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.
The Last of Us Finds Its Leads
Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) are set to headline The Last of Us, HBO‘s upcoming series adaptation of the best-selling PlayStation video game.
Pascal will play “Joel, a hardened survivor, who is hired to smuggle Ellie (Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.”
HBO Max Orders Clone High Revival & Velma Spin-off
Following the success of Harley Quinn, HBO Max has announced three new adult animation series. Okay, well one of the series isn’t exactly new. The streamer has ordered a two-season revival of Clone High with Phil Lord and Chris Miller set to return as executive producers and writers.
Also in the works is a Scooby-Doo spinoff focused on Velma starring Mindy Kaling. It will tell the “origin story of Velma Dinkley, the unsung and underappreciated brains of the Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. gang.”
Lastly, Fired on Mars from Pete Davidson will be an “existential workplace comedy set on the Martian campus of a modern tech company.” Various other series are also in development.
Adam Wingard Hired to Direct Face/Off Sequel
Adam Wingard (The Guest) has been hired to direct a sequel to Face/Off, that wacky 1997 film where John Travolta and Nic Cage swapped faces and ruined their careers.
Originally developed as a remake, Wingard revealed on his Instagram that he would “NEVER reimagine or remake Face/Off. It’s a perfect action movie. Simon Barrett and I are writing a direct SEQUEL!”
I wonder if Cage and Travolta will come back and, if so, who will they swap faces with this time?
Zawe Ashton Hired For Captain Marvel 2
Zawe Ashton (Velvet Buzzsaw) has been cast as the main antagonist in Captain Marvel 2. No details on who she might play, but at least we now know Marvel Studios won’t be trying to hide the villain this time around. (I mean, we all knew Jude Law was playing the villain the minute he was cast.)
Disney and Marvel Studios had no comment. Captain Marvel 2 hits theaters November 11, 2022.
Paranormal Activity Getting Rebooted
Back in 2019, Paramount announced that it was developing another instalment in their popular Paranormal Activity series. It is now being reported that the film will be a reboot and will be directed by Will Eubank (Underwater).
Christopher Landon (Freaky) will write the script which is being referred to as an “unexpected retooling” of the franchise. Landon previously penned four previous Paranormal Activity films, and directed Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. The reboot will hit theaters on March 4, 2022.
Lily Gladstone Joins Killers of the Flower Moon
Lily Gladstone (First Cow) has joined Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese‘s upcoming feature film for Apple TV+. She joins Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro on the adaptation of the David Grann book of the same name. The film will tell the true story of the string of brutal murders of wealthy members of the Osage Nation in Osage County, Oklahoma in the early 1920s.
Variety reports that Gladstone will play Mollie Burkhart, an “Osage married to Ernest Burkhart, who is nephew of a powerful local rancher.” DiCaprio is playing her husband husband, Burkhart, and De Niro is his uncle.
Borderlands Casts Jack Black as Claptrap
Sailor Monsoon may have FanCasted his ideal Borderlands movie, but it looks like Lionsgate is ignoring the bulk of his suggestions. Jack Black has been cast as the voice of Claptrap, a “persistently sarcastic robot that isn’t all that invested in the survival of his teammates.” Black joins a cast that so far includes Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
True Lies Heads to CBS
CBS has handed out a formal pilot order for a reboot of the 1994 feature film True Lies. Matt Nix (Burn Notice) will write the pilot script. James Cameron will executive produce the potential series while McG will direct the pilot. McG joins the project after having been attached to direct a previous True Lies reboot.
The pilot will follow the film’s plot: “Shocked to discover that her bland and unremarkable computer consultant husband is a skilled international spy, an unfulfilled suburban housewife is propelled into a life of danger and adventure when she’s recruited to work alongside him to save the world as they try to revitalize their passionless marriage.”
This is the third attempt at developing True Lies into a TV series in the last five years. Fox developed a take in 2017 with Arrow‘s Marc Guggenheim attached to pen the script while McG floated that a True Lies TV series was in the works for Disney+ back in 2019. We’ll see if anything comes of this attempt. All I can say is good luck trying to find better actors for the roles than Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Universal to Adapt Falling
Universal is set to adapt T.J. Newman’s debut novel Falling, described as “Speed at 35,000 feet”. How original, Hollywood. Anyway, the studio won a heating bidding war for the screen rights, paying $1.5 million. Newman wrote the book on an iPad and on the backs of airplane napkins during her red-eye route when she was working in that industry.
The book’s premise is as follows: “140-plus passengers on a crowded flight from New York to LA don’t yet know that a half-hour before takeoff, their pilot’s family has been kidnapped. Now, in order for his family to live, the pilot must follow orders and crash their plane. While much of the story takes place in the air, there is also said to be a relentless FBI agent trying to save the family on the ground.”
Apple Lands Dolly
Apple Studios has landed Dolly, a new feature film with Florence Pugh attached to star. Vanessa Taylor and Drew Pearce are penning the script which is described as a science-fiction courtroom drama. It will follow a “robotic “companion doll who kills its owner and then shocks the world by claiming that she is not guilty and asking for a lawyer.” The film is inspired by Elizabeth Bear’s short story of the same name.
Hong Chau Joins The Whale
Hong Chau (Homecoming) is the latest performer to join The Whale cast for director Darren Aronofsky. Brendan Fraser (The Mummy) is already on board to play the male lead with Samantha Morton and Sadie Sink in talks for supporting roles. Chau will play Fraser’s character’s best friend. No word on who Morton might play, but if Sink’s deal goes through, she would play Fraser’s character’s daughter.
Elisabeth Moss to Play Eleanor Coppola
Elisabeth Moss (Shirley) has joined the cast of Barry Levinson‘s The Godfather making-of movie, which might be titled Francis and the Godfather. Moss will play Eleanor Coppola, filmmaker and wife of Francis Ford Coppola, who will be played by Oscar Isaac. Jake Gyllenhaal is also onboard as producer Robert Evans.
The film will “chronicle the battles between Coppola, who was 31 at the time, and Evans, which included taking a gamble on casting Marlon Brando, who had not had a hit in years, and a then-little-known Al Pacino.”
J.K. Simmons Cast in Being the Ricardos
J.K. Simmons is in talks to join the cast of Being the Ricardos in the role of William Frawley, the actor who played Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy. Nina Arianda is also in talks for Vivian Vance, the actress who portrayed Ethel Mertz. If both are cast, they would join Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, who have already been cast as television icons Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Peanut Butter Falcon Directors Line-Up New Movie
Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, directors of The Peanut Butter Falcon, are teaming with producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller on a new movie. The untitled project is described as “a Cuban story that will be shot largely in Spanish with a very naturalistic vibe in the vein of American Honey,” set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic of the early ’90s.
Nilson and Schwartz are in talks to write, direct and produce the untitled film. The story is said to follow “two brothers in the Cuban punk movement who enter a sanatorium to escape poverty.”
The Wizard of Oz is Getting a Remake
New Line Cinema has tapped Watchmen director Nicole Kassell to helm a new feature film adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Apparently the plan is present a “visionary reimagining” of Baum’s classic novel. I’m sorry, but we’ve seen that already and plenty enough. Nothing will top the 1939 musical film starring Judy Garland, so Hollywood needs to stop trying.
Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey are producing with Marc Platt, and Isaac Klausner will executive produce.
Ray Romona to Direct Untitled Dramedy
Ray Romano is set to direct and star in an untitled dramedy alongside Laurie Metcalf (The Conners). Romano wrote the script with Mark Stegemann. The film follows “Leo (Romano) and Angela (Metcalf) Russo who live a simple, blue-collar life in Queens, surrounded by the big personalities of their overbearing Italian-American family. When their lanky soft-spoken son ‘Sticks’ finds success on his high school basketball team and a chance at a life beyond what tradition expects, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.”
Judd Apatow Sets Cast for Comedy The Bubble
Judd Apatow has set an insane cast for his upcoming Netflix comedy The Bubble. Karen Gillan, Maria Bakalova (who is nominated for a couple Acting SAWards; VOTE NOW), Iris Apatow, Fred Armisen, David Duchovny, Keegan-Michael Key, Leslie Mann, Pedro Pascal, and Peter Serafinowicz have all joined the film.
Apatow will direct and co-write the script with Pam Brady. The film follows “a group of actors and actresses stuck inside a pandemic bubble at a hotel attempting to complete a film.” It is unknown if the actors will be playing heightened versions of themselves or original characters.
Sandra Bullock Boards Bullet Train
Sandra Bullock has joined the cast of the Sony action film Bullet Train. She joins a cast that includes Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Zazie Beetz, Michael Shannon, Logan Lerman, Masi Oka, and Andrew Koji. The film is based on the Japanese novel Maria Beetle and is being directed by David Leitch.
Peacock Orders The Best Man Limited Series
Peacock has ordered a continuation of The Best Man franchise. The streaming service has issued a 10-episode limited dramedy series titled The Best Man: The Final Chapters. Malcolm D. Lee, who wrote and directed the two feature films, is back in those same roles.
The star-studded original cast will also be returning. Morris Chestnut, Melissa De Sousa, Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Terrence Howard, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, and Harold Perrineau will all be reprising their roles. Sources say the actors all closed significant seven-figure deals to reprise their roles in the series. The Final Chapters will “catch up with Harper, Robyn, Jordan, Lance, Quentin, Shelby, Candace, and Murch as relationships evolve and past grievances resurface in the unpredictable stages of midlife crisis meets midlife renaissance.”
That’s it for last week. What projects mentioned are you interested in seeing once completed? Tell us down in the comments!
