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.
Emma Stone Signs Cruella 2 Deal
According to THR, Emma Stone has closed a deal to star in a sequel to Disney‘s Cruella. Cruella director Craig Gillespie and writer Tony McNamara are also returning. No word yet on when (or where) the sequel will release.
Billy Zane Replacing Mickey Rourke as MacGruber Villain
Billy Zane (The Boys) has been brought in at the 11th hour to replace Mickey Rourke as the lead villain in MacGruber. The upcoming Peacock series acts as a revival of Will Forte’s MacGyver-lampooning Saturday Night Live sketch, which also spawned a 2010 movie.
Zane replaces Rourke in the role of MacGruber’s mortal enemy Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth, who “long thought dead, has resurfaced to carry out a heinous plot to destroy the world, and in the process, claim his revenge against MacGruber.” No reason was given for Rourke’s departure.
John Lithgow Joins Killers of the Flower Moon
John Lithgow is the latest actor to board Killers of the Flower Moon, the next feature-length film from director Martin Scorsese. Lithgow will be playing a prosecutor. The film is based on the non-fiction book by David Gran about a series of murders targeting the oil-rich Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma.
Lithgow joins a cast that includes Jesse Plemons, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Brendan Fraser, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Louis Cancelmi, William Belleu, Tatanka Means, Michael Abbott Jr., Pat Healy, and Scott Shepherd.
Wednesday Finds Her Parents
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán have been cast as Morticia and Gomez Addams, the parents of Wednesday Addams in Wednesday. The upcoming Netflix series will follow Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), as she attends Nevermore Academy.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Zeta-Jones will be credited as a “guest star,” so don’t expect the rest of the Addams family to have a large role in the series. Tim Burton will direct all eight episodes of Wednesday.
Clancy Brown Joins John Wick: Chapter 4
Deadline reports that Clancy Brown has been cast in John Wick: Chapter 4. The casting decision was later confirmed by director Chad Stahelski who said:
“I have been a fan of Clancy Brown’s since I can remember. To have him be a part of this project is an honor. He will make a perfect addition to the World of John Wick!”
Brown joins an already stacked cast that includes Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins, Rina Sawayama, Marko Zaror, Sharmier Anderson, Lawrence Fishburne, Ian McShane, and Lance Reddick.
Emily Blunt to Star as Kate Warne in New Movie
Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson are teaming up for another project. The Jungle Cruise co-stars will collaborate on a film that will see Johnson produce the picture and Blunt star as Kate Warne, the first woman investigator in the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
Deadline reports that Amazon Studios has acquired the Blunt-led project. Gustin Nash is writing the script. Here’s the logline: “The movie is a propulsive action adventure built around Warne, a real life female Sherlock Holmes in a male dominated industry whose singular sleuthing skills paved the way for future women in law enforcement and forever changed how detective work was done.”
Henry Thomas & More Cast in Pet Sematary Prequel
Henry Thomas, Samantha Mathis, and Pam Grier are the latest actors to join the upcoming Pet Sematary prequel. They join the previously-announced Jackson White, Forrest Goodluck, Jack Mulhern, Natalie Alyn Lind, and Isabella Star LeBlanc.
Lindsey Beer is signed on to direct. The film will be a Paramount+ exclusive.
Idris Elba to Voice Knuckles in Sonic Sequel
Idris Elba will voice Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The news comes courtesy of Elba himself, who revealed the casting on his Twitter account. Take a look.
Knock, knock….#SonicMovie2 #Knuckles pic.twitter.com/N1PW5XaCEd
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 10, 2021
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits theaters April 8, 2022.
Bryan Cranston & More Join Wes Anderson Movie
Bryan Cranston, Hope Davis, Jeffrey Wright, and Liev Schreiber are the latest additions to Wes Anderson‘s upcoming untitled picture.
The project is currently shooting in Spain. The rest of the cast includes Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, and Rupert Friend.
Sterling K. Brown & Randall Park to Star in Action Comedy
Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us) and Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) have signed on as the two leads in a new untitled action comedy from Amazon Studios. Alex Tse (Wu-Tang: An American Saga) is writing the screenplay. Read on for details about the upcoming movie.
According to THR, Brown and Park will play “two estranged childhood best friends who now find themselves on opposite sides of the law. Framed and on the run, the two must survive each other long enough to clear their names and stop an international criminal enterprise.”
Sounds like fun!
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Joins By All
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is set to lead By All, a dystopian crime thriller, according to THR. Steve Caple Jr. (Creed II) is directing.
The original film begins “in the aftermath of a tragic event and follows Donte, a man struggling to make ends meet who is forced to go on the run in a world without police, where justice is crowd-sourced.”
Briana Middleton Joins Sharper
Briana Middleton has joined Sharper, an upcoming film from Apple Original Films and A24. Middleton will play Sandra, “a young woman who finds herself in over her head when she enters the complex world of con artists.”
Justice Smith has also joined the cast that includes Julianne Moore and Sebastian Stan. Benjamin Caron is directing from a screenplay based on the spec feature screenplay from Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka.
Dominique Thorne to Make MCU Debut in Black Panther II
Dominique Thorne, who was cast last year as Riri Williams / Ironheart, has recently been confirmed to appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
While doing press for Shang-Chi last week, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told ComicBook.com that Thorne will make her MCU debut as Ironheart ahead of her self-titled Disney+ series:
“We’re shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first. She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters July 8, 2022. Ironheart does not yet have a premiere date.
That’s it for last couple of weeks. What projects mentioned are you interested in seeing once completed? Tell us down in the comments!
