Avatar 2 & 3 For 2014 And 2015 Release
There has been much speculation recently as to what James Cameron’s next film will be. Just last week the director himself suggested that he might be interested in the Cleopatra film which Anglelina Jolie is attached to. However, it seems Cameron has been toying with everybody (to sure up his negotiating position?). An official press release from Fox has confirmed that Cameron’s next projects will be Avatar 2 and Avatar 3, shot back to back and with planned release dates of December 2014 and 2015.
Here’s what Fox Chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman had to say -
“AVATAR is not only the highest grossing movie of all time, it is a created universe based on the singular imagination and daring of James Cameron, who also raised the consciousness of people worldwide to some of the greatest issues facing our planet…We had no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of AVATAR. This is a great day in the history of our company, and we thank all of those who have made this possible.”
And here’s what Cameron had to say -
“It is a rare and remarkable opportunity when a filmmaker gets to build a fantasy world, and watch it grow, with the resources and partnership of a global media company. ‘Avatar’ was conceived as an epic work of fantasy – a world that audiences could visit, across all media platforms, and this moment marks the launch of the next phase of that world. With two new films on the drawing boards, my company and I are embarking on an epic journey with our partners at Fox. Our goal is to meet and exceed the global audience’s expectations for the richness of ‘Avatar’s’ visual world and the power of the storytelling. In the second and third films, which will be self contained stories that also fulfill a greater story arc, we will not back off the throttle of ‘Avatar’s’ visual and emotional horsepower, and will continue to explore its themes and characters, which touched the hearts of audiences in all cultures around the world. I’m looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild.”
Cameron has previously indicated that Avatar 2 will take place in the oceans of Pandora, while Avatar 3 will see them journey to the moons of Pandora. Jake and Neytiri will remain the lead characters for both sequels.
Alien 5 – Sequel Plans
I don’t think it’s bad or biased journalism to say that anyone who has seen the film Alien and doesn’t think that it’s the greatest science fiction film ever made should be ceremonially torturedand thrown from a bridge.
Ridley Scott’s opus has been clinically tested to be made of pure awesome; so much so that James Cameron was inspired to make the sequel and Fox Studios still covets the franchise despite the lackluster 3rd and 4th installments.
Judging by their faces, this is a passion project.
And now, after critical and box office Alien failure for over a decade, Ridley Scott and Sigourney Weaver have been talking about potentially restarting the franchise by adding a new twist: Alien 5 might not feature any aliens.
Or rather, no Xenomorph, the iconic Geiger-created beast that drove the story of four films.
Sigourney Weaver: “We’d have to go back to the drawing board on [the alien]. Ridley said that right away when we first talked about [a fifth film]. …What we’re interested in is taking the character of Ripley and seeing what other science fiction story we can tell about someone who has lived several lives.”
The duo think there is plenty of character development left for Ripley. But after fighting off a hell beast, falling asleep for a generation and outliving her entire family, starting a NEW family after defeating an Alien army, losing that family in a space ship accident, giving host to an Alien in her stomach, dying, being resurrected in the far future, being genetically mixed with Alien DNA, having super powers, becoming a psychic, having group sex with a nest of Aliens, giving birth to an Alien/Human half-breed, then finally returning to Earth … one wonders what exactly is left to develop.
No matter. With Ridley involved and Weaver’s face on the poster, fans would turn out at theaters to gamble their ten dollars, this writer included.
Sigourney researches her character motivation for an upcoming scene.
It’s all just talk for now, and even if they put a proposal together there’s no guarantee Fox would want to do it.
What would you like to see happen in an Alien 5? Leave your comments below.
American Reunion – First Look
New model, original parts. The cast of American Pie have reunited for the fourth instalment in the popular comedy series, American Reunion, and the first image of them on set together has surfaced.
American Reunion will star Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Sean William Scott, Eugene Levy, Mena Suvari, Tara Reid & Shannon Elizabeth, together again for a school reunion ten years after the events of the first film. It is also being directed by Harold & Kumar writer-directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. How do you feel about American Reunion? A welcome return or beating a dead horse?
Cowboy Bebop – Unlikely / Bill And Ted 3 – Possibility
Keanu Reeves has revealed that a film version of anime TV series ‘Cowboy Bebop’ is now looking less and less and likely. The show is regarded as a classic by anime buffs and Reeves, obviously one of its many fans, has been the driving force behind trying to get a live-action film version made. As is usually the case when it comes to difficulties getting a film made, money is the problem, or a lack of it. In a recent interview, Reeves’s response to being asked about where the Bebop movie had got to was -
“Nowhere,” he said. “It hasn’t been working. Every time [the script] comes back, it’s still a gazillion dollars,” he laughed. “Every time they try to pare it down, it’s like, ‘Well, that’s not the film, what about the other kajillion?’”
Reeves had planned to play the main character Spike Spiegel himself. Many fans of the show have already expressed antipathy to the idea of Reeves playing the role and now Keanu himself is suggesting that he may not be right for the part due to the age difference between himself (46) and the character (27). He said
“I’m getting too old to play Spike,” and then when on to jokingly suggest that maybe he would be more suited to play “Spike’s older brother.”
In seperate Keanu Reeves based news, the actor has also recently re-ignited the idea of a third Bill and Ted movie. With both Ted and Bill (played by Alex Winter) now middle aged it would be interesting to see where they would take the story. This is what Reeves had to say.
“I’m still friends with Alex and we’re talking to Chris and Ed to see if they can write something,” he said. “I’d love to play the role and work with them again. We’ll see what they do.”
He also cheekily suggested that he wants Werner Herzog to direct the film. Now that is something that I would love to see!
Fast & Furious 6 – Sequel Plans
Get revved for Fast and Furious 6. This has to be one of the most unlikely franchises out there. 2 Fast 2 Furious lost then rising Star Vin Diesel, Tokyo Drift lost Paul Walker but gained a little Diesel cameo, all of the original stars returned for Fast & Furious, and this year’s Fast Five sees pretty much everybody from the previous movies back for more. With The Rock. Banking on it being as successful as the previous instalments, the folks behind Fast Five are getting a follow up ready.
The writer of three of the past Fast and Furious movies, Chris Morgan has signed a deal with Universal and is soon to write the fifth sequel – it is as yet untitled, but I’m very much hoping for the them to continue the 2 Fast 2 Furious-Fast & Furious-Fast Five trend of making the title a random, shorter variation of the original. FST/FRS or F&F6 would work nicely.
How do you feel about the prospect of more Fast and Furious movies? Is there a point at which they should stop? Which countries should they visit next? It seems as though the ONE LAST JOB of the trailer is unlikely to be that…
Ivan Reitman To Direct Ghostbusters 3
The rumour mill has been busy with Ghostbusters 3 over the past few months. To be honest, I’m still not quite sure who has and hasn’t agreed to return for the second sequel. One thing that now seems to be set in stone is that Ivan Reitman, director of the first two films, WILL be returning to direct number 3. Phew.
Here’s some quotage from MTV -
They have delivered a draft,” Reitman said of the script’s progress. “We are working our way through another draft… good work is being done and all of us have our fingers crossed.”
Reitman was all business again when the talk turned back to the schedule. “I hope to start shooting in this next year,” he said, giving weight to Ramis’ recent comments about a planned 2011 release
Asked if he would be returning to direct “Ghostbusters III,” Reitman answered with a simple and unequivocal “Yes.”
Reitman’s last film, as director, was 2006′s My Super Ex-Girlfriend, which, by all accounts, was a bit of a stinker. He’s more than qualified to turn this potentialy terrible franchise resurrection into something good though. I mean for God’s sake he’s the man who mined comedy gold out of Arnold Schwarznegger with Twins and Junior. Even so, isn’t this a franchise that was best left to rest in peace? What do you think?
Ghost Rider 2, National Treasure 3
Nicolas Cage has caught a case of sequelitis.
First up, he’s keen to do Ghost Rider 2. Ghost Rider made a suprisingly large amount of money, but once the tills stopped ringing most came to see it for what it was – a fairy weak movie. Cage says “All they have to do is call, and I would love to see that happen.”
But it gets worse. Not content with ripping off The Da Vinci Code a couple of times, he wants to make National Treasure 3. “I’d like to do ‘International Treaure’. To go into Africa, Egypt, Asia. My hope is that Ben is recruited and he gets a dossier from these other countries about their history, and has to download it and learn it. That would be a lot of fun for me.”
Hm. Is learning a dossier on the history of Africa a good time at the movies? What happened to the glory days of The Rock and Face Off?…
Bond 23 Finally Gets Release Date
All is back in order in the world of James Bond. We already knew that there was at least going tobe another film in the series, but now it has been given an official release date of November 9, 2012. Bond’s future had been in some doubt due to MGM’s financial troubles; however, following MGM’s exit from bankruptcy at the end of last year, pre-production commenced on what will be the 23rd film in the series. This is from the official press release-
“Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions, together with the Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., today announced that the 23rd James Bond film will commence production in late 2011 for a worldwide release on November 9, 2012.
Daniel Craig will be returning as the legendary British secret agent, with Sam Mendes directing a screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan.”
The fact that Sam Mendes is directing is certainly a point of interest, even for those who can’t stand 007’s smug-git face. Mendes is an Oscar winner and will surely seek to put his artistic stamp on the film. However, there are those who think it is workmanlike directors who are better suited to directing films such as this. Bond 23 is obviously of huge financial importance to the still unsteady MGM so I’m sure there will be limitations to how much Mendes will be allowed to express himself.
The 2012 release of Bond marks 50 years since the release of the first film, Dr.No. The films have grossed just over $5 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the second highest grossing film series of all time, beaten only by some bespectacled wizard.
‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ Trailer
The first trailer has landed for the fourth Mission: Impossible movie, entitled Ghost Protocol, and it looks like, well, aMission: Impossible movie. Only more so, with explosions, double-crosses and a sprinting Tom Cruise all featuring heavily.
This fresh M:I outing is directed by Brad Bird and produced by J.J. Abrams, and looks set to open in bombastic fashion, with the Kremlin going down in a cloud of dust and rubble, thereby rendering a million Moscow postcards out of date in the blink of an eye.
Inevitably, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt winds up having the outrage pinned on his impeccably well-groomed head, and the familiar globe-trotting chase ensues, as he tries to figure out what in the heck is going on, like, with assistance coming from his IMF team (just as soon as they’ve sorted out the Greek bail-out – mildly topical joke alert!)
Check out the trailer below, and you might want to liven it up by playing some M:I bingo while you do so – five points on offer for Cruise straddling a large erection, five for woman in slinky dress sliding out of a shiny sports car, and a point for each shot of someone pointing a gun with intent (two for the shot of Simon Pegg doing so).
Ghost Protocol opens on 16 December in the US, with audiences in the UK having to wait till the 26th of the same month to catch the movie for themselves.
Twilight – Breaking Dawn Release Date? & Spoilers
Summit have already bought the rights, so what will the Breaking Dawn movie release date be, and will it be split into two films?
If you haven’t read Breaking Dawn the one thing to know is that it has some very strange elements, and delicate material, mostly involving freaky childbirth. A movie version will be challenging. The plot goes as follows: SPOILERS AHEAD Bella (Kristen Stewart) falls pregnant during her honeymoon with Edward (Robert Pattinson). But they are both concerned at the abnormally rapid growth of the foetus so Edward urges her, unsuccessfully, to have an abortion. Not knowing what danger this unborn vampire-human child may hold, the werewolves plot to kill Bella, which forces Jacob (Taylor Lautner) to leave and form his own pack. The birth breaks many of Bella’s bones and she loses massive amounts of blood so, in order save her life, Edward turns her into a vampire. Jacob “imprints” on the newborn child, Renesmee, meaning he has found his soulmate. Meanwhile the Volturi (‘vampire government’) see Renesmee as a threat and set out to destroy the Cullens.
Though there is no official confirmation, filming on Breaking Dawn is expected to start in early 2010. Work hasn’t begun on the script, as it seems they’ve been waiting on New Moon’s box office results before deciding whether to split the book into two movies. Breaking Dawn’s novel is 756 pages, compared to Twilight’s 544 pages. The hold up may also be due to the cast being contracted for four movies, not five, so costly negotiations need to take place. However, given that New Moon has just opened bigger than The Dark Knight, I’d be surprised if they don’t split it.
My presumption is, considering the speedy turnover of the series, Breaking Dawn: Part 1′s release date will be early 2011 and Part 2′s release date late 2011.
Stephanie Meyer herself is deeply concerned about how the character of Renesmee will translate to the screen, writing that an actress could not play her, because she is a baby with complete awareness, and that “the one thing that I’ve never seen is a CGI human being who truly looks real”. Personally, I thought the wolves in New Moon looked pretty fake so I don’t think that’s going to hold up the movie.
Twilight fans, what do you think the Breaking Dawn movie release date should be? Should the novel be split in two? Are you worried about how some of the story will translate?
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows – Trailer
Just two days on from the release of the first posters, and Sherlock Holmes sequel, A Game of Shadows, has been blessed with a shiny new trailer too. Acolytes of the Conan Doyle source material may want to look away now though, as gunfire and explosions put in far more prominent appearances than the literati might be entirely comfortable with…
Again directed by Guy Ritchie, the approach to this Sherlock sequel seems to be “Same again, but more so,” at least if we judge by the trailer. For the first instalment largely cruised by on the movie star charms of Robert Downey Jr. in the title role, and he is very much front and centre of the new clip, with Jude Law’s Watson once again crowbarred into the role of disapproving party pooper.
The plot of A Game of Shadows sees the detective duo going continental, as they pack off to Europe (France, Germany and Switzerland) to investigate the killing of the Crown Prince of Austria – a killing orchestrated by Jared Harris’s evil genius, Professor Moriarty (he’s so clever he can always manoeuvre his giant top hat through doorways without ever knocking it off and making him look silly).
Somehow tangled up in all this intrigue is gypsy fortune teller Sim (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo star Noomi Rapace), suggesting that Holmes‘ backers are raring to make all the same blunders with her that they did previously with Rachel McAdams’ Irene Adler. But what the heck. No one comes to these films for the love interest, do they? Nope, they come for action, explosions and semi-sharp one-liners, all of which are as liberally strewn around the trailer as poop is around the ape-house enclosure of a particularly bad-tempered gorilla.
The Amazing Spider-Man – Teaser Trailer (HD)
Like The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers before it, a grainy version of the first Amazing Spider-Man trailer has been circulating online. But unlike those other two comic book blockbusters, a far better quality version has emerged within 24 hours of the first leak, providing a decent preview glimpse of one of next year’s biggest movies.
When it was announced in January of last year that Sony was rebooting Spider-Man, less than a decade after Sam Raimi’s first film in the cycle, the reaction of most people was, “Are we really going to have sit through the origin story all over again?” Yes, as the trailer makes clear. Yes you are. Radioactive spider and all. Although the clip provides no sign of ‘the death of Uncle Ben’ component of that narrative, with Peter Parker’s dad, Richard (played by Campbell Scott), instead taking an apparently significant role.
What else do we get? Andrew Garfield seemingly playing Parker as less a hapless geek and more a moody disaffected teen (please God, nobody mention the T-word), as well as the briefest of brief glimpses of Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Rhys Ifans as Dr. Curt Connors (no sign yet though of Connors’ super-powered alter-ego, the Lizard). Plus some dubious POV skyscraper-hopping which is presumably supposed to get us salivating at the prospect of a 3D Spider-Man movie, but which in actuality has simply left every online pundit rushing to make less-than flattering comparisons with video gameMirror’s Edge.
Directed by Marc Webb, The Amazing Spider-Man is due for release on 3 July 2012.
1st Picture Of Cavill As Superman
There have been recent developments both negative and positive on Warners’ new Superman movie, Man of Steel. On the debit side, reputed script problems have seen the release date slip from December 2012 to summer 2013. But on the plus side, Laurence Fishburne has joined the production as Daily Planet editor Perry White, and the first official pic of Henry Cavill as Superman has just been released.
As per the picture below, the costume sported by Cavill’s Superman is looking a little darker in hue than those previously sported on-screen by Reeve and Routh. Though it is not as much of a departure as the black suit insisted on by producer Jon Peters when he was crafting his never-realised Superman reboot in the ‘90s (he supposedly reckoned the iconic red ‘n’ blue uniform was “too faggy”).
Aside from the obvious action element to the snap, namely the badly busted-up bank vault, the other thing that catches the eye is slight bouffant that this new Superman seems to have on the go. So even if Man of Steel is not, as Warners and director Zack Snyder will surely be desperately hoping, the biggest Superman film to date, it looks set to certainly to feature the larger Super-hair than any prior outings. And that’s got to be some kind of achievement, hasn’t it?
In addition to Cavill and Fishburne, Man of Steel also features Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, and Michael Shannon as General Zod, plus some other people playing some other people. It is due for release on 14 June 2013.
Star Trek Sequel
Everyone loved JJ Abrams’ Star Trek, if you didn’t, you’re wrong! I had it down as blockbuster of the summer untilDistrict 9 pipped it at the end. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant start to the rebooted franchise and made a whole new generation fall in love with Star Trek whilst satisfying the trekkies of old at the same time.
Whilst promoting a new series of Fringe recently, JJ Abrams has been discussing plans for theStar Trek sequel -
“The ambition for a sequel to ‘Star Trek’ is to make a movie that’s worthy of the audience and not just another movie, you know, just a second movie that feels tacked on. The first movie was so concerned with just setting up the characters — their meeting each and galvanizing that family — that in many ways a sequel will have a very different mission. it needs to do what [the late 'Trek' creator Gene] Roddenberry did so well, which is allegory. It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant. It also needs to tell it in a spectacular way that hides the machinery and in a primarily entertaining and hopefully moving story.”
The most obvious angle they could use if they want to go for allegory is global warming/climate change. The effect we have on our planet is actually a subject Trek has explored before in Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home which saw the crew travel back in time in order to bring a humpback whale to the future to save the world. Directed by Leonard Nimoy himself it’s probably one of the best Star Trek films and isn’t quite as ridiculous as I made it sound in that short summary.
Star Trek writer Rober Orci has more on the next film in the freshly rebooted franchise -
“We’ve literally had two meetings now. We haven’t decided anything but we’re starting to circle around some ideas. We got a lot of fan response from the first one and a considerable amount of critical response and one of the things we heard was, ‘Make sure the next one deals with modern-day issues.’ We’re trying to keep it as up-to-date and as reflective of what’s going on today as possible. So that’s one thing, to make it reflect the things that we are all dealing with today.”
Terminator Rights Up For Grabs
Less than six months after the release of the last Terminator movie, and less than two years after the franchise’s current owners bought up the rights, ownership of one of the most popular sci-fi franchises in history is up for grabs once again.
The LA Times has the story:
Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek, who acquired the science-fiction franchise in 2007 for $25 million and produced this year’s sequel “Terminator Salvation,” are now looking to sell them partially or outright as several companies owned by the duo work their way through bankruptcy.
Anderson and Kubicek’s Halcyon Holding Group has engaged financial advisory firm FTI Capital Advisors, pending bankruptcy court approval, to “evaluate strategic alternatives,” according to a statement. Since Halcyon’s only valuable asset is the Terminator rights, any deal would involve an investment in, or outright sale, of them.
I guess this means we won’t see the ‘new trilogy’ the was supposedly kicked off with Terminator: Salvation for a few years, and considering Salvation’s lackluster performance at the box-office, possibly not at all.
Wolverine 2 – Sequel Plans
It looks like we’re already in store for a Wolverine 2, despite the fact that X-Men Origins: Wolverine won’t hit theaters until May 1st, 2009.
“Cross my heart and hope you die.”
With buzz building about this attempt to save the X-Men franchise in light of such solid superhero efforts from Warner Bros. (The Dark Knight) and Marvel (Iron Man, Incredible Hulk), it seems Fox might already be planning multiple sequels to Wolverine’s storyline.
What does Hugh Jackman himself have to say about a Wolverine 2? Well he has very clear ideas -
I want another one. Yeah, damn it. Of course. The most intriguing thing to me was the Japan story. I love the Japan story. I wanted to do the Japan story from around “X-Men 2.” Can you just picture Wolverine in Japan with the triads and the samurai? It’s just genius. Comedically and dramatically, I thought, “This is awesome!” But how can you do that before you explain his origins? If we tried to mix the origin and Japan together, it wouldn’t do justice to either. So you can tell by the answer where I’d like it to go.
Meanwhile Fox have announced a total separate youth-orientated X-Men franchise, the first of which will be titled X-Men: First Class. These will focus on a new batch of Muties learning how to control their laser beams, super strength, and hormones. It’s said that Fox plans to use Wolverine in some capacity for the first film, be it a major role or cameo.
Since Jackman has gone on the record saying he loves the character and will play Wolverine as long as the fans want him, it looks like we’re about three steps away from Wolvie overload. The guy better quit making the likes of Australia and focus on some box office gold or we’ll see him at Jimmy’s bar mitzvah, scowling his way around the room and popping balloons with his claws.
Hugh Jackman relaxes at home with his family.
X-Men: First Class 2 – Sequel Plans
There’s been plenty of X-Men: First Class 2 talk over recent days, so what has been said and how likely is a sequel?
First the bad news. A sequel has not been announced. …Yet. If the movie was a complete slam dunk, it would have been. After all, a screenwriter for The Hangover Part III was hired virtually the day after it opened.
Quality-wise, First Class is a roaring success, with an 87% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 8.2 rating from the public on IMDB, putting it into the top 250 public-voted movies ever made. What’s causing the studio to pause for thought is the slightly underwhelming box office. First Class had the least attended opening weekend of any of the X-Men films, its $55m only passable by the standard and down significantly on X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s $85m. Hopefully better word of mouth will help it keep afloat longer, and all sequels are victims to a certain extent of the previous film – Spider-Man 3 opened huge because Spider-Man 2 was so good, First Class opened weaker because audiences were underwhelmed by Origins: Wolverine. Another factor is, unlike the previous three movies, First Class didn’t have any stars. If the studio are wise they’ll remember that Batman Begins (which only did decent box office, but thrilled those who saw it) led to The Dark Knight (which did enormous box office). The First Class actors will be a much bigger draw next time around.
Unusually, First Class is potentially the second X-Men franchise running simultaneously, what with Wolverine about to get another film next summer. It’ll be interesting to see which one wins out, or if they can both co-exist. There’s a slim chance the studio won’t make any firm decision until Wolverine 2 comes out, giving them an opportunity to compare the numbers.
But all things considered, an X-Men: First Class sequel is much more likely than not.
Plot-wise, there’s not much point looking to the comics for where the story will head. Although there is a series of the same name, the differences with the first movie are enormous. Instead it’s wiser to listen to producer Bryan Singer who’s said “When [First Class] happened, Kennedy had not been assassinated and the Vietnam War hadn’t happened yet. …[Also] what’s really interesting about the ’60s setting is the civil rights movement. [Professor X and Magneto are] really the Malcolm X and Martin Luther King of comic mythology.”
Meanwhile, First Class director Matthew Vaughn has stated “We will only have one more new character [in an X-Men: First Class sequel]. I won’t say who he…I won’t say who he or she is! …As Professor X is in a wheelchair, Magneto needs to have a nemesis he can fight with. Someone that will be his equal. I know who it is. It would be nice if I could say something, but I can’t.”
There’s also a possibility Wolverine himself could join the franchise in a more significant way than his cameo. Singer adds, “I think there would definitely be room. I think it would be very exciting. This universe has to establish itself first, but that would be a very interesting and fun thing.” It’s likely that a sequel would be set before Wolverine lost his memory in the 70s. And besides, the director has shown he will throw out continuity with other movies if it serves his story. If the Wolverine franchise starts to faulter, then moving him back over to the winning team could make sense, especially if Jackman is still keen on playing the character.
What would you like to see happen in an X-Men: First Class sequel? Which time period should it be set in? Which new characters should they add? Would having Wolverine be a blessing or a curse?
movie-moron.com
