Need a quick recap of the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
More Greenland: Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin will return for a follow-up to last year’s hit disaster movie Greenland. Variety reports that the sequel, titled Greenland: Migration, will reunite the two leads with filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh. He will again be directing from an original screenplay by Chris Sparling. This time, the reconnected main characters and their son need to travel from their secure bunker in Greenland to post-apocalyptic Europe after the cataclysmic event at the end of the the first installment. Butler is also producing the picture, which begins shooting next year.
Shemar Moore runs with Sonic: Speaking of sequels, the video game movie Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has added actor Shemar Moore (TV’s S.W.A.T.) to its cast. The news comes from Moore himself via Instagram in a photo with returning co-stars James Marsden, Tika Sumpter and Natasha Rothwell. The follow-up, directed again by Jeff Fowler, is due in theaters on April 8, 2022.
The Toxic Avenger vs. Kevin Bacon: The remake of Troma’s iconic B-movie The Toxic Avenger has found its villain. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kevin Bacon, who has previously fought superheroes in X-Men: First Class and Super, has been cast as the big bad, who’ll go up against Peter Dinklage in the titular role of the mutated do-gooder. Deadline also reported this week that Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood and British actress Julia Davis (Fighting with My Family) joined the cast of the Macon Blair-helmed redo, which will also feature Jacob Tremblay.
Ewan McGregor to climb Everest: Speaking of actors who’ve played comic book movie baddies, Ewan McGregor (Birds of Prey) will star as mountain climber George Mallory in Everest. Variety reports that Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) will direct the biopic of the man who went missing while attempting to reach (or descend from) the summit of the titular mountain in the 1920s. Fellow DC movie villain Mark Strong (Shazam!) is also among the cast of the picture, which has a script by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air, X-Men: First Class).
Zoë Kravitz to direct Channing Tatum: Making her directorial debut, actress Zoë Kravitz will reunite with Channing Tatum (they both voiced characters in The Lego Batman Movie) for a thriller titled Pussy Island. According to Deadline, Tatum will star in the feature as a tech billionaire who owns the titular tropical spot — a private party destination with a mysterious secret — while Kravitz will take the helm but not appear on screen. She also co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum, with whom she previously collaborated on an episode of her Hulu series High Fidelity.
Frances McDormand leads Women Talking: Speaking of actresses turned filmmakers, Sarah Polley is set to direct her first narrative feature since 2011’s Take This Waltz. According to Deadline, it’s an adaptation of Women Talking, Miriam Toews’ bestselling novel about a religious colony where a group of women are challenged in their faith when the men in their community commit a series of horrible acts. Recent Oscar-winner Frances McDormand will lead the ensemble cast, which also includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey and Jessie Buckley.
Natalie Portman to play Julianne Moore: Speaking of Best Actress winners, Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are starring together in the next effort from Carol filmmaker Todd Haynes. Variety reports that the feature, titled May December, follows an actress (Portman) studying the tabloid-famous woman (Moore) she’ll be portraying in a movie. This will be Moore’s fifth collaboration with Haynes, whom she first worked with on 1995’s Safe. He also directed her to an Oscar nomination in Far from Heaven.
Rachel Weisz to reunite with Colin Farrell: The Lobster leads Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell will co-star again in Love Child. Variety reports that cult filmmaker Todd Solondz (Happiness, Welcome to the Dollhouse) will direct from his own original screenplay, which is loosely inspired by the classic Greek tale of Oedipus. The plot concerns a precocious boy who wants to get rid of his father in order to have his mother all for himself. Presumably, Weisz plays the mother, but Farrell could either be the father or a “handsome stranger” who later comes into their lives.
Jack Black to clash with Ice Cube: Speaking of movies involving maternal romance, the comedy Oh Hell No has cast Jack Black as Ice Cube’s potential stepfather. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Black would play a man who falls in love with the mother of Ice Cube’s character, which obviously doesn’t sit well with the latter. Bad Trip director Kitao Sakurai will be at the helm, working from a screenplay by the writers of such hilarious hits as Old School, Girls Trip and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
