House of the Dragon fans have been anxiously awaiting word on the release of season 2 of the fantasy series. It was previously reported that the series would debut sometime this summer, but that date has just been narrowed down a little more.
Warner Bros. Discovery streaming and gaming chief J.B. Perrette revealed (via Variety) that House of the Dragon season 2 will premiere on HBO in June but didn’t specify an exact date. The first season was a surprisingly big success for HBO, and I only say “surprisingly” because I honestly wasn’t sure if fans would be willing to return to Westeros after the disappointment following the Games of Thrones finale. Will the second season be able to keep the momentum going? HBO certainly hopes so, as they’re said to be actively developing seasons 3 and 4 of the series.
The news of the development of additional seasons comes from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, who took to his blog to write about a trip to London to the studio where House of the Dragon is shot. “I also spent two days locked in a room with Ryan Condal and his writing staff (Sara Hess, Ti Mikkel, David Hancock, and Philippa Goslett) talking about the third and fourth seasons of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON,” Martin wrote. “They were lively, fun discussions, and we got some good work done… though two days was not nearly enough. There is so much ground to cover that I am not sure twenty days would have been enough.“
HBO has been developing many potential Game of Thrones projects, but very few actually move forward. The next series will be A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, based on George R.R. Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas. “A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros … a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg,” reads the synopsis. “Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.” The series is expected to start shooting this spring. Word of another prequel series was revealed just last month, with this one telling the story of Aegon Targaryen’s brutal conquest of Westeros.
Will Smith took to Instagram to announce that production on Bad Boys 4 has wrapped, leaving just three short months to go until the sequel hits theaters. The post includes an image from Bad Boys 4 that features Smith and co-star Martin Lawrence as Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, fist-bumping in celebration.
The captain reads: “WRAPPED! Nothin’ but Magic every time I’m with my guy. See y’all June 7 for Bad Boys 4!!“
The last sequel, Bad Boys for Life, arrived nearly twenty years after the release of Bad Boys II. The film was a big success, and the studio quickly got the ball rolling on a sequel. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah returned to direct Bad Boys 4, with production kicking off last April, but they were forced to pause due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. The directors have teased that Bad Boys 4 will have a lighter tone than its predecessor. “I think that there’s going to be way more comedy,” El Arbi said. “The third one had the dramatic tone. With this one, it’s really our purpose to get people laughing and having a good time in the theater. Martin [Lawrence] is going to a higher level in this one. This is the culmination of the Marcus Burnett arc.“
Now that Bad Boys 4 has wrapped, we might just get an official title soon, but Adil El Arbi is still kicking himself for using the obvious title choice for the third movie. “Well, you know, the title that we like – I don’t know that they’re going to go for it yet – would be like ‘Bad Boys Ride or Die’ because ‘Bad Boys 4 Life’ is already taken,” El Arbi said. “We didn’t know there was going to be a fourth one, you know?“
In addition to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Bad Boys 4 will feature the return of a number of actors from previous movies, including Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Paola Núñez. New additions to the cast include Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, and Rhea Seehorn. Tasha Smith is also on board to play Marcus Burnett’s wife, replacing Theresa Randle, who played the character in the first three movies in the franchise.
Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver will debut on Netflix next month, but fans have been anxiously awaiting the R-rated director’s cuts of both movies, which are shaping up to be something epic.
In a new interview with I Minutemen (via The Playlist), Snyder revealed that the R-rated Rebel Moon director’s cuts will likely be released on the same day later this summer, although he cautioned that nothing is official. “Those will come out, probably, on the same day – later,” Snyder said. “We don’t have a date yet, but I think it’s going to be in the summer.“
Snyder continued, “They’re each about an hour longer than the originals, the PG-13 [versions]. So it’ll be nice to see the six hours together. You can take a break, of course. It’s a more, maybe, immersive experience. I’m interested for people to see it that way. It’s very adult, it’s very R-rated.” Six hours of Rebel Moon might be quite the marathon for some folks, but I’m sure plenty of Snyder fans out there are more than eager to devour it all in one sitting.
Here’s the official logline for Rebel Moon: “When a peaceful colony on the edge of a galaxy finds itself threatened by the armies of a tyrannical ruling force, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors — outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a battle over the fate of a galaxy is waged, and in the process, a new army of heroes is formed.“
Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver will continue “the epic saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to sacrifice everything, fighting alongside the brave people of Veldt, to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. On the eve of their battle the warriors must face the truths of their own pasts, each revealing why they fight. As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.“
Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire is streaming on Netflix and will be followed by Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver on April 19th. You can check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray right here, and be sure to let us know what you thought of the film as well!
Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle didn’t exactly impress at the box office, earning just $92 million worldwide on a budget of $200 million, but folks who missed the movie in theaters will soon have the opportunity to check it out for themselves. Apple Original Films announced today that Argylle will receive a release on premium video-on-demand and digital very soon, like, tomorrow.
Agylle will debut on VOD and Digital in the U.S. and Canada on March 5th. The movie will be available to stream globally on Apple TV+ at a later date.
Argylle stars Bryce Dallas Howard as Elly Conway, a reclusive author of a series of best-selling espionage novels whose idea of bliss is a night at home with her computer and her cat, Alfie. But when the plots of Elly’s fictional books — which center on secret agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) and his mission to unravel a global spy syndicate — begin to mirror the covert actions of a real-life spy organization, quiet evenings at home become a thing of the past. Sam Rockwell also stars as Aiden, a cat-allergic spy who races across the world to stay one step ahead of the killers as the line between Elly’s fictional world and her real one begins to blur.
The film also stars John Cena (Fast X), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Dua Lipa (Barbie), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek), Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service), and Samuel L. Jackson (The Marvels). Alfie is played by Chip, who just so happens to be the real-life cat of Claudia Schiffer, Matthew Vaughn’s wife.
Matthew Vaughn originally had a few Argylle sequels in store, but it’s doubtful those will happen. “Book one is about: how did Argylle become a spy? That will be the next film,” said Vaughn prior to release. “And then Argylle 2 is – I don’t want to give it all away, but there’s the young Argylle, and that becomes Henry, because Henry loves the idea of doing a proper Argylle movie as well.” The film wound up receiving largely negative reviews, but some found enough to enjoy, including our own Chris Bumbray. You can check out his review right here.
Will you be checking out Argylle tomorrow with its digital release?
It was reported earlier this year that CBS had given a straight-to-series order to NCIS: Origins, a prequel series about young Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Well, the role of the iconic character has now been filled as it was announced today that Austin Stowell will be playing the character in the new series.
NCIS: Origins will be narrated by Mark Harmon, who played Gibbs on NCIS for nearly twenty years, and takes place in 1991, years prior to the events of NCIS. The description reads: “In the series, Gibbs starts his career as a newly minted special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.”
Austin Stowell is known for movies such as Dolphin Tale, Whiplash, Bridge of Spies, Colossal, Battle of the Sexes, Fantasy Island, and more, as well as TV shows such as The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Public Morals, Catch-22, Amazing Stories, The White Lotus, and A Friend of the Family.
Mark Harmon and his son Sean Harmon, who actually played a younger Gibbs in a handful of episodes, got the ball rolling on the prequel series and will executive produce alongside David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal, who are serving as co-showrunners of the series. “The character of Gibbs has been an important part of my life for 20 years, both in watching my father craft the role and previously having the honor to play young Gibbs myself,” Sean Harmon said. “I always felt there was a tale worth telling about his earlier years, so I am thrilled to be stepping into a producing role alongside Gina, David and my dad as we tell this story and reveal a new side of this beloved character.“
The NCIS franchise is one of the biggest in television history, with the 21st season of the mothership series premiering last month. It has also spawned numerous spinoffs, including NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, NCIS: Hawai’i, and NCIS: Sydney. In addition to NCIS: Origins, another spinoff series is being developed for Paramount+, which will see Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo reprise their roles of Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David.
A while back, Shudder announced they had renewed The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs for a supersized sixth season that will make sure Joe Bob is an even more consistent presence on the streaming service throughout the year. The legendary drive-in critic and movie host has now confirmed that The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs season 6 will begin on March 29th – but before we reach that date, we’re getting another Last Drive-In special! This one is called A Tribute to Roger Corman, and it’s set to air on March 15th!
On The Last Drive-In, the world’s foremost drive-in movie critic hosts eclectic horror movies, talking about their merits, histories and significance to genre cinema.
Here’s what Joe Bob had to say about what’s ahead:
3/15: TLDI Live: A Tribute to Roger Corman double feature, filmed at the 2023 Jamboree, airs at 9pm ET on Shudder TV/AMC+ TV, goes on demand 3/17
3/29: TLDI series episodes begin! These single features will air every other Friday til Labor Day on Shudder TV and AMC+ TV at 9pm ET and go on demand on Sunday
Joe Bob confirms what we had heard before, that The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs season 6 is taking a different approach. Episodes will air every other Friday night, and instead of the usual double features Joe Bob will be presenting “single titles and surprises”. Single titles every other Friday is how Shudder intends to spread the episodes out over a longer period of the year. Deadline noted that The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, which was previously filmed in Texas and then New Jersey, is now set up at the Senoia, Georgia studios where the Walking Dead shows have been filmed, and this location gives Joe Bob access to a backlot for the first time.
Joe Bob provided the following statement: “As everyone knows, you should never invite me into your home, because I always show up. Shudder has graciously invited me to stick around for a sixth year, and I intend to use that kindness to haunt your phones, laptops and big-screen TVs with the most ghastly examples of perversity in the history of cinema. Plus a few old jokes and some celebrity guests who will still return our phone calls. Put it all together and it spells PARTAY.“
Courtney Thomasma of Shudder owner AMC Networks said, “We’re delighted to bring Joe Bob, Darcy and the rest of The Last Drive-In Team back for our biggest season yet of crazy, scary and crazy-scary movies and specials, with the most entertaining commentary on TV. Joe Bob will be hosting more movie nights than any previous season and we can’t wait to continue the Friday night party with our Shudder family.“
The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs is produced by Matt Manjourides and Justin Martell and directed by Austin Jennings. Joe Bob is joined on every episode by Diana Prince as Darcy the Mail Girl.
Will you be watching The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs season 6 and the upcoming Roger Corman special? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
By the way, if you’re wondering which Corman movies were screened for the tribute at the Jamboree event, they were A Bucket of Blood and Deathstalker. Classics!
Shortly after getting spicy at the box office with Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two, Rebecca Ferguson is ready to use her voice for another high-profile film project with Mercy, a detective thriller starring Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Garfield Movie, The Terminal List). Amazon MGM Studios is developing the Timur Bekmambetov-directed (Wanted, Ben-Hur, Night Watch) feature for a theatrical release.
According to Deadline‘s exclusive report, Mercy occurs “in the near future when capital crime has increased. Mercy follows a detective (Chris Pratt) who is accused of a violent crime and forced to prove his innocence.” Charles Roven joins the project as a producer alongside Atlas Entertainment SVP Robert Amidon, Bekmambetov’s BEL studio, and film producer Majd Nassif. Cameras intend to roll this spring.
After starring in films like The Greatest Showman, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Rebecca Ferguson returns to Arrakis for the second chapter of Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction epic Dune: Part Two. The sequel to Villeneuve’s 2021 blockbuster is in theaters now and smoking the competition. The film earned $82.5 million at the domestic box office, leading to a more significant weekend than Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Dune: Part Two could cross the $300 million mark once positive word of mouth spreads like wildfire, but we’ll need to wait for more details.
Rebecca Ferguson plays Jessica in the latest iteration of the Dune franchise. According to the Dune Wiki, Jessica was the concubine of Duke Leto Atreides I, the mother of his son, Emperor Paul Atreides, and daughter, Alia Atreides. She was also a Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. As a formidable warrior and tactician, Jessica uses her “voice” and influence to manipulate players in an ongoing war to control land and spice, a precious resource that powers technology across the planets.
What do you think about Ferguson and Pratt teaming up with Timur Bekmambetov for a detective thriller set in the near future? Bekmambetov’s signature style could be perfect for this type of project, and Ferguson’s star power only adds to the excitement. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this one as it develops.
Two months of horror releases down, ten to go! With our 2024 Horror Preview, we’re looking ahead at some of the other horror movies we can’t wait to check out this year. For now, we’re only including movies that have a known release date, so films like the X and Pearl sequel MaXXXine and the remakes/reboots of The Toxic Avenger and Witchboard are currently absent because they don’t have a release date yet, even though they’re likely to show up at some point in 2024. Here we go:
IMAGINARY – Theatrical, March 8
Director Jeff Wadlow and Blumhouse Productions have previously worked together on the 2018 film Truth or Dare and the 2020 horror version of Fantasy Island, and now their latest collaboration stars DeWanda Wise of Jurassic World: Dominion as a woman whose stepdaughter develops “an eerie attachment” to a stuffed bear named Chauncey… who is more than he appears to be. The previous Wadlow/Blumhouse movies weren’t exactly mind-blowing, but Imaginary could be an entertaining time killer.
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL – Theatrical, March 22
The great David Dastmalchian stars in this supernatural chiller from the duo of Colin and Cameron Cairnes (100 BloodyAcres), playing a ’70s late-night talk show who accidentally unleashes evil into the nation’s living rooms. With Dastmalchian, a ’70s setting, and supernatural horror, Late Night With the Devil sounds like it’s going to be a great time. Following the March theatrical release, this one is set to start streaming on Shudder as of April 19th.
GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE – Theatrical, March 22
Ghostbusters: Afterlife director Jason Reitman passes the helm over to his co-writer Gil Kenan (Monster House) for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which stars returning Afterlife leads Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd, as well as returning original Ghostbusters Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson. When an evil force known as The Death Chill hits New York, who you gonna call to fix the problem? Afterlife revived the franchise in a great way, so hopefully Frozen Empire won’t fumble the follow-up.
IMMACULATE – Theatrical, March 22
Madame Web may have been a bomb, but Euphoria‘s Sydney Sweeney is on a roll otherwise. For Immaculate, she re-teams with Michael Mohan, who directed her in the erotic thriller The Voyeurs, for a story of strange happenings at an Italian convent. Whatever happens there, it has resulted in the film earning an R rating for “strong and bloody violent content, grisly images, nudity and some language.”
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE – Theatrical, March 29
There can never be enough Godzilla (or Kong) in the world, so close on the heels of Toho’s Godzilla Minus One and the Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters we’re getting director Adam Wingard’s follow-up to his 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong. This time around, Godzilla and Kong are going to have to team up to take on a monstrous villain known as the Skar King. You can always count on these guys to provide some fun.
THE FIRST OMEN – Theatrical, April 5
I never saw any horror fans asking for a prequel to the 1976 classic The Omen, but some executives at 20th Century Studios thought it would be a great idea, so we’re getting The First Omen in 2024. Directed by Arkasha Stevenson, the film stars Nell Tiger Free of the Apple TV+ series Servant as a young American woman who is sent to Rome to serve the church and instead ends up uncovering a terrifying conspiracy.
ABIGAIL – Theatrical, April 19
Scream (2022) and Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett reteam with their Scream star Melissa Barrera for an update of Universal’s Dracula’s Daughter. Barrera plays a member of a team of kidnappers who abduct a child named Abigail. Played by Alisha Weir (Matilda: The Musical), this kid turns out to be Dracula’s daughter. The cast also includes Dan Stevens (The Guest), Kathryn Newton (Freaky), Angus Cloud (Euphoria), William Catlett (A Thousand and One), Kevin Durand (The Strain), and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad). It’s not clear why they’re not using the title Dracula’s Daughter anymore, but it sounds like this one is going to be fun no matter what it’s called.
CUCKOO – Theatrical, May 3
Hunter Schafer (Euphoria), Dan Stevens (The Guest), Jessica Henwick (Love and Monsters), Marton Csókás (Freelance), Greta Fernández (Santo), and Jan Bluthardt (Tatort) star in the new horror film from writer/director Tilman Singer (Luz). The story follows a 17-year-old American girl who reluctantly moves with her father to a resort in the German Alps… but there’s something strange going in at this resort, leading to an encounter with “a bird-like monster.”
I SAW THE TV GLOW – Theatrical, May 3
JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray wasn’t a fan of I Saw the TV Glow (which is coming our way from A24 and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair director Jane Schoenbrun) when he saw it at the Sundance Film Festival, giving it a 5/10 review (you can read it at THIS LINK) where he said the movie is “so experimental that it feels like a half-baked attempt at a genre version of Inland Empire-era David Lynch.” But maybe it will work better for some genre fans when they get the chance to see it later this year.
TAROT – Theatrical, May 10
Formerly known as Horrorscope, this horror film is based on a 1992 novel by Nicholas Adams (pick up a copy HERE). Jacob Batalon, who is best known for playing Peter Parker’s best friend Ned in the recent Spider-Man movies, plays a character who is part of a group of college friends who get their horoscopes read, then start dying in ways connected to their fortunes. Seems sort of like a Final Destination set-up, but with the supernatural aspects pumped way up.
THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 1 – Theatrical, May 17
Director Renny Harlin has shot an entire trilogy inspired by the 2008 film The Strangers, and we’ve heard that Lionsgate intends to release all three of the movies – said to be titled The Strangers: Chapter 1, The Strangers: Chapter 2, and The Strangers: Chapter 3 – over the course of 2024. Chapter 1 is the only one we know a release date for so far. Madelaine Petsch of Riverdale plays a young woman on a road trip who crosses paths with the title characters when her car breaks down in Oregon.
THE CROW – Theatrical, June 7
The first images of Bill Skarsgard as Eric Draven in director Rupert Sanders’ remake of The Crow didn’t go over very well (and Alex Proyas, the director of the original film, let it be known that he wasn’t a fan), but James O’Barr came up with such an interesting, emotional concept when he created the Crow comic book series, there’s a chance the new movie could still work even for viewers who think the new Eric Draven looks ridiculous.
We’ve seen a lot of thrillers from director M. Night Shyamalan – and in 2024, we’re going to see one from his daughter Ishana Night Shyamalan. The younger Shyamalan makes her feature directorial debut with the story of a group of strangers (including Barbarian‘s Georgina Campbell) being stalked by mysterious creatures in the wilderness of western Ireland. Will Ishana be able to match or exceed the thrills her father has provided? We’ll find out soon.
A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE – Theatrical, June 28
A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II director John Krasinski helped craft the story for this spin-off/prequel directed by Michael Sarnoski, director of the Nicolas Cage drama Pig. Although the release date is just five months away, we still don’t know much about this one beyond the fact that it stars 12 Years a Slave Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn – better known as Eddie Munson from the most recent season of Stranger Things – and Alex Wolff (Hereditary), and is set in New York City. The story doesn’t involve the Abbott family, the characters we followed through the first two movies, but it should be interesting to see the alien creatures stalking people in NYC.
LONGLEGS – Theatrical, July 12
The marketing for Longlegs, a psychological horror thriller from director Osgood Perkins – who, yes, is the son of actor Anthony Perkins – has been so awesome and creepy, the actual film might struggle to live up to it. Still, it sounds very promising, with genre regular Maika Monroe taking on the role of an FBI agent who is tracking an elusive serial killer played by Nicolas Cage. Cage has described his character as being like “a possessed Geppetto.”
TRAP – Theatrical, August 2
Two months after his daughter Ishana’s film The Watchers reaches theatres, we’ll be getting another thriller directed by M. Night Shyamalan – and this one stars another of his three daughters, Saleka. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but we know that the story plays out at a concert and Saleka, who is an R&B singer/songwriter, plays the popstar on stage. Josh Hartnett, fresh off playing a role in Oppenheimer, plays a father who takes his child to the concert. Shyamalan has had hits and misses, and it’s always interesting to see how his latest film is going to turn out.
ALIEN: ROMULUS – Theatrical, August 16
Evil Dead (2013) and Don’t Breathe director Fede Alvarez has set the story of Alien: Romulus between the events of the original Alien and Aliens. It involves a group of young people – played by the likes of Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Spike Fearn (The Batman), Aileen Wu (Away from Home), and Isabela Merced (Rosaline) – who find themselves in a fight for their lives with the titular alien on a distant colony. All we really needed to know to be sold on this one was “Fede Alvarez directing an Alien movie”.
BEETLEJUICE 2 – Theatrical, September 6
Thirty-six years after the classic Beetlejuice was released, we’re finally getting a sequel. Director Tim Burton is back at the helm, Michael Keaton is reprising the role of the title character, and Winona Ryder is back as Lydia Deetz, with Catherine O’Hara returning as her stepmother Delia. Joining the party are Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s wife, Willem Dafoe as a law enforcement officer in the afterlife, Justin Theroux in an unspecified role, and Burton’s Wednesday star Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter. Depending on whether or not Burton and his cast were able to recapture some of the original magic, Beetlejuice 2 could be a blast.
SAW XI – Theatrical, September 27
Against all odds, the tenth film in the Saw franchise managed to not only be a huge financial success, but also somehow one of the best entries in the franchise (you can read our review HERE). So of course Lionsgate and the producers are working to make sure we get another sequel as quickly as possible. We don’t know who’s writing or directing Saw XI at this point, but we know it’s going to be in theatres this September.
SMILE 2 – Theatrical, October 18
Writer/director Parker Finn’s sequel to his 2022 horror film Smile is another project we don’t know much about yet, but Finn has said that if he were to make a Smile 2 he would want to make sure it’s “new, exciting, fresh” rather than just a retread of its predecessor. The freshness begins with the casting of Naomi Scott – who was not in Smile – as the lead character in Smile 2. The release date and the involvement of Finn and Scott are the only pieces of information that have been provided so far.
TERRIFIER 3 – Theatrical, October 25
Terrifier 3 may be reaching theatres in time for Halloween, but unlike its predecessors this one is not set on Halloween. Instead, the setting is moving a couple months, over to Christmastime. Writer/director Damien Leone had a budget of around $55,000 to work with on the first Terrifier movie, and a budget of “a little over” $250,000 for Terrifier 2 – which was so successful, a “couple million” is going into the budget of Terrifier 3. Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) will be spilling more blood and facing off against heroine Sienna (Lauren LaVera) again, and Leone said he’s aiming to make this one shorter and less mystical than the second film.
WOLF MAN – Theatrical, October 25
Having successfully revived Universal’s The Invisible Man a few years ago, director Leigh Whannell and Blumhouse Productions are now attempting to do the same for the studio’s Wolf Man. Based on a pitch from executive producer Ryan Gosling (who was, for a while, attached to star in the film), this take on the Wolf Man has Christopher Abbott (Possessor) on board to play a man whose family is being terrorized by a lethal predator, while Ozark‘s Julia Garner plays his wife. Whannell’s version of The Invisible Man worked so well, we’re hyped to see his Wolf Man.
NOSFERATU – Theatrical, December 25
Nine years have gone by since it was first announced that The Witch director Robert Eggers was going to be writing and directing a remake of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic Nosferatu. At the end of this year, we’re finally going to be able to see what Eggers – who made The Lighthouse and The Northman in the interim – has done with the concept. Bill Skarsgard (It) plays the title character and is joined in the cast by Lily-Rose Depp (The Idol), Nicholas Hoult (Renfield), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Ralph Ineson (The Witch), Simon McBurney (The Conjuring 2), and the legendary Willem Dafoe, who plays a crazy vampire hunter. Focus Features wanted to give this film “a prime holiday season release”, so they clearly believe Eggers has turned in something special.
Few things are more frustrating when you’re an actor than having your scenes cut from a project. Especially if the project in question is one of the year’s most celebrated releases. Unfortunately for Tim Blake Nelson (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Holes, The Incredible Hulk), his part in Dune: Part Two is on the cutting room floor, and the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve, has no intention of sharing his scenes with audiences. It’s nothing personal; it’s just the way things shook out.
Speaking with Collider about editing the second chapter of his science-fiction opus, Villeneuve said he’s “a strong believer that when it’s not in the movie, it’s dead.” In other words, don’t count on the Blu-ray release for Dune: Part Two to have deleted scenes as part of the physical release’s bonus features. “Sometimes I remove shots and I say, ‘I cannot believe I’m cutting this out. I feel like a samurai opening my gut. It’s painful, so I cannot go back after that and create a Frankenstein and try to reanimate things that I killed. It’s too painful. When it’s dead, it’s dead, and it’s dead for a reason. But yes, it is a painful project, but it is my job. The movie prevails. I’m very severe in the editing room. I’m not thinking about my ego, I’m thinking about the movie …. I kill darlings, and it’s painful for me.”
Villeneuve maintains there’s a method for his madness. He’s made movies of varying lengths, and the final product is always deliberate in its presentation. He believes movies have momentum. If you don’t adhere to the flow, the story or impact of the project could get lost. He’s not the first filmmaker to feel this way. Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese observe the same rule.
Regarding Tim Blake Nelson, Villeneuve cut the actor’s scenes entirely. Speaking with Movieweb about the loss, Nelson said, “I don’t think I’m at liberty to say what the scene was. I’d leave that to Denis if he wants to talk about it. I had a great time over there shooting it. And then he had to cut it because he thought the movie was too long. And I am heartbroken over that, but there’s no hard feelings. I loved it, and I can’t wait to do something else with him and we certainly plan to do that.”
While digging into Nelson’s mystery role, some sleuths suggest he could have played Count Hasimir Fenring, an assassin, and advisor to the Emperor (Christopher Walken), who is married to Lady Fenring (Léa Seydoux). Hasimir could show up in Dune: Messiah if Warner Bros. gives Villeneuve the green light to make a third entry in the series. While we’re on the subject, I’ll eat my hat if we don’t get Dune: Messiah. You don’t make the kind of moneyDune: Part Two is making without wanting to finish the story.
Another actor cut from the film is Stephen McKinley Henderson, who played the House Atreides Mentat Thufir Hawat (say that three times fast) in Dune: Part One. “One of the most painful choices for me on this one was [to not include] Thufir Hawat,” Villeneuve told Entertainment Weekly. “He’s a character I absolutely love, but I decided right at the beginning that I was making a Bene Gesserit adaptation. That meant that Mentats are not as present as they should be, but it’s the nature of the adaptation.”
Would you be interested in seeing deleted scenes from Dune: Part Two? Would the movie have been even better with Nelson’s Count Hasimir Fenring in the mix? Let us know in the comments section below.
Sure, Tom Cruise doesn’t look anything like the Jack Reacher character as described in the novels by Lee Child – but the average movie-goer didn’t seem to mind in 2012, when audiences showed up to make the film Jack Reacher, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (based on Child’s novel One Shot) a box office success. Made on a budget of $60 million, Jack Reacher earned over $218 million worldwide. It looked like Cruise had a new franchise on his hands. But sometimes bizarre decisions are made in the name of franchise filmmaking. With McQuarrie busy working on a different Cruise franchise (Mission: Impossible), the Jack Reacher sequel was passed over to Cruise’s The Last Samurai director Edward Zwick. A promising start. But then the questionable decisions began, resulting in a sequel – 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – that fell short of its predecessor in every way.
Zwick reflects on the failure of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back in his memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood (pick up a copy HERE), writing, “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which Tom Cruise and I made in 2016, fizzled at the box office. I blame myself (and my willing accomplice, Don Granger) for thinking the audience might enjoy a mash-up of Jack Reacher and Paper Moon, when in fact they just wanted more red meat. I had a wonderful time working with Cobie Smulders, and I certainly don’t blame Tom for not being six two – as the novelist Lee Child described his protagonist – and should Tom happen to call about making a third movie together, I’ll definitely pick up.“
Like I said, bizarre choices. Jack Reacher had just introduced us to a great new hero: an Army MP-turned-drifter tough guy who would bust bones and crack skulls while solving mysteries. The fact that anyone would think the best option for a sequel would be to saddle the character with a child sidekick (who may or may not be his daughter) in a Paper Moon mash-up is baffling. But that’s what we got. I still enjoyed the movie, but it’s not what I was hoping the second Reacher movie would be.
Made on a budget somewhere in the range of 60 to 96 million, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back earned $162 million at the worldwide box office. The film franchise ended there. Now Reacher lives on as a TV series on Prime Video, with the more Child-accurate Alan Ritchson in the title role.
What do you think of the Jack Reacher films, and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back in particular? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
