There’s a lot of breaking news in Hollywood happening every minute. In the age of the blockbuster, it’s easy for some smaller movie and television news to slip through the crack. Last Week in Hollywood is our new weekly series highlighting all the interesting news from the last week that we thought didn’t warrant its own post, but was still worth mentioning. It’s less personal opinions and more a hearty roundup of what you might have missed.
Peacemaker Adds Two to Cast
The upcoming HBO Max Peacemaker series has cast Alison Araya (Riverdale) and Lenny Jacobson (Narcos: Mexico) in recurring roles. Araya and Jacobson will play a married couple named Amber and Evan.They join previously announced series lead John Cena as well as series regulars Danielle Brooks, Chris Conrad, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Robert Patrick, and Chukwudi Iwuji.
Peacemaker is scheduled to premiere in January 2022, and will consist of eight episodes.
Marwan Kenzari in Talks to Star in Black Adam
Marwan Kenzari (The Old Guard) is in final negotiations to star in Black Adam. Kenzari is best known for playing Jafar in Disney’s live-action Aladdin. If cast, he will reportedly portray the villain in Black Adam. Production is looking to begin in April in Atlanta, but the film remains without a release date.
Cheaper by the Dozen Casts the Kids
Disney+ has found Gabrielle Union and Zach Braff‘s children. Journee Brown, Kyle Rogers, Andre Robinson, Caylee Blosenski, Aryan Simhadri, Leo A. Perry, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Christian Cote, Sebastian Cote, and Luke Prael will join the duo in the upcoming remake.
The new version of the family comedy centers on “a multiracial, blended family of 12, navigating a hectic home life while managing their family business.” The film is slated to drop on the streaming service in 2022. Gail Lerner is set to direct.
Mila Kunis is the Luckiest Girl Alive
Mila Kunis is set to headline Luckiest Girl Alive, an upcoming Netflix feature adaptation of the 2015 New York Times bestselling novel of the same name by Jessica Knoll. Knoll will write the screenplay, while Mike Barker (The Handmaid’s Tale) will direct.
The plot centers on “Ani FaNelli, a sharp-tongued New Yorker who appears to have it all: a sought-after position at a glossy magazine, a killer wardrobe, and a dream Nantucket wedding on the horizon. But when the director of a crime documentary invites her to tell her side of the shocking incident that took place when she was a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani is forced to confront a dark truth that threatens to unravel her meticulously crafted life.”
Ms. Marvel Casts Laurel Marsden
Laurel Marsden (Survive) has joined the cast of the Marvel Studios Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. Marsden will play Zoe Zimmer, who, in the comics, was “the most popular girl at Coles Academic High School, was dating a star athlete, Josh Richardson, and initially appeared shallow and ‘nice mean.’ After her Terrigenesis, Zoe was the first person Ms. Marvel rescued when she fell into the Hudson River…During the convergence, Zoe had an existential crisis, reevaluated her life, broke up with Josh, and rekindled her friendship with Kamala and Nakia.”
It’s unknown how much the upcoming MCU series will be taking from the comics when bringing Zoe Zimmer to life, but it seems like she will play a major role in Kamala Khan’s early superhero days as Ms. Marvel. Iman Vellani is set to play the title character, and will also appear in Captain Marvel 2.
Train to Busan Remake Finds Its Director
Timo Tjahjanto (V/H/S 2) has been tapped to helm the upcoming remakes of the Korean blockbuster Train to Busan. James Wan is set to produce the upcoming adaptation, which has been in the works for a few years at New Line. Gary Dauberman is adapating the screenplay.
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret Casts MCU Stars
Lionsgate is currently working on an adaptation of the Judy Blume novel Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. Now, the feature film, which will be directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen) has cast Abby Ryder Fortson (Ant-Man and the Wasp) in the eponymous role of the inquisitive Margaret, who will be guided through adolescence by her mother, played by Rachel McAdams.
The film, like the novel, will follow “a sixth grader going through puberty”. Blume’s beloved coming-of-age novel was published in 1970. This will be Forston’s first lead role. She is well-known to MCU fans as the original actress to portray Ant-Man’s daughter. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is set to go into production in April.
Edgar Wright to Direct The Running Man Remake
Paramount Pictures is hoping to lock Edgar Wright into a deal to direct a new adaptation of The Running Man. The futuristic novel by Stephen King won’t be a direct remake of the 1987 film, but a more faithful adaptation of the King novel. Wright will co-write the story with Michael Bacall. Bacall will then write the script himself.
Wright is very selective about the films he makes, but a new The Running Man has obviously been on his wishlist. Back in 2017, when asked which film he would remake if given the choice, he chose The Running Man. I guess dreams do come true.
The new adaptation is a top priority for Paramount, but I have no clue when Wright will have time to direct this. In the last year, he has signed on to direct Set My Heart To Five, The Chain, and Stage 13. Unless The Running Man is next on his list, it could be a half a decade before we see this film hit screens.
Joaquin Phoenix to Star in Next Ari Aster Film
Joaquin Phoenix will star in Disappointment Blvd., the latest film from Ari Aster. A24, who helped launch Aster’s career, is set to finance and produce the film. Aster will write and direct. Details are being kept under wraps for the project, but the plot is described as “an intimate, decades-spanning portrait of one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time.”
J.J. Abrams Developing Constantine Reboot Series
J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company are developing a “darker reboot” of Constantine for DC Entertainment and HBO Max. The new series is being written by Guy Bolton, and is apparently looking to cast a diverse actor in the lead role. The project is said to be “a departure from the one played by Matt Ryan in the NBC series.”
In the comics, John Constantine is “a British exorcist and occult detective who deals in the supernatural realm of DC and hunts demons. He is well-known for his scathing wit, endless cynicism, ruthless cunning and constant chain-smoking. A roguish counterculture antihero, Constantine is also a strident humanist driven by a heartfelt desire to defend mankind from the forces of evil.”
I enjoy Matt Ryan’s portrayal of the character a lot, so here’s hoping this upcoming HBO Max series won’t make Legends of Tomorrow write him out. I actually have the perfect actor for this reboot too. It’s Marc Warren, who I just watched in Flack. He absolutely has the scathing wit and looks a lot like the character. I think the creatives behind Flack knew that too because they put him in a lot of white dress shirts with black ties. All he was missing was that beige jacket.
Jesse Plemons Joins Killers of the Flower Moon
Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad) has joined the cast of Killers of the Flower Moon, the next film from director Martin Scorsese. Plemons joins a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone. This marks Plemons’ second collaboration with Scorsese after The Irishman. In the upcoming film, Plemons will play Tom White, the lead FBI agent investigating the serial murders of Native Americans of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma.
Voice Cast Announced for Gremlins Prequel
HBO Max‘s upcoming animated series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai has added Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, Matthew Rhys, and James Hong as voice actors. The series will be a prequel to the 1984 classic Gremlins and follow “ten-year-old Sam Wing, the elderly shopkeeper from Gremlins, as he adjusts to acting as a caretaker for the Mogwai everyone knows and loves, Gizmo.”
Ming-Na Wen (Mulan) will voice Sam’s mother Fong Wing, a doctor who is “resourceful, slyly funny and fiercely protective of her family.” Meanwhile, BD Wong (Jurassic World) is Sam’s father Hon Wing, a “calm rock” who “never believed his father-in-law’s tales of magic and adventure.” Sam’s grandfather, someone who knows the true power and secrets of the Mogwai, will be voiced by James Hong. Sam himself will be brought to life by Izaac Wang. Matthew Rhys will voice the show’s villain.
Bridgerton Star Joins Dungeons & Dragons
It’s been a good couple months for Regé-Jean Page. After his Netflix series Bridgerton blew up, Page has been rewarded with millions of new fans, the chance to host Saturday Night Live, and now a leading role in Paramount‘s Dungeons & Dragons adaptation. There’s no word on who he’ll play, but he joins a cast that incldues Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Justice Smith.
Keke Palmer to Star in Jordan Peele’s Next Movie
Keke Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee) is set to star in Jordan Peele‘s next movie. The movie is untitled at this time, with plot details under wraps. Collider notes that Palmer is playing the antagonist of the movie, and that Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) is currently in talks for a role. Peele will write and direct the film which he has described as scarier than both Get Out and Us, his two previous horror films.
Universal currently has set the film for release in theaters on July 22, 2022.
Tim Burton to Direct Wednesday Addams Netflix Series
Tim Burton is directing his first television series. The acclaimed director is developing a live-action Wednesday Addams series for Netflix. The series is said to be a “coming-of-age tale set at Nevermore Academy” and will “follow Wednesday as a student at the academy as she investigates strange supernatural mysteries occurring at her school.” Al Gough and Miles Millar (Smallville, Into the Badlands) will serve as the series’ showrunners.
Burton previously proposed an Addams Family film that would have been a 3D stop-motion animated project, but that film was eventually scrapped. Reports also circulated late last year that Burton was working on a live-action television show about the Addams Family, which we know know to be this series focusing on the daughter Wednesday,
That’s it for last week. What projects mentioned are you interested in seeing once completed? Tell us down in the comments!
