Need a quick recap of the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
More Dune: Following last weekend’s successful opening for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, a.k.a. Dune: Part One, Legendary greenlit the sequel. Deadline reports that Villeneuve will be back to co-write, direct and produce Dune: Part Two, which will go into production next year for an October 20, 2023 release from Warner Bros. Unlike Part One, the second installment will be exclusively shown in theaters. Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya and Javier Bardem are all expected to reprise their roles from the original. Additionally, Villeneuve told Entertainment Weekly this week that he also plans to make a third movie, based on Frank Herbert’s follow-up novel, Dune: Messiah.
Bill Murray in the MCU: Speaking of sequels, Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will feature an unexpected cast member. According to Deadline, Oscar-nominated actor and comedy icon Bill Murray shared with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine that he will make an appearance in the follow-up to Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. Murray’s part sounds small, and his character will likely be an insignificant piece of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He said he won’t be returning for any subsequent MCU installments. But regardless of the size of the role, this will count as his first real superhero movie gig.
Ana de Armas is the Ballerina: Another popular franchise in the news this week is John Wick, but not for any installments of the main series. Deadline reports that No Time to Die and Knives Out actress Ana de Armas is in talks to star in the spin-off feature Ballerina. The action movie will follow a character teased in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum who is a dancer training to become an assassin. The plot here will be another revenge tale, in which the titular ballerina goes after the people who killed her family. Underworld helmer Len Wiseman is directing from a script by Parabellum co-writer Shay Hatten.
John Krasinski to direct Phoebe Waller-Bridge: Speaking of No Time to Die, the Bond movie’s co-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge will appear on-screen in the next feature written and helmed by John Krasinski (A Quiet Place Part II). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Waller-Bridge and fellow Fleabag and Star Wars actress (and Harry Potter movie regular) Fiona Shaw have joined the cast of the untitled fantasy-comedy. Krasinski is also starring in the project alongside Ryan Reynolds, though the plot is focused on a child who is attempting to rediscover their imagination. Paramount will release it on November 17, 2023.
Derek Cianfrance to direct Wolfman: Another project starring another Ryan is Wolfman, Universal’s latest take on their classic werewolf monster movie. Ryan Gosling is starring in the modernized update, and Deadline reports that he will be reuniting with his Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines director Derek Cianfrance. Meanwhile, Gosling was also recently cast in Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipate Barbie movie. According to Deadline, the Oscar-nominated actor is in final negotiations to play the iconic doll Ken opposite Margot Robbie in the titular role. Gosling has experience acting with a real doll in Lars and the Real Girl.
