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.
Noah Jupe & Jaeden Martell Are the New Lost Boys
According to THR, Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place) and Jaeden Martell (It) are both attached to star in a new modern-set The Lost Boys movie.
The upcoming film will be directed by Jonathan Entwhistle, a producer on I Am Not Okay With This. Randy McKinnon, who is working on the upcoming Static Shock film, will write the script.
Keegan-Michael Key Joins Wonka
Keegan-Michael Key has joined the cast of Wonka. The upcoming Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory prequel that nobody asked for has Timothée Chalamet in the titular role. The film is billed as an origin story.
Tracy Morgan Replaces Eddie Murphy in Triplets
Triplets, a sequel to the 1988 comedy Twins, is finally moving forward. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito are still on board to reprise their roles as unlikely siblings Julian and Vincent. Eddie Murphy was once signed on to play the previously unknown triplet, but the role has now been recast with Tracy Morgan.
Director Ivan Reitman will also return to direct Triplets. Reitman talked to Deadline about the sequel, and how Morgan replaced Murphy:
“Twins was quite successful, and some years after, this whole thing started with Arnold meeting Eddie Murphy, and the suggestion came from one of them. It was, “I should be a triplet, that could be a very funny comedy.” We started a script with Eddie, and after the success he had with Amazon Prime on Coming 2 America, he got himself booked up heavily. And we knew we were going to make it at the beginning of next year. I’d been good friends with Tracy Morgan for a long time and always thought he was one of the funniest men in the world. I thought he would make a terrific triplet, and we rewrote the whole script for him. Now, we’ll go out and try and put the money together and get it made.”
John Boyega Joins The Woman King
John Boyega has signed on to play the Kingdom of Dahomey’s ruler, King Ghezo, in The Woman King. The TriStar Pictures feature that is inspired by true events from the Kingdom of Dahomey, an African nation that held significant power in the 18th and 19th centuries. Boyega joins actors Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu in the movie. Gina Prince-Bythewood is directing.
Megan Fox & Tyson Ritter to Star in Johnny and Clyde
Megan Fox (Transformers) and Tyson Ritter (Preacher) are set to star in new feature thriller Johnny and Clyde. The film is a new take on the famous Bonnie and Clyde story.
The movie will follow “the two eponymous serial killers who are madly in love and on an endless crime spree. They have their sights set on robbing a prosperous casino run by crime boss Alana (Fox) and her head of security (Ritter).”
The movie is currently in production in Rhode Island with the roles of Johnny and Clyde being cast as I write. Those actors will join the production in October. Tom DeNucci (Vault) will direct the film.
Kevin Bacon Joins Untitled Conversion Camp Horror Movie
Deadline reports that Kevin Bacon (Friday the 13th) has joined the untitled Blumhouse horror film that focuses on gay conversion therapy. The project was previously titled Whistler Camp and is being promoted as an “empowerment feature.”
There’s no word on who Bacon will play, but Theo Germaine (The Politician) has been cast in the lead. John Logan will direct in his feature debut. Logan also wrote the film’s screenplay.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Adds 4 More to Cast
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has grown its cast. Jani Zhao, Indya Moore, Vincent Regan, and Randall Park have joined the cast of the DC Comics sequel. Park reprises his role as Dr. Stephen Shin from the first film.
Zhao is playing an original character named Stingray. Moore is playing Karshon, “a shark that, after being hit with radiation, gained intelligence and telepathic powers.” Regan is playing Atlan, “the ancient ruler of Atlantis who caused the city to sink into the sea.” Graham McTavish had portrayed the character briefly in the first Aquaman movie.
Jason Momoa Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, and Dolph Lundgren are all back from the first film as well. The sequel hits theaters on December 16, 2022.
Kevin Hart Teams Up With F. Gary Gray for Lift
Kevin Hart and director F. Gary Gray are set to team for the first time on Lift, a heist film in the works at Netflix. Hart will play “a master thief who is wooed by his ex-girlfriend and the FBI to pull off an impossible heist with his international crew on a 777 flying from London to Zurich.”
Netflix acquired the project as a spec script by Dan Kunka. Production will begin early next year. The film falls under the creative partnership deal Hart’s HartBeat Productions recently signed with Netflix.
Assassin Club Hires Golding, Rapace, Neill & Melchior
Henry Golding, Noomi Rapace, Sam Neill, and Daniela Melchior will all star in Assassin Club, a film we are just learning about for the first time. Production has already finished in Italy. It will be helmed by Camille Delamarre (Brick Mansions).
Deadline, which broke the news, revealed the following synopsis: “Assassin Club takes place in the world of international spies and elite assassins. In this world of contract killers, Morgan Gaines (Henry Golding) is the best of the best. When Morgan is hired to kill six people around the world, he soon discovers all the targets are also assassins unknowingly hired to kill each other. Rapace plays Falk, the only assassin with skills to match his own. Under the guidance of his mentor Jonathan Caldwell (Neill), Morgan must defeat Falk and the other assassins to keep himself and his girlfriend Sophie (Melchior) alive.”
Chris Pratt to Lead Stranded Asset
Chris Pratt has signed on to lead Stranded Asset, an action-comedy for Universal. The film will reunite him with his The Tomorrow War co-star Sam Richardson.
Plot details are under wraps, but the script is being penned by Jen D’Angelo (Hocus Pocus 2) and Richardson.
Other Casting Additions
- Stanley Tucci will play Grammy-winning producer Clive Davis in the biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the upcoming feature film about the late musical icon Whitney Houston.
- Netflix revealed that Enola Holmes 2 will feature the return of Tewkesbury, played by Louis Partridge.
- Molly Shannon has joined the Zach Braff-directed film A Good Person, which already has Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman on board.
- Gwendoline Christie will play Larissa Weems, the principle of Nevermore Academy and a longtime nemesis to former classmate Morticia Addams, in Wednesday. Issac Ordonez, Victor Dorobantu, and George Burcea have also joined the cast as Pugsley Addams, Thing, and Lurch.
- Marc Maron will voice Superman’s greatest nemesis, Lex Luthor, in the animated film DC League of Super-Pets.
- Netflix and Legendary Television have jointly announced that Hayley Atwell will voice Lara Croft in her upcoming anime series.
That’s it for last few weeks. What projects mentioned are you interested in seeing once completed? Tell us down in the comments!
