Vertical Entertainment has released the first trailer for Chief of Station, a spy thriller starring Aaron Eckhart as a former CIA Station Chief who is forced back into the espionage underworld after learning that the untimely death of his wife was not accidental. Teaming up with a former adversary, he seeks to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew,
In addition to Eckhart, Chief of Station also stars Alex Pettyfer, Olga Kurylenko, Nick Moran, Chris Petrovski, Daniel Bernhardt, James Faulkner, Laetitia Eido, Isobel Wood, and Nina Bergman. The movie was directed by Jesse V. Johnson, written by George Mahaffey, and produced by Steve Lee Jones for Bee Holder Productions and Matthew Shreder for Concourse Media.
In a statement, Vertical’s SVP of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi said: “After our recent success working with Aaron on our release of The Bricklayer, we’re looking forward to bringing another must-see film to action fans looking for their next adrenaline hit. And Chief of Station certainly delivers it.“
Aaron Eckhart was recently seen in The Bricklayer, an action thriller directed by none other than Renny Harlin. Our own Chris Bumbray thought the film was a lot of fun and offered Eckhart one of his best action roles to date “The Bricklayer’s premise isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, but what makes it good is the cast and the fact that they’ve got one of the most underrated action directors of all time at the helm, Renny Harlin,” Bumbray wrote in his review. “This feels like his biggest movie in a while, loaded with action setpieces and beautifully shot on location in Greece. One thing you can always be sure of with a Harlin movie is that it’ll look good, and the director, along with his DP Matti Eerikäinen, has made a movie that eschews the current trend of making everything dark. It’s bright and pleasant to look at, and you can see what’s happening in the action scenes.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.
Here’s the official synopsis for Chief of Station: “A former CIA European Station Chief, Ben’s world comes crumbling down after his wife, a former operative, dies in a terrible accident. But after receiving cryptic information that his wife’s death might not have been an accident, Ben heads back into the shadowy underworld of Eastern Europe, teaming up with a former adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew about his wife and the Agency he worked at for more than 20 years.” The film will be released in select theaters and on demand on May 3rd.
What did you think of the Chief of Station trailer?
I love the Planet of the Apes franchise. Everything from the original 1968 movie to the short-lived TV series to the excellent Apes trilogy starring Andy Serkis; hell, I’ve even got a soft spot for Tim Burton’s reboot. The next installment of the franchise is just over the horizon, and the audience at CinemaCon got to witness an exclusive sneak peek of thirteen minutes of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. I am officially jealous.
The footage starts in an ape community in the jungle and follows young Noa (Owen Teague) as he and his friends steal some eggs from an eagle’s nest. There are three eggs, but they leave one behind, as that’s the law. They hope to raise the young eagles themselves, but unfortunately, they’re caught in the act by the momma eagle, and Noa is nearly knocked off a cliff. We then see a scene in which gorillas attack the village, killing some and enslaving others. Noa survives but finds that his father has been killed and his mother taken. He buries his father and promises to rescue his mother and the other villagers. During his journey, he finds a friend and mentor in Raka (Peter Macon), an orangutan, and saves the life of a human (Freya Allen) from gorillas. All in all, it looks pretty jaw-dropping and a worthy continuation of the modern trilogy.
It was also mentioned at CinemaCon that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will also be the first film in the franchise to be released on IMAX screens, and it sounds like it will be well worth the experience.
Directed by Wes Ball, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes “breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.“
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will hit theaters on May 10th.
Apple TV+ announced today that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has been renewed for season 2. Not only that, but Apple has struck a new multi-series deal with Legendary Entertainment to develop multiple spin-off shows based on the MonsterVerse franchise.
“‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ has left an indelible imprint on the hearts, minds and imaginations of audiences around the world, led by the brilliance of Chris, Matt, Kurt, Wyatt and the incredibly gifted talented cast and creative team,” said Morgan Wandell, head of international development for Apple TV+. “We couldn’t be more excited for viewers to not only have the chance to experience even more thrills in season two, but to embark on epic, new journeys in the franchise, as we expand Legendary’s Monsterverse.“
“Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch,” reads the official synopsis of the first season. “Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga — spanning three generations — reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.” You can check out a review of the series from our own Alex Maidy right here.
The first season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which can be found streaming globally on Apple TV+, wrapped up back in January, but showrunner Chris Black was very optimistic that they’d be back. Looks like that optimism paid off. It’s hard to believe that the MonsterVerse is ten years old already, beginning with Godzilla in 2014 and continuing with Kong: Skull Island in 2017, Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019, Godzilla vs Kong in 2021, and this year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which is still playing in theaters.
Are you glad that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will be back for season 2? And what type of spin-off series would you like to see?
Paramount wasn’t messing around during their CinemaCon panel today, giving attendees previews of movies like Smile 2, Gladiator II, A Quiet Place: Day One, Transformers One, and IF, revealing The Running Man casting news, and announcing several movies, including a live-action comedy from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Scary Movie 6, a Transformers / G.I. Joe crossover, and a live-action, R-rated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. They also unveiled several titles on their 2024 – 2026 slate, and we can’t possibly cover them all… so we have gone ahead and dropped the full list into this article. Scroll down to see what Paramount has in store for us over the next couple years (and keep in mind, this isn’t even everything they’re working on).
IF
Release Date: May 17, 2024
Written and Directed by: John Krasinski
Producers: Allyson Seeger, p.g.a., John Krasinski, p.g.a., Andrew Form, p.g.a., Ryan Reynolds
Executive Producers: John J. Kelly, George Dewey, Kimberly Nelson LoCascio
Cast: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Alan Kim, Liza Colón-Zayas and Steve Carell
Synopsis: From writer and director John Krasinski, IF is about a girl who discovers that she can see everyone’s imaginary friends — and what she does with that superpower — as she embarks on a magical adventure to reconnect forgotten IFs with their kids. IF stars Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, and the voices of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr. and Steve Carell alongside many more as the wonderfully unique characters that reflect the incredible power of a child’s imagination.
UNTITLED DAMIEN CHAZELLE
Director: Damien Chazelle
Producers: Damien Chazelle and Olivia Hamilton under their Wild Chickens Productions banner, as part of their first look deal with the studio.
Writer: Damien Chazelle
HEART OF THE BEAST
Director: David Ayer
Producers: Damien Chazelle and Olivia Hamilton under their Wild Chickens Productions banner, as part of their first look deal with the studio. David Ayer and Chris Long will produce alongside under their Cedar Park Entertainment banner.
Co-Producer: Richard Raymond
UNTITLED STAR TREK ORIGIN STORY
Director: Toby Haynes
Writer: Seth Grahame-Smith
Producer: J.J. Abrams
This project is an origin story that takes place decades before the original 2009 Star Trek film.
UNTITLED TRANSFORMERS/G.I. JOE
Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto & Don Murphy
Executive Producer: Steven Spielberg
Two of the biggest action franchises come together for a new Transformers and G.I Joe crossover film.
THE RUNNING MAN
Director: Edgar Wright
Producers: Simon Kinberg, Nira Park, Edgar Wright
Cast: Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick)
Based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King that the author first published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.
NOVOCAINE
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Director: Robert Olsen and Dan Berk
Producers: Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell (Safehouse Pictures), and Drew Simon (Infrared Pictures)
Executive Producers: Sam Speiser (Infrared Pictures), Matt Schwartz (Safehouse Pictures), Lars Jacobson, Paul Barbeau, Josh Adler and Julian Rosenberg (Circle of Confusion)
Cast: Jack Quaid (“The Boys,” and Oppenheimer), Amber Midthunder (Prey), Ray Nicholson, Jacob Batalon, Betty Gabriel, and Matt Walsh.
BETTER MAN
Release Date: December 25, 2024 (limited); January 17, 2025 (wide)
Director: Michael Gracey
Writers: Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole & Michael Gracey
Producers: Paul Currie, Michael Gracey, Coco Xiaolu Ma, Craig McMahon, Jules Daly
An original musical from the director of The Greatest Showman, Michael Gracey.
BEE GEES
Director: Ridley Scott
Producers: Graham King, Stacey Snider, Ridley Scott, Michael Pruss
Executive Producer: Barry Gibb
A biopic of The Bee Gees from director Ridley Scott.
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard, Devyn Nekoda, Klea Scott, and Emily Mitchell.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE LAST RONIN
Paramount Pictures is in development on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, a live-action film, based on the fan favorite graphic novel of the same name.
Producer: Walter Hamada through his 18hz production company, as part of his multi-year deal with the studio.
Writer: Tyler Burton Smith
UNTITLED NAKED GUN
Release Date: July 18, 2025
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Producers: Seth MacFarlane, Erica Huggins
Executive Producers: Daniel M. Stillman, Akiva Schaffer
Cast: Liam Neeson
Based off the widely popular comedy franchise The Naked Gun and television series “Police Squad!” by Jim Abrahams & David Zucker & Jerry Zucker.
SCARY MOVIE
Paramount Pictures and Miramax announce a new installment in the SCARY MOVIE franchise. Miramax will finance the film. Neal H. Moritz will produce. Production will commence this fall. Paramount Pictures will distribute worldwide. The announcement comes on the heels of Miramax naming Jonathan Glickman as its CEO. Miramax has a first-look deal with Paramount Pictures. Miramax is a joint venture of beIN and Paramount.
Producers: Matt Stone and Trey Parker for Park County; Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free for pgLang
An original live-action comedy from the creators of “South Park,” Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8
Release Date: May 23, 2025
Companies: Paramount Pictures, Skydance
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Producers: Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie
Executive Producers: David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Chris Brock
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Vanessa Kirby, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, Frederick Schmidt
TRANSFORMERS ONE
Release Date: September 13, 2024
Companies: Paramount Animation and Hasbro; in Association with New Republic Pictures
Director banner as part of their first look deal with the studio: Josh Cooley
Based on: Hasbro’s Transformers Action Figures
Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Tom DeSanto & Don Murphy, Michael Bay, Mark Vahradian, Aaron Dem
Executive Producers: Steven Spielberg, Zev Foreman, Olivier Dumont, Brian Oliver, B.J. Farmer, Matt Quigg
Cast: Chris Hemsworth (Orion Pax), Brian Tyree Henry (D-16), Scarlett Johansson (Elita-1) and Keegan-Michael Key (B-127), Steve Buscemi, with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm.
Logline: The long-awaited origin story of how the most iconic characters in the Transformersuniverse, Orion Pax and D-16, went from brothers-in-arms to become sworn enemies, Optimus Prime and Megatron.
First animated Transformers movie in nearly 40 years.
PAW PATROL 3
Release Date: July 31, 2026
Companies: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Spin Master Entertainment
Director: Cal Brunker
Producers: Jennifer Dodge, Laura Clunie, Toni Stevens
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM 2
Release Date: October 9, 2026
Companies: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies
Director: Jeff Rowe
Co-Directors: Kyler Spears, Yashar Kassai
Producers:Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Ramsay McBean
Producers: Ryan Harris, Rihanna, Laurence “Jay” Brown, Tyran “Ty-Ty” Smith
Previously Announced Cast: Rihanna (Smurfette)
Newly Announced Cast: Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Daniel Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden,Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña with Kurt Russell and John Goodman
Original Music by: Rihanna
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS
Release Date: December 19, 2025
Companies: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies
Directed by: Derek Drymon
Based on the Series: “SpongeBob SquarePants” Created by Stephen Hillenburg
Produced by: Pam Brady,Lisa Stewart
Legacy Returning Cast: Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Clancy Brown (Mr. Krabs), Rodger Bumpass (Squidward), Bill Fagerbakke (Patrick), Carolyn Lawrence (Sandy), Mr. Lawrence (Plankton)
AANG: THE LAST AIRBENDER (Working Title)
Release Date: October 10, 2025
Companies: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies
Director: Lauren Montgomery
Co-Director: William Mata
Based on the Series: “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko
Producers: Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Latifa Ouaou, Maryann Garger
Cast: Dave Bautista, Eric Nam, Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten, Román Zaragoza
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE
Release Date: June 28, 2024
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Screenplay by: Michael Sarnoski
Story by: John Krasinski and Michael Sarnoski
Based on Characters Created by: Bryan Woods & Scott Beck
Producers: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, p.g.a., Brad Fuller, John Krasinski
Executive Producers: Allyson Seeger, Vicki Dee Rock
Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff and Djimon Hounsou
Synopsis: Experience the day the world went quiet.
Interstellar, from director Christopher Nolan, will return to theaters to celebrate its 10-year anniversary with 70mm prints on IMAX and digital screens.
INTERSTELLAR
Re-Release Date: September 27, 2024
Companies: Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures; in Association with Legendary Pictures
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Producers: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Lynda Obst
Executive Producers: Jordan Goldberg, Jake Myers, Kip Thorne, Thomas Tull
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn and Michael Caine
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3
Release Date: December 20, 2024
Companies: Paramount Pictures; in Association with Sega Sammy Group
Director: Jeff Fowler
Producers: Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara, Hitoshi Okuno
Executive Producers: Haruki Satomi, Shuji Utsumi, Yukio Sugino, Jeff Fowler, Tommy Gormley,
Tim Miller
Cast: Jim Carrey (Dr. Robotnik), Ben Schwartz (Voice of Sonic), James Marsden (Tom Wachowski), Tika Sumpter (Maddie Wachowski), Idris Elba (Voice of Knuckles), Colleen O’Shaughnessey (Voice of Tails), Natasha Rothwell (Rachel), Shemar Moore (Randall), Adam Pally (Wade), Lee Majdoub (Agent Stone), Krysten Ritter, Alyla Browne
Preview footage from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was shown to CinemaCon attendees, and JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had this to say about it: “We saw a teaser setting up Jim Carrey’s return as Dr Robotnik. In it, Robotnik is depressed, has put on weight and grown his hair out, but he shaves it all down and invents Shadow the bad hedgehog.“
SMILE 2
Release Date: October 18, 2024
Written and Directed by: Parker Finn
Based on Characters Created by: Parker Finn
Producers: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Isaac Klausner, Robert Salerno, Parker Finn
Cast: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kyle Gallner, Lukas Gage, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Raúl Castillo, Peter Jacobson, Dylan Gelula, Ray Nicholson
Smile, the psychological supernatural horror became the #1 original horror movie of 2022 and grossed $217M at the worldwide box office.
GLADIATOR II
Release Date: November 22, 2024
Director: Ridley Scott
Screenplay by: David Scarpa
Story by: Peter Craig and David Scarpa
Based on Characters Created by: David Franzoni
Producers: Douglas Wick, Ridley Scott, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss, David Franzoni
Executive Producers: Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Raymond Kirk, Aidan Elliott
Cast: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, and Denzel Washington
What do you think of the Paramount slate? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Yo, Joe! The crossover your inner child has been screaming for became a reality after Paramount shared plans to develop a G.I. Joe and Transformers crossover film! Paramount Pictures teased the project in last year’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, and now it’s official! Steven Spielberg is producing the live-action clash of two of the most legendary properties in entertainment, with the plot inspired by a story in the 1980s Marvel-published comics. No director is attached to the project, at least not yet. Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura returns alongside Mark Vahradian, Michael Bay, Tom DeSanto, and Don Murphy.
Despite the story of the G.I. Joe and Transformers crossover taking inspiration from the Marvel comics era, both franchises are gaining popularity with new fans thanks to the current comic book runs published by Skybound. Skybound has published issues of the G.I. Joe comics Duke and Cobra Commander for several months, with Transformers rounding out the current revival. All three titles are fantastic and climb to the top of my to-be-read pile each time a new issue hits the stands. I’m a moderate G.I.Joe and Transformers fan at best. Still, the new comics from writers like Daniel Warren Johnson (Transformers) and Joshua Williamson (Duke & Cobra Commander) immediately pulled me back into the fold.
If that’s not enough to whet your whistle, Destro#1 from writer Dan Watters and artist Andrei Breddan lands on June 19, 2024. Furthermore, one of my favorite comic book writers, Kelly Thompson, launches a Scarlett on June 5, 2024, with art by Marco Ferrari.
What do you want out of a G.I. Joe and Transformers crossover film? Who should direct this clash of titanic nostalgia properties? Do you have an idea for the plot of the movie?
I’m looking forward to Duke meeting with Optimus Prime and rushing headlong into battle like Godzilla and Kong in The New Empire. Feel free to share your ideas in the comments section below, and let us know which characters you’d want to see in a live-action G.I. Joe and Transformers crossover film. In the meantime, stay close for more news coming from CinemaCon 2024!
Writer/director Parker Finn’s sequel to his 2022 horror film Smile (read our review HERE, watch the movie HERE) is aiming for an October 18th theatrical release date – and with that date just six months away, Paramount decided to start building the hype for Smile 2 during their panel at CinemaCon today. They showed a teaser trailer to the people who attended their panel, and in the audience was JoBlo’s own Lance Vlcek!
Lance describes what he saw in this teaser: “Story appears to be set around a Taylor Swift type of mega-star artist (Naomi Scott) who gets sucked into the curse of Smile. The sequel has a bigger budget and slicker look, seems to be bigger in scope. There was a very cool scene where a crowd of people under control of the entity are in a tight backstage hallway chasing Naomi Scott, all of the smiling in that creepy way. Plot-wise, it doesn’t give much away. It was a montage of creepy imagery, jump scares, and a whole lot of creepy people smiling.“
Smile was based on Finn’s short film Laura Hasn’t Slept (watch it HERE), which won the Special Jury Recognition Prize in SXSW’s Midnight Short category. Caitlin Stasey (Neighbours) played the title character in that short, and reprises the role in Smile, making it a follow-up of sorts. Smile has the following synopsis: After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
Smile was produced by Temple Hill, and they are producing Smile 2 as well. The sequel stars Naomi Scott of Aladdin and Charlie’s Angels, Lukas Gage of The White Lotus and You, Rosemarie DeWitt of La La Land and the Poltergeist remake, Dylan Gelula of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Dream Scenario, Raúl Castillo of Army of the Dead and Knives Out, Miles Gutierrez-Riley of The Wilds and On The Come Up, and Kyle Gallner (Red State), reprising the role he played in the first movie.
Finn has previously said that he feels there’s a lot of interesting stuff left to explore in the world of Smile. “I would never want to just repeat myself or retread the same ground. I’d want to make sure that there’s a new, exciting, fresh way into it that the audience isn’t anticipating. I also want to find some new ways to scare them and unnerve them. But as far as how it may connect to the first one, I’d want that to be surprising as well.“
Are you looking forward to Smile 2? What do you think of the information that came out of CinemaCon? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Instead of sending in the lions, Paramount unleashed a first look at Ridley Scott’s highly-anticipated Gladiator II at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Appropriately screened at Caesar’s Palace, where the annual onslaught of film and television previews takes place, the sequel to Scott’s 2000 action drama starring Russel Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix includes a brutal display of power and corruption as Lucius (Paul Mescal) aims to become as formidable as Crowe’s iconic character Maximus Decimus Meridius.
During Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation for Gladiator II, Ridley Scott introduced the film from London while the entire cast sent comments in a video compilation. Scott says Gladiator II is more spectacular than the original. Thems bold words, sir!
Pedro Pascal has always been a huge Gladiator fan and has seen it twice in theaters. Meanwhile, Denzel Washington says the new film is why people go to the movies.
JoBlo’s editor-in-chief, Chris Bumbray, says the 5-minute trailer is incredible. Paul Mescal looks a lot like Crowe, with the same beard. Lucius is a gladiator trained by Denzel’s character. Meanwhile, Pedro Pascal is a Roman general trying to lead a revolt against the sadistic emperor (Joseph Quinn). At some point, Quinn and Mescal meet in the gladiator ring for a battle. The games are more sadistic this time, with the gladiators fighting wild baboons unarmed and a rhino. You also see lots of Nielsen, who seems to be in cahoots with Denzel and opposes the emperor. Gladiator II has aton of action and intrigue. Mescal and Pascal look like they handle the action side, with no shots of Denzel fighting.
A promotional standee for Gladiator II is one of the first displays CinemaCon attendees see when they enter the event. The promo teases the action, deception, and bloodlust to come in Scott’s new film, and now we’ve got a better idea of what to expect when the film arrives in theaters on November 22, 2024.
Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers, Normal People, Aftersun) leads Gladiator II, taking over the lead from Russell Crowe’s Maximus. Mescal plays Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who is fully grown in the sequel. The story takes place several years after Maximus’ death in the original. Before he died, Maximus rescued Lucius and his mother from the clutches of the young man’s uncle, Commodus (Phoenix). The event left an impression on Lucius, who aspires to be as formidable as Maximus as he braves a harsh world.
Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), Denzel Washington (Philadelphia), Connie Nielsen (Wonder Woman), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), Matt Lucas (Wonka), Fred Hechinger (The Woman in the Window), Derek Jacobi (Dead Again), and May Calamawy (Moon Knight) join Mescal as primary cast members in Gladiator II. Ridley Scott directs the Gladiator sequel from a script by David Scarpa (All The Money In the World).
Are you excited about Gladiator II? Let us know in the comments section below.
The sci-fi horror A Quiet Place franchise is heading to New York with its latest entry, A Quiet Place: Day One, which is set to reach theatres on June 28th. With the film’s release date just a couple months away, it was no surprise to hear that Paramount was promoting it at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. Those in attendance for the Paramount panel today were shown an extended trailer for the film – and JoBlo’s own Lance Vlcek was there to tell us what he saw!
Lance sent in the following description of the trailer: “Set in New York. Lupita Nyong’o looks up to see the aliens shooting down to earth as everyone in the city looks at what seems to be meteors raining down. Everything goes wild, chaos in the streets, everyone is getting attacked/killed as Nyong’o hides under a truck. A man tries to hide with her, only for him to be pulled away to death. Jump scare cut! Army and martial law takes over and everyone in NY is quarantined. The army destroys all of the bridges out of the city, keeping everyone (assuming they think the monsters as well) stuck in the city. Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn make a pack to escape the city. Quinn and Nyong’o escape into a skyscraper. The revolving door creaks, causing a slew of monsters to ascend into the building, climbing down the outside of the skyscraper in what looks like a great set piece.“
While John Krasinski directed the previous two films, he is producing A Quiet Place: Day One and has passed the helming duties over to Michael Sarnoski, director of the Nicolas Cage drama Pig (watch it HERE). Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special) was attached to write and direct A Quiet Place: Day One for a while, but when he dropped out he was replaced by Sarnoski. The story, which is credited to Krasinski and Sarnoski, does take place in the same world established in the first two movies, but doesn’t involve the Abbott family, the characters we followed through the first two movies.
Deadline’s sources said that after seeing Pig and being blown away by the film, Krasinski was quick to put Sarnoski on the short list of directors to take a meeting for the project. While insiders say Sarnoski’s vision for the film was still his own and different from what Krasinski had done with the first two, he still gave a pitch that fit the tone of the world they had created and felt he was the perfect fit for their next installment.
Krasinski is producing A Quiet Place: Day One under his Sunday Night banner, while Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller produce through their company Platinum Dunes. Krasinski’s Sunday Night partner Allyson Seeger serves as executive producer.
The film stars 12 Years a Slave Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, Alex Wolff of Hereditary and Pig, and Joseph Quinn, who is better known as Eddie Munson from the most recent season of Stranger Things. Djimon Hounsou, who played “Man on Island” in A Quiet Place: Part II, reprises that role here.
Here’s the official synopsis: Experience the day the world went quiet.
Are you looking forward to A Quiet Place: Day One? What do you think of the information that came out of CinemaCon? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are best known for creating the animated series South Park, which they have dedicated a few decades of their lives to – but as South Park marches on into its 27th season, Parker and Stone are also taking some time to work with rapper Kendrick Lamar and filmmaker / record executive Dave Free on a live-action comedy they have set up at Paramount Pictures. Parker and Stone are producing the currently-untitled film through their company Park County while Lamar and Free do the same for pgLang, and during the Paramount panel at CinemaCon today it was announced that the film is set for a July 4, 2025 theatrical release!
While speaking at CinemaCon, Paramount CEO Brian Robbins had this to say about the project: “I’m excited to announce that we’re going into production this summer on a musical from the creators of South Park and The Book of Mormon, Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free are producing for pgLand, with Matt and Trey producing for Park County. This script is one of the funniest and most original scripts we’ve ever read and it’s certain to create some fireworks when it hits theaters on July 4th , 2025.“
Any further details are, of course, being kept under wraps for now.
In addition to making South Park, Parker and Stone also created, as Robbins mentioned, the stage musical The Book of Mormon (with Robert Lopez). They’ve also made a few feature films: Cannibal! The Musical, Orgazmo, Team America: World Police, and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. (Plus, they starred in David Zucker’s BASEketball.)
I don’t think I’ve watched an episode of South Park since the ’90s and I have never caught a performance of The Book of Mormon, but I have always been a big fan of Cannibal! The Musical, so I’m interested to see how Parker and Stone’s new live-action movie is going to turn out.
Are you a fan of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and are you glad to hear their collaboration with Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free is going to be released next summer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
“I see dead people.” It’s one of the most memorable lines in modern cinema history. Back in the summer of 1999, everyone and their dead grandmother was saying those words in hushed tones, imitating young Cole Sear, the haunted protagonist of The Sixth Sense (watch it HERE), which was as big of a cultural phenomenon as the movies had seen in years at the time. Thanks to an effective trailer, a word-of-mouth buzz that could not be ignored, the overall high quality of the product itself and, of course, that shocker of an ending, The Sixth Sense was one of those rare things at the cinema: a movie you simply could not miss, unless you didn’t mind being left out of the conversation completely. And most of the success was thanks to that one very compelling admission: “I see dead people.”
But that now infamous line almost wasn’t in the original script. In fact, neither was the that equally infamous twist ending. Like so many other movies, The Sixth Sense changed quite a bit before it hit theaters, and if its savvy writer-director M. Night Shyamalan hadn’t been so determined to make a movie that was an instant-classic, it might never have been made at all. Huddle up in your safety tent and stay with us until the surprise ending as we find out WTF Happened to The Sixth Sense.
It’s not any kind of revelation to say that back in 1999, M. Night Shyamalan was not a household name. He had made two films at that point: the first was Praying with Anger, which he’d made while still attending NYU using money borrowed from family and friends. The second was a coming-of-age drama called Wide Awake, which was made in 1995 but not released until 1998. Wide Awake was a miserable experience for Night thanks to one man who’d made plenty of people in Hollywood miserable: Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein’s poor treatment of Shyamalan and Wide Awake stung the director profoundly, prompting him to vow to never work under such conditions again. Night was determined to write and ultimately direct a screenplay that was so good that it would ensure he’d be able to call his own shots from then on. Of course, now he had to actually write it…
Night had been interested in ghosts ever since he was a kid and wanted to tell a story that used troubled spirits as the catalyst for a grounded and sensitive drama about the afterlife. Trouble was, coming up with the right hook wasn’t easy. Night wrote a couple of drafts that he considered garbage, threw them out and started over, always a Page One rewrite. In some of the early drafts, a serial killer figured into the plot, and the lead character was a crime scene photographer.
At a certain point, the figure of a hyper-sensitive child who could communicate with ghosts came to him, finally giving him a protagonist he could work with. The line “I see dead people” was put in the script, then taken out, put back in, and so on. The script still needed something else to ensure it wasn’t just another supernatural thriller, but something much more effective and memorable. Finally, like a helpful spirit, the ending emerged to him as if out of a dream. Hopefully you know the ending, we’re going to guess you do. With that humdinger of a finale in his back pocket, Night’s confidence in his script suddenly skyrocketed. Now every character seemed clear to him, every scene of suspense was much more vivid; the human drama became that much more personal and emotional. That groundbreaking movie he’d been envisioning after the gut-punch of the Wide Awake experience was in Night’s hands. Still, it took him at least ten drafts to get it to where he wanted it.
Night has seemingly never lacked for confidence, and though he was still unproven and unknown, his belief in his script was so strong that he was going to gamble heavily on it and himself. Night had instructions for his agent when it came to selling the script: It would go out to all the major studios in town via messenger at the exact same time. The minimum bid for The Sixth Sense was to be one million with a guarantee Night would sit in the director’s chair as well. Years later, Night admitted he was not bluffing with these requests, and if no studio had bitten, he would have shelved the project, perhaps forever.
Four studios passed on the script, but a couple others were about to get into a bidding war for it: Dreamworks, New Line Cinema, and Disney. New Line initially offered $2 million, which probably would have blown Night away, had Disney not bettered them with an offer of $3 million for the screenplay and another 500 grand for Night to direct. Naturally, that’s the deal Night took. He’d made $3.5 million in the span of an afternoon. He wasn’t even thirty-years-old yet.
With Night firmly ensconced in the director’s chair, it was time to cast his film. Night had had Bruce Willis in mind when writing the role of Malcolm Crowe, the child psychologist whose job it is to reach a frightened young boy who claims he sees dead people. After Bruce received and read the script, he said yes very quickly. He admitted to being blown away by the ending and foresaw that audiences would similarly be startled by it. That said, Bruce was obviously intent on not playing the role with the surprise in mind, saying in an interview he had to forget about the fact his character was a ghost while acting. Night liked the idea of subverting Bruce’s action hero image with a kinder, gentler role that would hopefully surprise an unsuspected audience.
But the role of Cole Sear was the most crucial. A nine-year-old boy constantly beset by horrific visions, Cole had to be pitiable and vulnerable, but with considerable inner strength. The role required a real actor. Naturally, the casting directors saw loads of young actors – including Michael Cera, if you can picture that – but one youngster stood out: Haley Joel Osment. Haley was by no means a newbie to the acting scene, having been cast in several TV shows and movies – most notably he played young Forrest Jr. in 1994’s Forrest Gump. Osment’s father, who was an actor as well, would help him prepare for his auditions, so when he went in for The Sixth Sense, he was very well prepped. Osment recollected that he’d spent so much time with his lines beforehand that he was very ready for his audition by the time he met with Night. He even wore a suit to his first meeting.
While Osment impressed during his early audition, Night was hesitant to cast him. He had pictured Cole to be a darker, more brooding character, and Haley was, as Night put it, “a sweet cherub, a beautiful blond-haired boy”. But after Haley’s second audition, Night knew he’d had his guy, saying watching Haley’s performance made him feel as though he’d never heard the dialogue before, and that Haley got to the core of Cole’s vulnerability and need. The audition left both Night and Haley in tears and Haley with a job, one probably a lot bigger than he anticipated at the time.
The third most important role in the film is that of Cole’s working-class mother, Lynn. Toni Collette happened to be in NY to meet Martin Scorsese for a role in Bringing Out the Dead, and while in town got the script for Sixth Sense. While she was very impressed by the script and her subsequent meeting with Night, Toni’s sights were fully set on the Scorsese film. She was contacted by her agents and told she was offered the part – and in her excitement she thought they meant Bringing Out the Dead, but instead they meant Night’s film. Slightly disappointed that she didn’t get the film she really wanted, Collette eventually found the experience of making Sixth Sense incredibly rewarding, even helping to craft the character’s look, from the wig right down to clothes she went out and bought herself. Working with Haley was especially notable for Toni, who would break down in very real tears for the classic sequence at the end where Cole finally reveals his secret to his mother.
But no actor threw themselves into their work more than Donnie Wahlberg, who only gets a handful of minutes of screentime as Vincent Grey, a former patient of Malcolm Crowe’s. Wahlberg, probably still best known as a member of New Kids on the Block at the time, starved himself for weeks ahead of shooting, losing approximately 40 pounds in an alarmingly short amount of time. So committed to his character’s headspace was Wahlberg that one night while he and a friend were strolling around Philadelphia improvising lines, Wahlberg freaked out and ran off, hiding in bushes and creeping through the streets in the early morning hours. He didn’t want to go back to his hotel room because he knew that’s not something his character would have done, and by the time the big day arrived he was in a very fragile headspace. Wahlberg also wanted to play his sequence in the nude, but since that wouldn’t fly with Disney, a compromise of some nasty tighty-whities was made. Afterward, Donnie admitted he didn’t even remember shooting the first take, but he was so impressive that Bruce made a speech to the entire crew praising Donnie’s efforts.
For his part, Haley was pretty committed to his job as well. During one scene where he had to get into the right headspace quickly, the young actor started to throw himself into a door in order to feel wounded. Naturally, no one saw this alarming moment, as they most certainly would have stopped him – after all, ten is far too young to be going method.
Haley had himself a dedicated collaborator in Bruce Willis, who was in awe of the young actor’s talent that he used those emotions while in character to depict Malcolm’s fascination with Cole. For Night’s part, the trick of working with Haley was to treat him as a normal actor, not a “child” actor, as Haley was so precocious he could handle being treated as if he were an adult. Key to Haley’s performance was Night’s insistence that he didn’t play Cole as pathetic, instead wanting Cole to express emotions of anger and fear. He wanted Cole to be a fighter, not a sad little boy.
Filming on The Sixth Sense concluded in November of 1998, on its way to an August 1999 release. Disney screened the film to about 1,000 people one night to a crowd that was evidently fully engaged with it. At one point during the screening, something happened with the projector and the film started wobbling. Night’s editor, who was sitting next to him, advised him to go up to the booth and tell them to stop the film, but Night declined, sensing – pun intended – that the audience was so with his movie that they didn’t care. Turned out he was right. When the movie was over, the audience sat in stunned silence, and the multiple Disney execs in attendance probably thought they had a bomb on their hands for a minute or so. But it was a testament to the film – and its knockout ending – that the moviegoers were simply digesting what they’d just experienced. Night later found himself mobbed by people in the lobby who recognized him as the writer/director of the Sixth Sense, which was soon to become the toast of the town.
Disney put a lot of advertising power behind the movie, which at the beginning of the summer wasn’t exactly thought of as a major player. Releasing on August 6th against competition like The Iron Giant and The Thomas Crown Affair – not to mention the second wide weekend of The Blair Witch Project – The Sixth Sense surprised with a very good $26 million opening. But what impressed more was what happened next: in its second weekend, it made $25 million, dropping a minuscule 3%. It remained consistent, dropping just a little bit week after week. It had become the must-see movie of the year, maybe of the past few years.
All in all, Shyamalan’s film finished its domestic box office run with $293 million, which placed it in the top ten domestic box office earners of all time for a while. It ultimately made $672 million worldwide. Night had bet on himself, and it turned out he was absolutely correct to do so.
Then came the awards. The horror movie found itself an unlikely dark horse at the 72nd Academy Awards, earning six Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Editing and Supporting Actor for Osment and Supporting Actress for Toni Collette. 11 at the time, Osment is still among the youngest nominees in Oscar history. It went home empty handed that night, but its legacy had already been cemented.
M Night Shyamalan has had a rollercoaster of a career since 1999, filled with the kinds of highs and lows you’d expect from someone who found worldwide fame after an unexpected massive hit. While his filmography can be considered inconsistent, his name still carries plenty of weight in the industry. If he ever manages to reach the heights of Sixth Sense again remains to be seen, but there’s no questioning he put his imprint on the genre forever with The Sixth Sense which made horror fans out of us all.
A couple of the previous episodes of WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? can be seen below. To see more, head over to our JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!
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