Need a quick recap of the past week in movie news? Here are the highlights:
Captain Marvel sequel confirmed: Marvel is aiming to release Captain Marvel 2 in two years, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and this time the story will be set in the present. The sequel will be written by Megan McDonnell (Marvel’s WandaVision), and the studio is looking for a woman director to fly solo at the helm, replacing the duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Black Panther 2 is also due in 2022.
Disney to remake Bambi: Speaking of Captain Marvel, one of the original movie’s screenwriters, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, will team with Lindsey Beer (Sierra Burgess is a Loser) for Disney’s re-imagining of Bambi. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the adaptation of the 1942 animated classic will be done in a live-action style, similar to last year’s The Lion King.
Anaconda remake in the works: Speaking of remakes and re-imaginings, Sony is developing a reboot of Anaconda, the 1997 snake-based creature feature that spawned theatrical and made-for-television sequels. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) is writing the script for the redo, which will be bigger in scope than the original.
David Leitch to direct Kung Fu: David Leitch, the former stuntman who directed Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw and Deadpool 2 and co-directed the first John Wick, will take the helm of Universal’s Kung Fu. According to Deadline, the studio is now looking for a writer to script the movie, which will be based on the 1970s martial arts TV series starring David Carradine.
Matt Damon to star in The Force: Matt Damon will reunite with his Ford v Ferrari director, James Mangold, for the latter’s adaptation of the Don Winslow crime novel The Force. Deadline reports Damon will play the lead character, a corrupt New York City cop, and Mangold is working again with Scott Frank (Logan) on a rewrite of an initial script by David Mamet.
Jon Stewart’s Irresistible due in May: Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart (pictured above on the set of Rosewater) is finishing up his sophomore feature as a filmmaker, and Focus Features has just set a release date for the movie. Titled Irresistible, the political comedy starring Mackenzie Davis, Rose Byrne and former Daily Show correspondent Steve Carell will hit theaters on May 29 of this year.
Richard Stanley to adapt more Lovecraft: As his comeback movie, Color Out of Space (pictured), arrives in theaters this weekend, filmmaker Richard Stanley has confirmed he’s turning two more H.P. Lovecraft stories into movies, for a connected trilogy. He told the website Rue Morgan that up next on his slate is The Dunwich Horror, which has been adapted twice previously. One of the characters from Color Out of Space will also be a part of the next two movies.
