Need a quick recap of the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
Jon Watts to Direct Fantastic Four: Disney and Marvel Studios announced a bunch of movie news this week, including a confirmation that Fantastic Four will be rebooted again, now in the MCU, with Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming) directing. In other Marvel Studios news, Nia DaCosta will direct Captain Marvel 2 with Ms. Marvel joining in, Christian Bale is confirmed for Thor: Love and Thunder as the villain Gorr the God Butcher while Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has cast Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang and Jonathan Major as the villain Kang the Conqueror.
Alfred Molina returns to Spider-Man: Speaking of Jon Watts and Marvel Studios movies, the director’s third Spider-Man feature is the subject of plenty of rumors lately concerning its multiverse plot and the Spidey franchise vets who will be showing up. One piece of casting news that has been confirmed, however, is that Alfred Molina will reprise his role as Doctor Octopus from the first Spidey trilogy, specifically the 2004 sequel Spider-Man 2.
Patty Jenkins to direct a Star Wars movie: The next theatrical Star Wars feature will be Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, focused on the Rebel Alliance fighter pilots. As revealed in a teaser video, Patty Jenkins will direct the movie (as the first woman to helm a Star Wars movie) which is due on the big screen in December 2023. Disney and Lucasfilm also shared that the Star Wars movie after that will be helmed by Taika Waititi. In non-Star Wars news, Lucasfilm confirmed the next Indiana Jones movie will be the last.
Oscar Isaac is Solid Snake: Speaking of people associated with Star Wars movies, Oscar Isaac will star in the video game adaptation Metal Gear Solid for Sony. According to Deadline, Isaac will play the character Solid Snake, a soldier thwarting a terrorist plot involving a nuclear weapons facility. The action movie will be helmed by Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and scripted by that movie’s co-writer Derek Connolly.
Chris Evans is Buzz Lightyear: Disney and Pixar announced a new Toy Story spinoff feature for theatrical release called Lightyear. Chris Evans will voice the titular character Buzz Lightyear in an animated space adventure about the guy the toy is based on. Pixar also announced an animated feature called Turning Red about a girl who turns into a giant red panda. Meanwhile, Walt Disney Animation announced a new animated musical titled Encanto, with music by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Dog Man heads to the big screen: Speaking of animated features, the bestselling children’s graphic novel series Dog Man is being turned into a movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, DreamWorks Animation has tapped peter Hastings (The Country Bears) to direct the feature, which will be based on the books by Dav Pilkey, who also created Captain Underpants, and follow the titular canine superhero and his fellow “Supa Buddies.”
Kingsman: the seven sequels: With a third movie on the way in early 2021 and a television series in the works, the Kingsman franchise has already been growing substantially. Now it’s expected to expand even further. Deadline reports that Matthew Vaughn, who has helmed the first three spy movies based on Dave Gibbons's and Mark Millar's comic book series of the same name, including the upcoming prequel The King’s Man, is planning for “something like” seven more features.
