Need a quick recap of the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
Donnie Yen teams up with John Wick: Martial arts icon Donnie Yen, who plays the titular lead of the Ip Man movies and co-stars in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has joined another major franchise. Deadline reports that the Hong Kong Chinese actor will appear opposite Keanu Reeves in the latter’s ongoing John Wick series. The fourth chapter will introduce Yen’s character as an old friend and ally of John Wick, though such history doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be partners in this installment. The sequel will again be directed by Chad Stahelski and is due out May 27, 2022.
Jonathan Majors vs. Michael B. Jordan: Adonis Creed has found his next opponent. According to Deadline, Lovecraft Country and The Last Black Man in San Francisco star Jonathan Majors is in talks to join Michael B. Jordan in the next installment of the long-running Rocky franchise and second sequel in the Creed off-shoot. Jordan is also making his directorial debut with the movie, in which he’ll reprise his title role and face off in the boxing ring against Majors’ character. Creed III is scheduled for release late next year, on November 23, 2022.
Katherine Waterston enters Babylon: The cast of Damien Chazelle’s First Man follow-up got bigger this week, as well. Deadline reports that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them star Katherine Waterston has joined the ensemble of the 1920s Hollywood-set drama, which is titled Babylon. Also, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Samara Weaving (Ready or Not), Max Minghella (Spiral: From the Book of Saw), Lukas Haas (Inception), Flea (Baby Driver) and Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight) additionally boarded the movie, which is already slated to star Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie and come out January 6, 2023.
Ryan Kiera Armstrong is a Firestarter: Universal and Blumhouse’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s Firestarter has found its little leading lady. According to Deadline, child actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong, who previously appeared in the King-based It: Chapter Two and who co-stars in the upcoming blockbusters Black Widow and The Tomorrow War, has been cast as the pyrokinetic character Charlie, who was previously played by Drew Barrymore in the 1984 version. Also, Deadline reports that Lincoln actress Gloria Reuben will have a major role in the redo.
Tiffany Haddish to portray Olympian Flo-Jo: Comedic actress Tiffany Haddish (Night School) will star as Olympian Florence Griffith Joyner, a.k.a. Flo-Jo, in a biopic about the track and field athlete, who is still considered to be the fastest woman of all time. According to Variety, the movie will follow the life of the runner, who during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul broke multiple records that remain unbeaten and won three gold medals. Haddish, who will also serve as a producer on the project, grew up idolizing the woman, who died too young of an epileptic seizure just a decade after making history, in 1998.
