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 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.
Legendary Developing Street Fighter Movie and TV Series
Legendary Entertainment has secured an exclusive license to live-action film and TV rights for the iconic Capcom video game franchise Street Fighter. All projects will be co-developed and produced in conjunction with Capcom. At this time, a feature film is being fast-tracked with Danny and Michael Philippou in final negotiations to direct. The Australian twin filmmaker duo is best known for helming the Sundance horror sensation Talk to Me. | Source: Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter
Live-Action Moana in the Works at Disney
Disney has announced a live-action reimagining of its 2016 animated film Moana, with Dwayne Johnson set to portray the demigod Maui in the upcoming film (he previously voiced the character in the animated version).
Johnson will also produce the live-action take alongside Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia via their Seven Bucks Productions, as well as Beau Flynn via Flynn Picture Co. Original Moana voice actor Auli’i Cravalho, as well as Scott Sheldon of Flynn Picture Co, will serve as executive producers. Cravalho is not expected to reprise her role as Moana at this time.
“I’m deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude to bring the beautiful story of Moana to the live-action big screen,” said Johnson in a statement. “This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people’s grace and warrior strength. I wear this culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui, inspired by the mana and spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is one that runs very deep for me.” | Source: Deadline
Stranger Things Animated Series Coming to Netflix
An untitled animated series set in the Stranger Things universe has been greenlit at Netflix, with Flying Bark Productions and executive producer Eric Robles developing. Plot details for the animated series remain under wraps at this time. It is one of several Stranger Things spinoff projects currently in the works. A stage play and a live-action spinoff are also in development.
“We’ve always dreamed of an animated Stranger Things in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving, and to see this dream realized has been absolutely thrilling,” said creators Matt and Ross Duffer in a statement. “We couldn’t be more blown away by what Eric Robles and his team have come up with — the scripts and artwork are incredible, and we can’t wait to share more with you! The adventure continues.” | Source: Deadline
Big Mouth Coming to an End with Season 8
Netflix has renewed its Emmy-winning adult animated comedy series Big Mouth for an eighth and final season. The renewal comes ahead of Big Mouth‘s Season 7 premiere, which will occur later this year. Big Mouth spinoff Human Resources will also be ending with its upcoming second season, which will also premiere in 2023. The final chapter of Big Mouth will serve as a sendoff for both shows as the characters and stories from Human Resources will flow into Season 8.
“If you would have told adolescent Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg that middle school would take eight years to finish, they would have been like, ‘Yeah, that sounds about right,'” said Kroll, series star and executive producer. “This seems like it will never end.” | Source: Deadline
Next Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie Announced
Scott Waugh (The Expendables 4) is set to direct Arnold Schwarzenegger in the action-thriller Breakout. Richard D’Ovidio wrote the screenplay based on a story he co-created with Nicole D’Ovidio. Production will begin this year in Eastern Europe.
In Breakout, when his stepson is framed and sentenced to 25 years in a foreign country, Terry Reynolds (Schwarzenegger) makes a daring jailbreak to save him and must overcome an overzealous prison warden in a race against time to avoid capture and flee the country. | Source: Deadline
Liam Neeson Is Back for Ice Road 2
Liam Neeson will be reprising his role as big-rig ice road driver Mike McCann in the action sequel Ice Road 2: Road to the Sky. The sequel will see Neeson’s Mike McCann honoring his late brother’s last wish by traveling to Nepal to scatter his ashes on Mt. Everest. While on a packed tour bus traversing the deadly 12,000 ft. terrain of the infamous Road to the Sky, Mike and his mountain guide encounter a group of Nepalese mercenaries and must fight not only to save themselves and the busload of innocent travelers but also the local villagers’ homeland.
Production is due to start in the first quarter of 2024. Jonathan Hensleigh will return to direct. | Deadline
More News to Know
- The animated Disney+ series Star Wars: The Bad Batch has been renewed for a third and final season, which will debut in 2024. (Star Wars Celebration 2023)
- Christina Hodson and Oren Uziel will pen Fast & Furious 11, which is expected to be the final installment in The Fast Saga. (Deadline)
- The Conjuring 4 has been officially titled The Conjuring: Last Rites. (CinemaCon 2023)
- Warner Bros. has made some release date changes. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will now open on December 20, 2023, The Color Purple moves to December 25, 2023, The Wise Guys opens on February 2, 2024, and Minecraft heads to April 4, 2025. (Deadline)
- Vince Vaughn will return to star in (and likely produce) a sequel to his hit 2004 comedy, Dodgeball, scripted by Jordan VanDina. The project is in early development at 20th Century Studios. (Deadline)
That’s it for the last few weeks. What projects mentioned are you interested in seeing once completed? Tell us in the comments!
