Need a quick recap of the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
Chris Pratt is Mario: Nintendo and Illumination (the makers of Minions and Sing) announced the star-studded voice cast for their Super Mario Bros. animated feature. As revealed at a Nintendo Direct presentation and on social media, the video game adaptation will feature Chris Pratt as the voice of the iconic character Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad and Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong. The movie is written by Matthew Fogel (The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part) and is being directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go! To the Movies). The production also announced its release date has been set for December 21, 2022.
Fantastic Beasts 3 has a Secret title: Speaking of hugely popular franchises, the next feature film installment of the Wizarding World universe also just announced its release date while additionally revealing its full title. The third movie in the Harry Potter prequel series will be called Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The follow-up to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will again star Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander and Jude Law as the titular Albus Dumbledore, along with returning cast members Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Jessica Williams, Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol. This time, Grindelwald will be played by Mads Mikkelsen. The sequel flies into theaters on April 22, 2022.
John Boyega joins The Woman King: Star Wars actor John Boyega has found his next great prestige project. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he has been cast in The Woman King, a historical epic starring Viola Davis in the titular role as a general of an all-women army in the Kingdom of Dahomey. The African military unit, known as the Dahomey Amazons, was a major influence on the Dora Milaje of Wakanda in Black Panther. Boyega is portraying Dohomey’s ruler, King Ghezo, who led the nation-state through the first half of the 19th century. Thuso Mbedu and Lashana Lynch also star in the movie, which will be directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. No release date has been set so far.
Ashton Sanders is Bobby Brown: In other casting news, the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody has found its Bobby Brown. Deadline reports that Moonlight and The Equalizer 2 actor Ashton Sanders will co-star as the singer and rapper, who was married to Houston from 1992 to 2007. Naomi Ackie is in the lead as Houston, and the movie will focus on her life, but much of that portrayal will surely involve her troubled and drug-riddled partnership with Brown. Director Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) is at the helm with a screenplay by Oscar-nominee Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Two Popes), and it’s set to be released on December 23, 2022.
Bros reveals historical all-LGBTQ cast: And in historical casting news, the Universal Pictures romantic comedy Bros will feature a cast entirely made up entirely of LGBTQ+ performers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. As a twist on usual Hollywood practice, most will be playing heterosexual characters. Billy Eichner is also making history with the production by being the first openly gay man to co-write (with Nicholas Stoller) and star in a studio release. He and Luke Macfarlane (Kinsey) play a couple of guys who would be a couple if they weren’t so busy. The rest of the cast includes TS Madison (Zola), Miss Lawrence (The United States vs. Billie Holiday) and RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Symone. Universal will release the rom-com on August 12, 2022.
Belfast wins big at Toronto: One of the first big achievements of awards season, the top award at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival went to Kenneth Branagh’s latest, Belfast. The black-and-white coming-of-age drama was honored with the People’s Choice Award, which traditionally forecasts at least a Best Picture nomination for the title at the next Oscars. Additionally, the film festival announced People’s Choice winners for its documentary and Midnight Madness programs: The Rescue and Titane, respectively. On the documentary side, those winners are also traditionally Academy Award nominees.
