This week was a much slower week for movie news, as the main focus this week was CinemaCon, which revealed footage for many upcoming films for the year. But that doesn’t mean things were completely quiet for announcements. Here are five new developments from the week:
Emma Stone to Lead New Alexander Payne Movie
Acclaimed director Alexander Payne finally had his first misfire in 2017, with Downsizing, but just because someone had one rotten egg after a string of successes doesn’t mean it’s time to write them off just yet. Far from it, and if anything, Payne’s next project is one that should be highly anticipated. Titled The Menu, the film is a horror comedy about a young couple who go on vacation and visit a restaurant where a demented chef has more on the menu than meets the eye. And it’s just been announced that Emma Stone is to lead the film as one half of the young couple, though it’s still unknown who will play her significant other. Meanwhile, Ralph Fiennes is also being eyed to join the film, presumably as the chef, which should make for some wildly bizarre fun, especially given Fiennes’ underrated knack for comedy, as seen in The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Lego Batman Movie. While the film is early in development, hopefully this should see him back on track after the well-intentioned, but ultimately disappointing Matt Damon-led film.
Amy Adams to Star in New Ron Howard Movie for Netflix
While a Ron Howard movie doesn’t have the draw that it once had, his films can still be enjoyable, as evidenced by 2013’s Rush, and his contribution to the Star Wars universe, last year’s Solo. For his next project, Howard is turning to Netflix in hopes to draw an audience, as he adapts J.D. Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, into a movie of the same name. The film will follow an Appalachian family told from the point of view of its youngest member, and touch upon themes such as the American Dream. The only cast member currently announced is Amy Adams, who presumably will play the matriarch of the family. The original memoir was a source of political controversy when it was released in 2016, with conservatives praising it while liberals accusing it of racism. The film will be penned by The Shape of Water screenwriter Vanessa Taylor, and hopefully the adaptation can avoid some of the controversy that surrounded the memoir. Only time will tell.
John Cho to Star in Live-Action ‘Cowboy Bebop’ Series
Another of the many projects in development by Netflix is a live-action adaptation of the classic anime, Cowboy Bebop. John Cho will star as Spike Spiegel, who leads a group of bounty hunters in space from adventure to adventure, just as in the original series. This one is to be approached with a bit of caution, as live-action adaptations of anime series have never gone over well, as evidenced by some of the latest attempts such as Alita: Battle Angel and Death Note. Though those were movies that tried cramming hours of material into a two-hour movie. With this being a series, hopefully it’ll take the time to flesh out the characters properly the way the original series did. There’s not much else announced about this adaptation at this time, but once again, we’ll have to wait and see if this was a project worth developing.
Viola Davis, Jai Courtney Returning for ‘The Suicide Squad’
One of the most intriguing projects coming up for DC Comics is its reboot of Suicide Squad, now titled The Suicide Squad. Written and directed by James Gunn, the film will shy away from the original film directed by David Ayer, which was the third entry into the DC Extended Universe, as the company moves away from the foundation established by Zack Snyder, due to poor critical and audience reception. The film will be a mix of new and returning cast members. While Will Smith won’t be involved in this reboot, it’s been announced that Viola Davis will return as Amanda Waller, while Jai Courtney will return as Captain Boomerang. Speaking of Smith, it’s been announced that Idris Elba - who was originally announced to be replacing Smith as Deadshot - will now be a new, unannounced character altogether, giving Smith the opportunity to eventually come back as Deadshot in future installments if he wishes, as the only reason he ha to leave the project was due to scheduling conflicts.
Marvel Announces New Cast Members for ‘Black Widow’ and ‘The Eternals’
While it’s unknown what Marvel’s next movie is exactly after Spider-Man: Far From Home, one can take a pretty good guess, as the comic book giant has been fast-tracking two new projects: their solo Black Widow movie, as well as The Eternals. For the latter, they're tapping Kumail Nanjiani for a major role in their next galactic saga. Nanjiani is still in final talks with the company and it’s currently unknown who he’d play, but the film will see him join Angelina Jolie, who is presumed to be leading the project, which will be directed by Chloe Zhao. Meanwhile, Stranger Things and Hellboy star David Harbour is set to join Black Widow, along with Rachel Weisz, which will see them join Scarlett Johansson in the title role, along with up-and-coming Florence Pugh. It’s unknown who anyone’s playing besides Johansson, and whether or not this film is either a sequel or a prequel, but either way, fans are eagerly anticipating what’s next for Marvel as the Infinity saga comes to an end this month.
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