious companion soon find themselves caught up in an unrelenting fight for survival.
The differences in these descriptions aren’t due to the script evolving over the years. It’s because the Fear Is the Rider that was announced in 2022 is now intended to be the second installment in this trilogy and will sport the title Fear Is the Rider: Australia Day. That sequel will be based on a novel written by Wake in Fright author Kenneth Cook, and that’s where the title Fear Is the Rider came from.
The Fear Is the Rider that McDonagh will be making first is actually based on the novel The Hunted by Gabriel Bergmoser – and that book has a sequel called The Inheritance, so I wonder if McDonagh is going to work that one into the trilogy as well. Whatever the case, Fear Is the Rider also stars Daniel Henshall (Mickey 17), Brenton Thwaites (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), Thomas Turgoose (This is England), Rhys Wakefield (The Purge), Shane Jacobson (The Bourne Legacy), Susie Porter (Gold), and Jacqui Purvis (Home and Away). Deadline adds that the project is meant to be “a nod to the gore-drenched Ozploitation slashers of the 1970s.” Which sounds great to me.
As for the follow-up, Fear Is the Rider: Australia Day, that was said to be a “chase thriller” that’s like “Duel meets Picnic at Hanging Rock.“
The first Fear Is the Rider is being produced by McDonagh and Elizabeth Eves for House of Un-American Activities, Trevor Matthews and Nick Gordon for Brookstreet Pictures, and Kate Glover. Filming is expected to begin in Australia in early 2025.
What do you think of the Fear Is the Rider trilogy plans? Do these stories sound interesting to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
When one of the gaming industry’s most enigmatic creators, Hideo Kojima, isn’t collecting scans of celebrities like Pokémon, he occasionally takes a break from developing strange and innovative interactive experiences by watching a movie. As it turns out, the creator of Metal Gear and Death Stranding has something in common with Quentin Tarantino. They both think Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux is an underrated stroke of genius and should be appreciated as such by fans. Speaking with Variety about the divisive sequel, Hideo Kojima detailed his affinity for aspects of the Joker sequel, saying it explores many moral questions while breaking the mold for good versus evil narratives.
“I watched ‘Joker: Folie à Deux.’ The beginning of the film is an animation sequence, reminiscent of the nostalgic ‘Looney Tunes,’ depicting a story of Joker and Joker’s shadow,” Kojima wrote. “In the trial that follows, the question of his multiple personality is argued from beginning to end. Is the Joker Arthur? Is the Joker another personality (his shadow)? Who exactly is Arthur? This revelation eventually transforms into a meta-perspective. In the previous film, ‘Joker,’ was it really Joker who captivated audiences around the world? Or was it Arthur? This question is constantly raised to Lee and even to the people of Gotham City within the film.”
“We live in an age of mass production of ‘poetic justice’ heroes, a battle between good and evil,” Kojima elaborates. “Lately, many spin-off films with a focus on the villains have been made. Can villains be superheroes too? Is this question posed on the big screen as a DC movie too avant-garde? Was it the Joker that audiences around the world loved? Was it Arthur? This is where the reviews have diverged. Over the next 10 or 20 years, this film’s reputation will likely change along with the permeation of hero movies to come. It may take some time for it to become a true ‘folie à deux.’ But there is no doubt that everyone in the audience loved Joaquin and Gaga in this film.”
Joker: Folie à Deux currently has a 1.8 review score on Google, tabulated from 16510 reviews, and a 32% Rotten score on RottenTomatoes. It will take work if Kojima expects audiences to change their minds on the film. While a section of the Joker fandom says the movie is an underappreciated gem, most viewers remain resentful about the polarizing follow-up to Phillips’ billion-dollar blockbuster. Hideo Kojima has an eye for detail and could see something in the film that others do not. He loves cinema as much as video games and is in the process of adapting Death Stranding into a feature film through A24. Hindsight is valuable, and it’s possible Joker: Folie à Deux‘s wild swings will grow on audiences with time. If movies like Jennifer’s Body, Fight Club, and The Shining can loop back around and arrive at people’s good graces, maybe Joker: Folie à Deux can do the same.
Is Hideo Kojima right about Joker: Folie à Deux?Will the filmage like a fine wine? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Si se puede! Amazon MGM Studios is ready to strap on its tool belt after winning a bidding war for Mattel’s animated Bob the Builder movie! While the ink has yet to dry, we hear Amazon beat Dreamworks Animation and others looking to lay the foundation of an ambitious rework of Bob, the beloved general contractor with a passion for construction and learning. The Bob the Builder movie hails from Jennifer Lopez’s production studio, Nuyorican Productions, and ShadowMachine, the animation house behind Guillermo Del Toro’sPinocchio, Tuca & Bertie, Moral Orel, Robot Chicken, and more.
The project reimagines Bob the Builder with Anthony Ramos (Twisters, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, In the Heights) in the lead role. Bob’s latest adventure is set in Puerto Rico. The story celebrates the resilience and spirit of Latino culture, and the new setting offers much to Bob’s outreach and influence.
Alex Bulkley and Corey Campodonico of ShadowMachine join Ramos for the high-profile animated project, which Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and Benny Medina of Nuyorican Productions co-produce. The movie boasts a script written by Felipe Vargas (Afterimages, Distant, Vessel), with Kevin McKeon, Ivan Sanchez, and Arturo Thur De Koós of Mattel Films and Natalie Haack Flores of Nuyorican overseeing production.
The story follows Roberto, aka Bob, who picks up his toolbox and ventures to Puerto Rico for a substantial construction gig. While hammering away on his latest project, Bob encounters challenges around the island and gains a new appreciation for the art of fashioning new constructs. Aspects of Bob’s story include highlighting the Caribbean Latin nations, including the people and their inspiring heritage.
Bob the Builder began as an animated 12-season series from 1997 to 2011. The animated show focuses on Bob, a building contractor, and his enthusiasm for creating exciting new places to explore and live. Bob’s machine team joins him on his mission to build impressive constructs. They demonstrate the power of positive thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. The show also breaks the fourth wall by inviting the audience to become “little builders” alongside Bob and his team. The show features colorful characters, gorgeous and fluid animation, and creativity that nurtures young viewer’s imaginations.
Lopez and Ramos’ Bob the Builder movie could break new ground and attract new fans. Additional cast members have yet to be announced, though I’m sure the project will pull some exciting names.
Almost three years have gone by since Joshua Oppenheimer, the director behind the documentaries The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, announced that he was teaming up with NEON to make his narrative feature debut with The End, “a golden-age musical about the last human family.” That film went into production last year, with a cast that includes Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water), George MacKay (1917), Moses Ingram (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Bronagh Gallagher (Pulp Fiction), Tim McInnerny (Notting Hill), Lennie James (The Walking Dead), and Danielle Ryan (The Silencing). Now it’s making the festival rounds, building up to a December theatrical release. The film is scheduled to start playing in New York and Los Angeles on December 6th, with the limited release expanding on December 13th. As those dates are swiftly approaching, a trailer for The End has dropped online and can be seen in the embed above. A new poster has also been unveiled, and that can be found at the bottom of this article.
JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the chance to see The End a couple of months ago, and he was not a fan. You can read his review at THIS LINK. I’m fairly certain this movie won’t be for me, either, but I’m open to giving it a chance at some point.
During an interview with Prospect, Oppenheimer revealed what inspired him to make the movie: “I was researching very wealthy families, and one of them was buying a doomsday bunker that was more of a palace than a bunker. I decided to make a film about a family in a bunker 20 years after the world has ended—and to make it a musical. This family has enriched itself through fossil fuels. It’s now 20 years after the world has ended and they have a son who was born in the bunker. It’s a study in impunity. They tell themselves that this vast tomb is now the pinnacle of civilization, because they are the last family, a Noah’s Ark for a flood that will never subside. The themes grow out of what I explored in The Act of Killing—guilt and denial, the imposition of a narrative by the powerful, the performance of impunity. And remember: Impunity is always performed. It’s not something you can take for granted. You have to assert it with shows of force.” He went on to say the movie is “an exploration of whether we as human beings can come to a place where our guilt is too much to recover from. We are our pasts. And we’re all perpetrators in one way or another.“
The End has the following synopsis: A post-apocalyptic story about a rich family, surviving two decades after the world ended, living in a salt mine converted into a luxurious home. The earth around them has apparently been destroyed, but their 13-year-old son, born in the bunker, has never seen the outside world. There is a maid, with whom the son has his only honest relationship. There is also a doctor, and a butler. Unspoken blame over leaving loved ones behind looms over this family, hollowing out whatever intimacy they once shared. Suddenly, a young girl appears at the entrance of the bunker, the balance of the family is threatened.
Or, here’s an expanded synopsis: A wealthy family survives in a palatial bunker, two decades after the world has ended. There is a mother, father, and their twenty-year-old son – he was born in the bunker and has never seen the outside world. There is a maid, with whom the son has his only honest relationship. There is also a doctor, a butler – and finally a young woman who, having barely survived, manages to find her way in. The film is a musical, and the title is THE END. Before the young woman arrives, the family celebrates their survival as confirmation of their success and righteousness, but unspoken blame over leaving loved ones behind has come between the parents, hollowing out whatever intimacy they once shared. They struggle to repress the guilt they feel for this – as well as a more diffuse regret for contributing to the world’s end. (The Father was an oil tycoon.)
The music is inspired by Broadway’s Golden Age – the unearned optimism of the classic American musical embodies the bunker’s desperate delusions. In THE END, it is an optimism born of fear. They are afraid to face their guilt, and it is this fear, more than the inhospitable conditions outside, that prevents them from leaving. Were they to leave, they’d be confronted by the truth of what they did to the world – and the fate to which they abandoned their families. There will be no Golden Age theatricality to the performances. Instead, the unvarnished realism invites the audience to identify with the characters in this intimate tragedy about guilt, denial, and unfulfilled longing. As in the director’s THE ACT OF KILLING, there is also absurdity and dark humor – and, as the son and young woman fall in love, a fragile hope.
Will you be watching The End? Take a look at the trailer and the new poster, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
Dog Soldiers and The Descent director Neil Marshall has worked with actress/co-writer Charlotte Kirk on his three most recent films, The Reckoning, The Lair, and Duchess, and they’re continuing their collaboration on the upcoming psychological thriller Compulsion. Deadline reports that Saban Films has secured the domestic distribution rights to the film – and while a release date has not yet been announced, a first look image has been unveiled. You can check that out at the bottom of this article.
With a script written by Marshall, Compulsion is said to be inspired by the old school erotic thrillers of the ’80s and ’90s, like Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, and Single White Female. This one centers on the dynamically twisted relationship between two women, as both become embroiled in a series of horrific murders on the island of Malta. Kirk stars in the film alongside Anna-Maria Sieklucka, who starred in the massive hit 365 Days for the Netflix streaming service. Here are some character details: Kirk’s character, Diana, is described as a flamboyant and ruthless thief; Sieklucka’s Evie, as a seemingly innocent young woman with a troubled past and a dark secret.
Also in the cast with Sieklucka and Kirk are Zach McGowan (Dracula Untold), Giulia Gorietti (Suburra), Cinzia Monreale (The Beyond), and Harvey Dean (Sea Dragon).
Deadline notes that the film was produced by Kristyna Sellnerova for Kristyna Sellnerova Ltd, with executive producer Emily Corcoran, in association with Cork Films. Media Finance Capital was behind the production, which has a post deal with M2 Mediapost and benefitted from the Malta film cash rebate incentive.
I have been a fan of Neil Marshall’s work ever since he made his feature debut with Dog Soldiers more than twenty years ago, and I enjoy that movie so much that I will always take a look at the latest Marshall movie. So I will definitely be watching Compulsion when it gets released by Saban Films.
Are you a fan of Neil Marshall, and does Compulsion sound interesting to you? Take a look at the first look image, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
I’ve been lucky in my job at JoBlo to interview a lot of the legends I grew up watching on the silver screen, but until recently I never had the chance to chat with one of the all-timers, Liam Neeson. I was a monster fan of his from way back, even before he reinvented his career thanks to the breakout success of Taken. I grew up watching him in movies like Darkman, Rob Roy, Schindler’s List, and many others.
But, the thing is – when you interview a legend, there’s always that worry that they might let you down. Suffice it to say that was NOT the case with Neeson, who proved to be an affable, friendly, and down-to-earth fellow. I had a very nice conversation with him about his latest movie, Absolution, in which he plays an aging thug trying to atone for past misdeeds. While our internet connection wasn’t the best (status quo in this era of Zoom interviews), Neeson seemed happy to discuss this earthier character, with him explaining the research he did into CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy), which is the affliction his character is suffering from in the movie, which our critic Alex Maidy really enjoyed (read his review HERE).
I also got Neeson to tease his upcoming reboot of The Naked Gun, where he channels Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin. His deadpan, and hilarious answer has me convinced that the movie is going to be something special, with him going out of his way to praise his co-stars, Pamela Anderson and Danny Huston.
