Fox 21 and Hulu have teamed for a television series based on
Hitman, the global best-selling video game from IO Interactive. A pilot script will be written by Derek Kolstad, creator of the
John Wick action film series, who wrote the first film and scripted the third one that will be released in 2019.
Kolstad will be an executive producer along with Adrian Askarieh and Chuck Gordon. The project will be overseen at Fox 21 by Bert Salke, Jane Francis, Gloria Fan and Kira Innes, and at Hulu by Jordan Helman. The hope is for
Hitman to become a flagship series.
Hitman has sold more than 25 million copies since being launched in 2000. It centers on Agent 47, a meticulous and lethal assassin with a mysterious backstory. The character has been the subject of two films released by Fox — 2007’s
Hitman and 2015’s
Hitman: Agent 47 — and the intention here is to hew closely to the mythology of the perennially popular video game. The latest game is simply called
Hitman, and it sold 7 million copies. Two more
Hitman games are in development at IO Interactive.
Breakout WandaVision character Agatha Harkness is currently casting a spell in Marvel Television’s Agatha All Along, now streaming on Disney+. To celebrate the series, an upcoming issue of Scarlet Witch’s current solo series will have a special Marvel Studios Variant Cover utilizing concept art of Kathryn Hahn’s beloved portrayal of this iconic Marvel Comics character. The new Marvel Studios Variant Cover will be featured on November’s SCARLET WITCH #6. Written by Steve Orlando and drawn by Lorenzo Tammetta, this highly-anticipated issue sees Wanda take on a mysterious new pupil at Agatha's request. It’s the debut of Amaranth! But where did the young sorceress come from? And what could have spooked Agatha into giving up the chance to mentor her? Check out the Marvel Studios Variant Cover and preorder SCARLET WITCH #6 at your local comic shop today!
In addition to new takes on the Man of Steel (David Corenswet) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), James Gunn's upcoming Superman reboot will introduce our latest live-action interpretation of the iconic hero's nemesis, Lex Luthor. Nicholas Hoult landed the role after initially testing to play Superman himself. Gunn has shared some of the comic book incarnations of the villain that influenced him while writing this new take on the character. "God, there are so many," the director responded to a fan on Threads. "Lex is one of my favorites -- he works on so many levels -- and it’s been a joy bringing him to the screen with the incredible Nicholas Hoult. Some of the influences were, of course, All-Star Superman, [Brian] Azzarello’s Luthor [in the 2005 miniseries Lex Luthor: Man of Steel], and the reckless scientific genius from the 1950’s and ‘60’s." Superman is slated to open in theaters July 11, 2025. (via ComicBookMovie)
David A.R.White (God’s Not Dead), Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire), Jason Patric (Speed 2), Katrina Bowman(30 Rock), and Scott Baio (Happy Days) are leading cast in action-thriller A Life of Fire, which is now filming in Los Angeles and Miami. Also starring are Eve Richards (Where’s Dad), Vincent DePaul (Tesla), G-Rod (Bad Boys 4), and Samantha Lockwood (Hawaii Five-0). The synopsis for the action-thriller reads: “After working as a secret agent in the FBI for ten years, Jack Conry aka “Cash” left it all behind after his wife passed in order to dedicate himself to his two daughters. Despite a fulfilling life at home, Cash misses the chance to make an impact and has been considering a return to the force. The decision is made for him when his old partner’s niece Jamie calls him for help, launching Cash right back into a world of danger, corruption and intrigue.” (via Deadline)
Coming out of the
Los Angeles Comic Con this weekend, actor
Ewan McGregor told fans that they are exploring ideas for an
Obi-Wan Kenobi season 2. He went on to say it’s his hope that he gets to wear the
Clone Wars armor and do more flashbacks with Annikin Skywalker actor
Hayden Christensen. McGregor was on a panel that included Christensen and three actors from
The Mandalorian,
Ming-Na Wen,
Giancarlo Esposito and
Emily Swallow. The first season of Obi-Wan Kenobi focused on a time between the end of
Revenge of the Sith and the start of
A New Hope which had the Jedi living on Tatooine protecting Luke when he is pulled away by Bail Organa to rescue Leia.
Last year, at the
New York Comic Con, director
Matthew Vaughn claimed to have quit
X-Men 3 after he learned that Storm actress
Halle Berry had been sent a fake script to entice her to join the film. The phony script was produced to appeal to her specifically as it would extend her characters story arc. Vaughn said at the time: “I thought, if you’re going to do that to an Oscar-winning actress who plays Storm, I quit; I thought, I’m mincemeat… One of the main reasons I quit
X-Men 3, and this is a true story: Hollywood is really political and odd.” Recently Berry responded to Vaughn comments, saying: “Ya just never know the shady s— going on behind ya back! Thank you Matthew Vaughn for bringing the dark to light.”
Joel Kinnaman wants fans to know that he would never appear on HBO’s
Peacemaker series. The actor played the role of Rick Flag Jr. in both iterations of the
Suicide Squad films with his character dying in the most recent that was directed by
James Gunn. It’s also the film that
John Cena was introduced as Peacemaker and he is the one that killed Flag. Moving forward Gunn has cast
Frank Grillo to play Rick Flag Sr and he will appear in the animated
Creature Commandos, the live-action
Superman and season 2 of
Peacemaker. Earlier this year, the director of the second season, Peter Sollett, tagged Kinnaman in a show wrap post (later deleted), which made some believe that Rick Flag Jr. would show up somehow.
Screen Rant asked Kinnaman about returning to the DC Universe: “I don’t know what to say. That’s ridiculous. I would never. I would never be on a show like that. It’s not what I do. It’s not what I do.” It almost sounds like he’s insulting the series. Could this be a cover to keep his appearance a secret or is there something more to it?
Todd Phillips’ original
Joker movie was a major hit, making over a billion dollars which is stunning for a R rated movie. He originally said there would be no sequel, but that changed and with the pairing of
Lady Gaga with
Joaquin Phoenix,
Joker: Folie à Deux was born. The problem is this is a very different film from the first one. The term Jukebox Musical was mentioned a few months back and some fans started getting worried. It’s opening weekend and the film is on track to make about $47 million or less. That’s well shy of the $96 million opening of the 2019 original. What made the original do well was the word of mouth. People loved it and told their friends. Reactions to the sequel have been horrible. The film got a “D” Cinemascore, the lowest for any comic book movie. Post Traks had it at half a star and over on Rotten Tomatoes, both the critics and audience agree giving it a meager 32%. So how did this film happen? Why didn’t the studio stop it? Well, Phillips has a history with Warner Bros, bringing in $2.5 billion between the first
Joker and
the Hangover films.
Teyana Taylor and Sasha Calle have joined the ensemble of the upcoming Netflix crime thriller RIP starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, with Joe Carnahan directing. Deadline first reported the news that the package had hit the market back in June, before Netflix scooped it up ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. Carnahan also penned the script, with Affleck, Damon, Luciana Damon and Dani Bernfeld producing for Artists Equity. The plot follows a group of Miami cops whose trust begins to fray after they discover millions in cash in a derelict stash house. As outside forces learn about the size of the seizure, everything is called into question — including who they can rely on. Michael Joe and Kevin Halloran of Artists Equity will executive produce.
Just in time for Halloween, the LA Opera has put together a spectacular treat for movie and music lovers: a screening of the rarely-seen 1931 Spanish-language Dracula, complete with a newly-commissioned score by two-time Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla. The music will be played live by the LA Opera Orchestra under the direction of resident conductor Lina González-Granados. The Argentine-born Santaolalla, 73, also will play electric guitar (but not his signature ronroco). Suitably, the screenings on Oct. 25, 26 and 27 will take place at the gothic United Theater — a 1,600-seat palace that first opened in 1927 — in downtown Los Angeles. There will be English subtitles, and the audience is invited to come in costume. (via The Hollywood Reporter)
Warner Bros’ Todd Phillips-directed sequel Joker: Folie à Deux earned $7M in previews that began at 3 p.m. Thursday. The number indicates that the $190M+ movie could get to a $50M opening, particularly when comped against movies that exceeded that threshold in their starts such as Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One ($7M last year), No Time to Die ($6.3M in 2021) and John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum ($5.9M in 2019). Forget about the fact that Joker 2's previews are off by 47% from the first 2019 film’s $13.3M, which mushroomed to a $39.3M Friday and the biggest October domestic opening of all time with $96.2M. We knew that was going to happen. What’s not funny is the Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak audience exits for Joker 2, which tell a different story. While many knew this Joaquin Phoenix-Lady Gaga combo would be challenged due to the fact that it’s a musical, the fanboys full-out seemed to reject the sequel last night on PostTrak with a 1/2 star and 40% positive. Holy guacamole, Batman! (via Deadline)
