Carl rounds up the latest on Jurassic World: Dominion, The Invisible Man, Little Shop of Horrors, Creed 3 and more in this byte-sized blast of Force News
Welcome once again to the FOTF Force News Burst, a rundown on what’s been hitting the wires direct from Hollywood. Many interesting stories have emerged over the past few days, some that we have been waiting for, some that have come out of the blue. Let’s strap in now and get the lowdown on what Tinseltown is bringing us.
The third and final film in the ‘Jurassic World‘ saga has gone before the cameras this past week. Director and writer Colin Trevorrow is bringing us the third film in the second trilogy of the dinosaur franchise. We have also been given the film’s title to contemplate and chew on as we wait for the film to hit the multiplexes worldwide. The title has been revealed to be ‘Jurassic World: Dominion‘. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are once again toplining the film but this time are joined by the original film’s cast of Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum in what could be the final chapter for the franchise. In addition, it is rumoured that the child stars of the original film, Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello could also be making appearances in the film, bringing the franchise full circle. After the critically reviled last entry, ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom‘, the film has a lot of making up to do to the fans. Although the film wasn’t terrible, it was a by the numbers entry with little in the way of really expanding the story.
The ending was interesting and could lead to unlimited possibilities story-wise but the film made an unforgivable mistake by replicating the original film’s T-Rex ending, a move that infuriated many of the fans and one that was most certainly not needed. It will be interesting to see how the new film atones for the former’s mistakes and we can all hope that the film gives us all a rip-roaring ending to the enjoyable but in some respects, flawed franchise.
Ahead of the release of his upcoming remake/ reboot of ‘The Invisible Man‘, writer and director Leigh Whannell been speaking of the possibility of a sequel to his 2018 under-rated film ‘Upgrade‘. When asked about if a sequel would be coming, Whannell simply answered: “We’ll see”. He then went on to state that it all depends on if Blumhouse would be interested in producing the second instalment in the franchise after the original film’s underwhelming box office performance, stating: “A sequel is a champagne problem created by the success of a movie. So Hollywood economics dictates whether there’s going to be a sequel, and Upgrade…I wouldn’t call it a monster hit, I’d call it a cult hit, and cult hits, when they look at the books of cult hits, they’re like ‘nyah, sequel’. So we’ll see. I loved making that film, so I’d love to do it with a bit more money”. In my opinion, the original film had a lot going for it and was an entertaining movie to be sure, one that has possibilities for a sequel built-in and as such, I would like to see a second film.
Hollywood does like to remake films stored in their vaults and so it comes as little surprise that another version of the musical ‘Little Shop Of Horrors‘ is incoming in the near future. If you recall, the first version of the film, back in the 1960s starred Jack Nicholson in the lead role of Seymour which was then in turn played by Rick Moranis in the 1980s remake, which also boasted Steve Martin as Dentist Orin Scrivello. This new version has Taron Egerton and Scarlett Johansson attached in the roles of Seymour and Audrey respectively. However, in a surprise move, it has been announced that Captain America himself, Chris Evans has been cast in the role of Scrivello. Now, I didn’t know that Evans could sing so this is a shock to me but I’m interested in seeing how he performs in the role. In addition, Billy Porter has been cast as the voice of the carnivorous plant owned by Seymour that he names Audrey II. The new version is to be directed by Greg Berlanti who produces alongside Marc Platt and Sarah Schecter. The remaining cast is to be announced.
You can’t keep a fighter down too long and so it has proved as it’s been announced that screenwriter Zach Baylin has been recruited to write the screenplay for ‘Creed 3‘. The film will once again follow the journey of Adonis Creed played by Michael B. Jordan. The details of the story are unknown at this time but It wouldn’t surprise me if they either continue the storyline of the Drago family or even bring MR T’s Clubber Lang back into the fold somehow. Also, there is no news on whether Sylvester Stallone will once more reprise his classic role of Rocky Balboa. Stallone himself said after the second film that the character was now retired and he wouldn’t be portraying him again only to announce recently that he had an idea on how to bring Balboa back in a new movie that was outside of the ‘Creed‘ franchise.
Returning again to Leigh Whannell and reviews for his take on ‘The Invisible Man‘ have started to emerge and they are overwhelmingly positive. The film is sporting a 90% approval rating ahead of its release worldwide this coming Friday. Many critics have applauded the film in reinventing the 102-year-old story and updating it for the new age with many calling it “Smart, well-acted, and above all scary”. I have read some of the reviews for the film and know how it has been updated for the modern world and can say that it did surprise me but is a wonderfully inventive way of portraying the title character. However, for those of you who want to see the film clean, I won’t be publishing any spoilers! I intend to see the film this weekend and I shall publish my review shortly afterwards.
Sticking with horror and the first poster for the Jordan Peele version of ‘Candyman‘ has dropped online ahead of its trailer reveal. The poster is simple but conveys exactly what it need to, showing the character’s hook dripping with honey. For those in the know, the character was originally a slave who was murdered by bee stings. Tony Todd has been re-hired to play the part he first portrayed back in 1992 so his presence gives the film a fantastic edge against other horror movies lined up to hit screens this year.
With the worldwide Coronavirus epidemic devastating countries it has raised its ugly head in, it was inevitable that Hollywood productions would be affected. The new ‘Mission: Impossible‘ film is one of the first to be hit with filming that was due to take place being re-scheduled to different locations around the globe. The filming schedule for the film has now altered and the cast and crew will be travelling to the United Kingdom to film scenes first before moving on to their other locations instead of a three-week shoot in Vienna. Paramount is taking no chances with the cast and crew and is moving the entire production to other locations or to the cast’s home countries for their safety.
After last years surprise hit ‘Crawl‘ made a sizable dent in the box office, it was only a matter of time before the creature-feature would once again become hot property in Hollywood. And so it’s been proved as this week has seen two productions announced. First up, we have ‘Don’t Move‘. After the announcement that the ‘Anaconda‘ franchise was getting a big-screen reboot, the film will tell the tale of a medical student who volunteers for the night shift at a Californian zoo. After a rescue mission (in a zoo?) goes bad, she finds herself trapped in the Anaconda enclosure, using all her wits as she attempts to survive the night against the hungry snake and with nowhere to hide. Now, I am terrified of snakes and so this news doesn’t exactly thrill me, as you can tell. However, if the film goes the same route as ‘Crawl‘, the audience will be in for a thrill ride, one which I most certainly will NOT be joining them on!
On the other hand, however, I’m always up for a good old fashioned shark movie. ‘Jaws‘ set the benchmark which others have tried and failed to emulate. ‘The Shallows‘ was a great shark terrifier however and one that I got a kick out of. ‘The Meg‘, although most certainly not being an adaptation of Steve Alten’s classic novel, was a fairly entertaining popcorn movie and one that deserved to make its mark in the summer box office. Now it has been announced that Sam Worthington is to star in director Steve Quale’s ‘Alphas‘. The film is being depicted as a ‘Sharks Vs Whales’ thriller, which has raised my excitement levels up fairly substantially. The plotline of the film is “A coastal community is terrorised by a school of sharks. The townspeople decide the only way to deal with the man-eating threat is to unleash a damaged killer whale held for years in solitary confinement after it killed its trainer”. Ok, so the plotline doesn’t sound that good but come on, a beat down between sharks and whales? Count me in!
We end this News Buzz with news about a film that I thought would never see the light of day after years of sitting on the shelf, gathering dust and being rumoured to be a complete turkey of the worst order. However, ‘The New Mutants‘ is getting a cinematic release in April. Ahead of the film finally making itself known, star Anya Taylor-Joy has been quoted as saying the film’s director, Josh Boone, is happy with the final cut of the troubled production. The young actress is reported to have said: ” I have seen the final cut of the movie, which is really nice because Josh Boone is really happy with it, and it was just nice to get the gang together again…it felt like this imaginary friend that you keep telling people is real. but other people haven’t seen it yet. Now I’m like ‘I told you! It’s a real thing”. The film is more of a horror movie instead of the superhero blockbuster that its source material contained in the ‘X-Men‘ comics delivered. Although set in the same universe as ‘X-Men‘, the film is a departure from its more famous cousin and looks to terrify audiences when it hits multiplexes on April 3rd.
That’s it with this episode of FOTF News Burst. Keep checking back right here at The Future Of The Force to get all the latest news and gossip flowing from the offices in Hollywood.
Until next time.
The Future of the Force. The future of pop culture writing.
Carl Roberts is a Senior Staff Writer and Books and Literature Correspondent for Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!
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Carl Roberts is the News Editor of The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force frequently!
