Tag: warner bros

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Will Add the Joker as a Playable Character via Free Post-Launch DLC

As Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League nears its launch, developer Rocksteady has confirmed that the game’s post-launch DLC will bring iconic DC villain Joker as a playable character. The studio made the announcement Monday in the third episode of its Suicide Squad Insider developer diary series, detailing its plans for delivering free post-launch seasonal content to players who buy the game, multiversal concepts and a few multiplayer features that will be present at launch. According to Rocksteady, each post-launch season will feature two episodes and will follow the theme of a DC villain, bringing new ways to play. The new announcement follows the developers teasing hundreds of character builds and distinct loadouts earlier this month.

In the Suicide Squad Insider episode titled “Introducing Elseworlds,” Rocksteady laid out its plans for alternate universes in the game, each of them bringing unique DC characters to the mix. With the launch of the first season of post-game content in March, players will be able to unlock the Joker as a playable character for their squads, Rocksteady confirmed. The video shows off a younger version of the Clown Prince of Crime from an alternate universe — Elseworld, as Rocksteady calls it. Bear in mind that the Joker in Rocksteady’s Arkham series of games died in Batman: Arkham City. “He (Joker) was part of the Suicide Squad in the Elseworld that he’s from,” associate design director at the studio Johnny Armstrong explained in the video.

While the Elseworld Joker retains the look and mannerism we’ve come to expect from the iconic villain — the purple suit, the green hair and face makeup and a penchant for chaos, he will have to figure out his place in a new universe, Rocksteady said. The younger, more inexperienced Joker will, however, come with his own unique combat and traversal gameplay systems and distinct weapons to boot. Joker’s new traversal mechanics are based around a rocket-power umbrella, which can be used to propel the DC villain up in the air and glide around. Joker’s umbrella can also be flipped down to grind along buildings like a skateboard and knock away enemies in your path.

From the Joker gameplay footage shown in the video, the villain can be seen gliding around the map with his umbrella and dispatching enemies with glee using melee weapons and firearms. Joker will be the first of a series of DC villain recruits that players will be able to unlock as part of post-launch seasonal content. Rocksteady said it intends to build a library of playable DC characters over time, each with their unique move sets for combat and traversal.

Along with new characters, post-launch content also promises to bring new environments, challenges, missions, gear and more, all at no extra cost to players who have purchased the main game. Rocksteady also confirmed that post-launch playable content will not be locked behind a Battle Pass system and will be directly delivered into the game with the launch of a new season. In addition to detailing their seasonal content plans in their latest video, Rocksteady also provided details on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s multiplayer features like squad-based leaderboards and emotes. Additionally, the developers showed off an outfit customisation system for the squad members.

While Suicide Squad developers have promised a ton of free post-launch content to keep players engaged, the studio, which was earlier known for narrative-focussed single player titles in the Arkham series, and publishers Warner Bros. have attracted criticism over the live service direction of their upcoming DC game. The gameplay reveal for the title back in February 2023 was met with fan backlash over its looter shooter leanings.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League puts players in the shoes of four DC supervillains — Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and King Shark, allowing players to play solo or up to four-player co-op and take on brainwashed and rogue members of the Justice League. The game releases February 2 across PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Supergirl Movie: House of the Dragon Star Milly Alcock Reportedly Among Top Picks for the Role

James Gunn is reportedly hunting for a Supergirl, who would appear in his revised DC Universe continuity. As per Deadline, the filmmaker and co-CEO of DC Studios is about to screentest three actresses for the role — Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon), Emilia Jones (CODA), and Meg Donnelly (Zombies); the last of them previously voiced Supergirl in the animated Legion of Super-Heroes film. The tests are scheduled to take place within the ‘next month or so’, with the character first making a cameo appearance in a DC project before taking centre stage in the standalone Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow film.

DC Studios co-chairs Gunn and Peter Safran first announced Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow in early 2023, when detailing how their revamped DC Universe chapter ‘Gods and Monsters’ would run for the next 8-10 years, connecting storylines across movies, TV shows, animation, and video games. Drawing from author Tom King’s version, the film will present a jaded version of Kara Zor-El, who grew up on a floating chunk of planet Krypton and watched people around her die in devastating ways for 14 straight years, before coming to Earth. “She’s much more hardcore. She’s not exactly the Supergirl we’re used to seeing,” Gunn described at the time. However, her cousin Clark Kent/ Kal-el arrived when he was just an infant and was raised by loving parents, eventually becoming a symbol of hope for Metropolis.

For now, there is no word on who’s directing Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, though the team has reportedly fixated on actress-playwright Ana Nogueira to pen the script. Interestingly, the scribe was originally hired to write a script for a Supergirl spin-off movie that would tie into The Flash film and add to the now-defunct DC Extended universe with Sasha Calle playing the lead. However, those plans got cancelled when Gunn and Safran came on board to chart an entirely new course for the franchise, which included the aforementioned standalone DC Universe movie — cutting all ties with existing characters and stories. Having liked Nogueira’s work on the axed Supergirl project, the executives ‘quietly’ brought her back to work on the new film.

Meanwhile, Gunn is preparing to film Superman: Legacy, the first live-action project of DCU, during the American Spring season. It’s slated to release July 11, 2025, and stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/ Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicolas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Other key future projects include an Arkham Asylum series, a Creature Commandos animated show, Booster Gold, a limited series based on Amanda Waller, and more.

Currently, there is no release window for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2024 hub.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Warner Bros. and Tubi Partner to Bring DC Comics Movies to Streaming for Free in the US

All DC Comics movies, including The Batman, Wonder Woman and more, will be coming to Fox’s ad-supported streaming service, Tubi. The catalogue will be available next year in the US, thanks to a new partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, which adds 10 new WB-branded Fast channels for easy access across the service. This is ideal for fans who are unwilling to pay the ever-rising monthly price for the Max streaming service — formerly, HBO Max — though they will get interrupted with advertisements. Some of the older titles like Batman, Batman Returns, and the Christopher Reeve-led Superman movies are now available on Tubi (US), alongside recent shows like Batwoman and Gotham.

“The addition of recent blockbuster movies and fan-favourite series from the DC library is a monumental offering for Tubi viewers,” Tubi CCO Adam Lewinson said in a press release. “We’re so pleased to have such wonderful partners at Warner Bros. Discovery who are expanding the reach of their superhero franchise films and series that are destined to draw new audiences and fandoms with Tubi’s highly engaged viewers.” On December 31, Tubi will also play host to Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, one of the longest-running TV series about the Kryptonian superhero. Meanwhile, 2024 will welcome newer movies including The Batman, Black Adam, Aquaman, both Wonder Woman movies, Ryan Reynolds-led Green Lantern, and Suicide Squad. For now, it appears that fresh entries won’t be instantly making it to the service and there will be a waiting period between the initial theatrical release and Tubi availability.

Several animated movies such as Batman: Death in the Family, Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox, The Death of Superman, Son of Batman, and more will be coming to the streamer, later this month. Also joining are the Constantine live-action film starring Keanu Reeves, The CW’s Swamp Thing series, and Stargirl. Of course, one can always rely on Max and Netflix for the content slate but if you can put up with ads, this is a great alternative. Tubi will also serve as a platform for the larger Warner Bros. Content, ranging between classic cinema, travel and adventure, romance, and horror flicks boasting popular entries like Annabelle, Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, and the Friday trilogy.

These changes come in the wake of a ground-up DC Universe restructuring, with James Gunn and Peter Safran helming the newly branded DC Studios, which aims to revitalise and chart a new course for films, TV shows, and animated series in the franchise. The first movie to kick things off will be Superman: Legacy starring David Corenswet as Clark Kent/ Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.

Currently, there is no word on when the DC Comics and Warner Bros. catalogue will be coming to Tubi India.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Trailer: Anya Taylor-Joy Takes on Chris Hemsworth in Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga trailer is finally here — in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. At this year’s Comic-Con Experience (CCXP) in Brazil, Warner Bros. dropped the first look at George Miller’s prequel film, with Anya Taylor-Joy portraying the younger version of the skinhead wasteland heroine originally played by Charlize Theron in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road. Slated to release in May 2024, the film appears to have amped up on the explosions and frantic vehicular action, as the future Imperator is seen finding means to survive out in the desert and plotting her eventual escape. Continuing his decades-long trend, director Miller has again teamed up with Nico Lathouris to write this new Mad Max movie.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga trailer

The trailer of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga opens with a desperate woman’s voice cutting through the gunshots: “Whatever you have to do, however long it takes, promise me you’ll find your way home.” This is clearly directed at our protagonist Furiosa (Taylor-Joy) who is seen lost and dawdling about in the desert, presumably cut off from her bike gang abductors, who snatched her from the Green Place of Many Mothers, a lush haven in the sandy dunes where one could grow crops. It’s the same location where the Vuvalini tribe were found residing among the crows in Mad Max: Fury Road when the older Furiosa (Theron) finally reunited with them, years later. This prequel shows the character’s rebellious origins where she’s caught amidst a ruthless gang war between two tyrants on a sweeping journey to the Citadel.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Hindi trailer

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Tamil trailer

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Telugu trailer

Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), the leader of a rowdy bike horde, is behind Furiosa’s abduction, tagging her along for every hellish mission across the dystopian, barren landscape. A power struggle ensues when the gang runs into a much younger Immortan Joe, sporting ghost-like makeup and a breathing apparatus — a conflict Furiosa sees as a viable opportunity to escape, as she smears war paint (it’s probably grease), grabs a buck load of firearms, and commandeers tanks to launch harpoons onto enemies. We might also learn how she loses her left forearm, leading her to brandish a prosthetic arm, as seen in the 2015 film. “The darkest of angels,” a bound-up Dementus says with a heavy Australian accent, staring up at a battle-hardened Furiosa, now sporting a buzz cut. “The question is… do you have it in you to make it epic?”

I’m not sure if director Miller did it intentionally, but in most scenes involving Hemsworth, he’s seen wearing a blood-soaked cape, a visual choice that’s heavily reminiscent of the Nordic God of Thunder Thor, which the actor is known for playing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The previous film, Fury Road, opened to critical and commercial fanfare, grossing $380 million (about Rs. 3,166 crore) at the global box office — with Miller initially insistent on keeping Theron as the lead in the prequel through CGI de-ageing before plans fell apart. “Despite the valiant attempts on The Irishman, I think there’s still an uncanny valley,” Miller said in an interview. Furiosa also stars Alyla Browne (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) and Tom Burke (The Wonder).

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is out May 23 in theatres.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Coyote vs. Acme May Get New Distributor After Warner Bros. Shelves Project, Amazon Said to Be Prime Candidate

Coyote vs. Acme might not get shelved after all. Following reports of Warner Bros. axing the live-action-animation hybrid film as a tax write-off, it appears as though it will now be sold to other distributors. Principle photography on the movie was completed a year ago in New Mexico and upon hearing the initial announcement, a crew member leaked behind-the-scenes footage from the same, showing a reel of stunts, concept art, and set assets. Amazon Studios is reportedly the lead contender for the purchase, albeit a private screening is planned for all major streamers.

If filmmakers around the globe hadn’t rebelled against Warner Bros., this would have been the third film to get shelved as a tax write-off. The studio previously cancelled the Leslie Grace-led Batgirl live-action movie and Scoob! Holiday Haunt — both were unfinished, but it was originally claimed that the former was ‘irredeemable’ and not worthy of a theatrical release. Coyote vs. Acme almost suffered the same fate until several filmmakers cancelled meetings with the company since such cancellations were previously touted as a one-off event. As per The Hollywood Reporter, the unnamed filmmakers are taking a ‘wait-and-see approach,’ now that the film might find a new home.

Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You), a close friend of Coyote vs. Acme director Dave Green alludes that the latter stuck to the $72 million (about Rs. 599 crore) and even movie countries for 18 months to shoot the film. As a result, some film industry friends have also allegedly planned a ‘funeral screening’ at the WB lot, albeit the term is no longer appropriate because it might soon find a new home. While it’s true that canning a film as a tax write-off makes the quarterly financial results look good, it leads to uneven franchise-building and a lack of confidence from filmmakers working with the said distributor. Just like the aforementioned Batgirl, Coyote vs. Acme was part of Warner Bros.’s planned pivot from streaming content back to full-fledged theatrical releases, as the pandemic waned.

At the time, it was also decided that WB’s DC Comics slate would undergo a complete overhaul, in addition to HBO Max and Discovery+ being merged into a single streaming platform — now known as Max. Planned as a ‘popcorn-style crowd-pleaser,’ Coyote vs. Acme follows the silent Wile E. Coyote, who after failing to trap the noisy Road Runner using numerous ACME explosives and devices, decides to take the legal route and sue the corporation. In his pursuit, he teams up with a human attorney played by Will Forte (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story), leading to some hilarious consequences. The film also stars John Cena (Peacemaker) as the ACME CEO and Lana Condor (To All the Boys: Always and Forever).

Elsewhere, DC Studios co-chair James Gunn also reacted to the Coyote vs. Acme news on Instagram, with a picture of the titular Coyote cooking — possibly a meme reference to “let them cook.” The director also confirmed that despite the Hollywood actors’ strike — which has now ended — Superman: Legacy’s release date won’t be shifting. It is slated to release July 11, 2025, and stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/ Superman and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Lois Lane.

Currently, there is no release window for Coyote vs. Acme.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Barbie Director Greta Gerwig Reportedly Fought to Keep ‘I’m Just Ken’ Dance Sequence in the Film

Barbie director Greta Gerwig has revealed that the iconic ‘I’m Just Ken’ dance sequence from the film was almost removed from the script. Speaking to Succession creator Jesse Armstrong at the BFI London Film Festival, the filmmaker claimed that the studio executives at Warner Bros. questioned her at a ‘big meeting’ whether the standout scene was necessary. However, she stood her ground and cited the 1952 movie Singin’ in the Rain’s ballet scene as a reference point for Barbie’s ‘dream ballet,’ where all the Kens would be dressed in black and dance across a wide-open, pink and blue-hued space, as they work out their identity issues.

“It just said in the script, ‘And then it becomes a dream ballet and they work it out through dance’,” Gerwig said in the interview (via Variety). “There was a big meeting that was like, ‘Do you need this?’ And I was like, ‘Everything in me needs this.’ They were like, ‘What do you even mean? What is a dream ballet?’” The scene in question does come across as odd in screenplay format, as it just transitions from a musical fight sequence at the Barbie Land beach into a vast emptiness, with Ryan Gosling and Simu Liu beaching off. It appears as though WB was worried whether the quirky change in environment would sit well with a mainstream audience. Also, Barbie was never intended as a musical — in fact, the ‘I’m Just Ken’ track initially didn’t have a solid place until Gerwig heard and ‘loved‘ the small version composer Mark Ronson wrote.

The song is now a certified hit, with over 78.5 million streams on Spotify and 10 million views on YouTube, at the time of writing. Gosling, who previously recorded songs for his 2016 film La La Land, was the vocalist for his part in Barbie as well and placed at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August. “I was like if people could follow that in Singin’ in the Rain, I think we’ll be fine. I think people will know what this is. So that was the big reference point,” Gerwig explained, adding that she was equally stressed about the sequence totally failing. After all, this wasn’t the only time filming was interrupted, as a Time Magazine story revealed that Mattel president and COO Richard Dickson flew over to the location to ‘argue’ with director Gerwig and lead Margot Robbie over an undisclosed scene that felt ‘off-brand’ to him. The duo changed his mind by performing the scene before him, and it stayed.

Barbie is now the biggest film of 2023, having grossed $1.43 billion (about Rs. 11,901 crore) at the global box office, sitting right above The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Oppenheimer. It perched Gerwig as the first-ever woman director to join the billion-dollar club, and follows the stereotypical Barbie doll (Robbie) living her perfect life in the pink-hued Barbie Land until she starts turning sentient and is forced to face an existential crisis. Wanting to reverse those conflicting thoughts, she sets off on a journey to the real world with Ken (Gosling), where she learns about patriarchy, the troubled lives of women and how barbie dolls have perpetuated stereotypes and led young girls to have a skewed perception of themselves. The film is slated to release on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and DVD formats on October 17.

Barbie is now available to watch digitally, and is still showing in select theatres across the world.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Dune: Part Two Release Date Delayed to 2024 Due to Hollywood Actors’ Strike

Dune: Part Two has been delayed to next year, due to the ongoing actors’ strike in Hollywood. After much consideration, the highly-anticipated sci-fi sequel starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya has been moved from its initial November 3 slot to March 15, 2024. The realignment from Warner Bros. and Legendary has also caused them to push back Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire — the latest in the Monsterverse franchise — by nearly one month, going from March 15 to April 12, 2024. The Dune sequel will get an IMAX release as well, with an earlier report noting that supported screens would be hosting the film for an extended run of up to six weeks.

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 2 has turned out to be the biggest casualty of the SAG-AFTRA strikes since its star-studded cast — boasting the likes of Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, and Rebecca Ferguson — would be barred from serving any promotional duties or interviews for the film. The lack of actors — or potential nominees — would have proven challenging for the awards campaign as well, which is why the Emmy Awards have been delayed as well. The first Dune movie snagged six trophies at the Oscars and emerged as one of the biggest movies during the pandemic, grossing $402 million (about Rs. 3,323 crore) at the global box office. Given it has the potential to build out a franchise akin to Star Wars, it makes sense for WB and Legendary to hold out on its release.

However, by shifting the release date to March 15, Warner Bros. has put itself in a difficult position, as it sabotages another major release from the company. Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 starring Robert Pattinson is currently slated to hit theatres merely two weeks later, on March 29, 2024. This could negatively affect both of their box office numbers, as Parasite’s Oscar sweep in 2019 is bound to bring more eyes to Bong’s films now. Maybe we could see a repeat of the ‘Barbenheimer‘ magic, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this film gets delayed as well.

Reports from last month suggested that Warner Bros. was considering shaking up its December release calendar due to the strike. However, the company has chosen to stick to those dates, regardless of the strike. So, another Chalamet-led film Wonka is out December 15, DC Comics’ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom drops December 20, and The Color Purple releases Christmas Day in theatres. As per The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, WB is still committed to theatrical releases, even amidst the uncertainty of the Hollywood dual strikes organised by the WGA (The Writer’s Guild of America) and the aforementioned actors’ union.

Dune 2 picks up right where the first chapter ended, with Paul Atreides (Chalamet), Chani (Zendaya), and the Fremen soldiers uniting on a warpath of revenge against the Harkonnen lineage, the conspirators who killed Paul’s family. The sequel brings in some new faces such as Austin Butler as the cruel Feyd-Rautha, Pugh as Princess Irulan, Christopher Walken as Emperor Shaddam IV, and Léa Seydoux as the Bene Gesserit Lady Margot.

Dune: Part Two is now slated to release March 15, 2024 in theatres worldwide.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Wonder Woman 3 Reportedly Not in Development at DC Studios, Despite Gal Gadot’s Claims

Wonder Woman 3 is reportedly not in development, despite actor Gal Gadot’s comments from earlier this week. As per Variety’s sources, new DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran don’t have any plans for a Wonder Woman project, besides the Paradise Lost prequel series that was announced for Max (previously HBO Max), as part of its revamped DC Universe slate. Word about a threequel spread like wildfire when Gadot claimed in a pre-SAG-AFTRA strike interview that the aforementioned parties had privately confirmed the film’s development to her.

That statement was then emphasised in a profile she did for Flaunt magazine, promoting her newly released Netflix film Heart of Stone. “I was invited to a meeting with James Gunn and Peter Safran and what they told me, and I’m quoting: ‘You’re in the best hands. We’re going to develop Wonder Woman 3 with you. [We] love you as Wonder Woman — you’ve got nothing to worry about.’ So time will tell,” she said. The Variety report, however, claims that nothing of the sort was promised to Gadot and even so, there was no definitive discussion of whether she would be reprising her role in the new DCU. Gadot first appeared as the Amazonian princess in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, before branching off into two standalone Wonder Woman films. She also had a cameo in The Flash, but that movie was a reset point for the universe. Also, they were made before Gunn and Safran joined the studio.

Both Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 were helmed by Patty Jenkins, who back in December, submitted a screenplay for a third untitled movie, co-written with Geoff Johns (Suicide Squad). However, the character’s vision/ treatment did not align with the vision Gunn and Safran had planned for the overhaul and therefore, got cancelled. That report, too, broke after Gadot had made positive claims on her Twitter handle, about her return with a third film. While production costs weren’t a concern for Warner Bros. at the time, they could end up saving ‘tens of millions of dollars’ by straight-up cancelling Wonder Woman 3.

Even the DC Comics presentation in January from Gunn did not mention another Wonder Woman film, instead announcing a Paradise Lost series that would serve as an origins story for the mysterious locale inhabited and governed by Amazonian women. The show will focus on the drama and political intrigue behind the society to explore its rules and the lore behind the banishment of all men from the island nation of Themyscira. “It’s almost like Game of Thrones with Westeros, but with all of the inhabitants of Paradise Island,” Gunn described, at the time.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.



Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

After Barbie, Mattel Is Launching Its Own Cinematic Universe With 14 Movies: Report

Fresh off Barbie’s box office success, manufacturer Mattel, which owns the Barbie brand, is reportedly looking to expand on its IP with 14 new feature films, all in different stages of production. As per Variety, they include a surrealistic Barney movie, Lena Dunham’s take on Polly Pocket, a Hot Wheels movie produced by J.J. Abrams, and more. The Mattel executives are also keen to do sequels to Greta Gerwig’s candy-coated film, though the filmmaker isn’t thinking about a follow-up for now, claiming, “At this moment, it’s all I’ve got.” Then again, seeing the impressive $337 million (about Rs. 2,763 crore) it made during the opening weekend, it’s not hard to imagine that Warner Bros. and Mattel will want more.

The Variety report notes that producer Robbie Brenner, who currently leads Mattel Films, was hoping for Barbie to succeed, so they could bank on potential sequels and new projects based on established IP. This echoes the newly-appointed CEO Ynon Kreiz’s plan from 2018 when Mattel’s sales were dwindling, where he wanted to turn the toy company into a franchise composed of films, TV series, and theme parks — much like Disney. Their first step towards that goal seems to have paid off, with the Barbie movie outselling Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, both having released on the same day.

Reports from earlier this month confirmed Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya (Nope) would be producing and starring in an adult-oriented ‘A24-type‘ film based on Barney, the friendly purple dinosaur from the children’s TV show Barney & Friends. Mattel executives claimed that it won’t be R-rated, but the themes would lean more towards an adult’s taste, featuring a ‘surrealistic’ take that’s similar to films like Being John Malkovich and Adaptation — from the brilliant minds of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman. Speaking to Variety, producer Brenner claimed that the film will be about ‘identity and finding who you love and who feels alienated.’

The miniature-sized Polly Pocket is another toy brand that Mattel plans to turn into a movie, albeit it doesn’t have as big of a brand recognition as Barbie. Lena Dunham (Girls) will write and direct the movie, which stars Lily Collins (Emily in Paris, Mank) in the lead role. The film is still in its early stages, with producer Brenner claiming that a ‘great’ script was turned in. Meanwhile, J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III) will produce a movie based on the Hot Wheels toy line, which is being described as ‘grounded and gritty’ with emotional characters that the audience will be able to relate to. Warner Bros. will be distributing it and since Abrams is involved, you might as well factor in some lens flare.

Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel is looking to delve into robots soon, with a feature film adaptation of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, the tabletop boxing game from Mattel that pits a red and a blue fighter against each other, as you mash away at joysticks attached to the ring. Ryan Engle — best known for Rampage — is writing the script. A He-Man live-action adaptation has been in the works for a long time, with Netflix cancelling ‘Masters of the Universe‘ just last week. Mattel is still looking for a new buyer for He-Man though, which it believes has the potential to explode into a ‘mega-franchise’. The now-cancelled film was to be directed by Aaron and Adam Nee (The Lost City) and featured West Side Story’s Kyle Allen as the lead actor.

Tom Hanks (The Terminal) is set to appear as the Mattel astronaut figurine Major Matt Mason, who lived and worked on the moon, attracting screenwriters Akiva Goldsman (I, Robot) and Michael Chabon (Star Trek: Picard). Thanks to the ongoing writers’ strike in Hollywood, it will be a while before the production moves forward. The company is also planning a PG-13 thriller surrounding the Magic 8 Ball, which was used as a fortune-telling toy back in the 1950s. And if that wasn’t absurd enough already, Mattel will also make a movie based on the UNO card game, which is being written by Marcy Kelly.

Mattel doesn’t seem to be done with dolls yet and wants to explore an American Girl movie for its expansive ‘Mattelverse.’ As per Variety, the film will be a family comedy that’s aimed at helping young girls ‘grow with confidence and develop character.’ Even Thomas & Friends is getting a fantasy film adaptation, directed by Marc Forster, who rose to prominence with World War Z and Finding Neverland. Amidst this exhaustive list, Mattel is also adapting a true story for the screen. Titled ‘Christmas Balloon,’ the film follows a young girl, who tied her Christmas present list to a balloon and sent it up into the air, only to be found by a grieving couple who work with the toy company to make her wishes come true. Gabby Lugo (A Million Little Things) is attached to write the screenplay.

Here’s the entire list of movies Mattel has planned for the foreseeable future. Bear in mind that production might take some time, given the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes in Hollywood.

Barney — produced by and starring Daniel Kaluuya

Polly Pocket — from Lena Dunham, starring Lily Collins

Hot Wheels — produced by J.J. Abrams

Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots — starring Vin Diesel

American Girl — a family comedy

Magic 8 Ball — a PG-13 thriller

Masters of the Universe — previously cancelled by Netflix

Major Matt Mason — from Akiva Goldsman and Michael Chabon, starring Tom Hanks

UNO — written by Marcy Kelly

Wishbone — produced by Peter Farrelly (Dumb & Dumber)

Matchbox — written by David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill)

Thomas & Friends — from Marc Forster (World War Z)

View Master — an adventure film based on the classic picture-viewing toy

Christmas Balloon — from Gabby Lugo; based on a true story

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Dune: Part Two Trailer: Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya Plot Revenge Against the Harkonnen

Dune: Part Two just got a second trailer — in English and Hindi. Warner Bros. has dropped a chunky three-minute-long trailer for the highly-awaited sequel from Denis Villeneuve, taking us back to the desert planet Arrakis where Paul Atreidis (Timothée Chalamet) leads a rebellion against the Harkonnens, who seek to rule and mine the fictional spice melange. Romance blossoms between him and Chani (Zendaya), as he grapples with being worshipped as some kind of a revered prophet who would liberate the planet’s natives. The film was originally set to hit theatres on November 17 but was then brought forward by two weeks to a November 3 release date.

Dune: Part Two trailer

The trailer for Dune: Part Two opens right at the heart of the scorching desert, where Paul (Chalamet) muses about the spoils of war, having recently lost his father (Oscar Isaac) and most of the Atreides lineage in 2021’s Dune. “This world is beyond cruelty,” he tells the Fremen native Chani (Zendaya), his romantic interest. “You’ve been fighting the Harkonnens for decades. My family’s been fighting them for centuries.” Ditching his father’s no-revenge policy, Paul and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) join the Fremen, leading a warpath against the evil conspirators. The two would soon bear bright blue-coloured eyes, thanks to the consumption of melange, the psychedelic substance that heightens their senses. It does take a while for the natives to trust Paul, though Chani seems to have already sided with him — “I won’t be fighting for him. I’m fighting for my people,” she says.

Dune: Part Two Hindi Trailer

On the run and hiding from the Harkonnen footsoldiers, Paul finally runs into his mentor Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), who has been out in the desert searching for his ‘young pup’ since the massacre of the Atreides forces. “There are signs,” Stilgar (Javier Bardem) speaks of his faith in Paul to be the one to free them from a prophesised life of enslavement, as we’re treated to visions of the young prince riding a giant sandworm. Murmurs from the Fremen colony described Paul as some kind of ‘prophet’, which he’s asked to embrace and take advantage of to lead a rebellion. “Because all my visions lead to horror,” Paul explains in the Dune: Part 2 trailer, which is a good inclusion when compared to David Lynch’s 1984 Dune, where the character was treated as a good-willing hero or a messiah. While Paul is initially reluctant to lead the forces, he soon gains the natives’ trust, granting him immense control that turns him into a powerful ruler leading a crusade.

We then cut to see the Baron’s (Stellan Skarsgård) cruel nephew Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) sporting a terrifying look with a bald head and shaved eyebrows, adept at hand-to-hand combat, eventually leading to a climactic battle against Paul. “Your father was a weak man,” Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) tells him, angering the prince who’s always idolised his father. As Paul grows in power, the Dune: Part Two trailer treats us to some action sequences where the Fremen engage in battle against the Harkonnens, showboating Chani’s skills in combat. “I am Paul Muad’dib Atreides! Duke of Arrakis! Long live the fighters!”, Paul yells at the end, foreshadowing the tyrant he’ll soon turn into. The film also stars Léa Seydoux as the Bene Gesserit Lady Margot, Florence Pugh as Princess Irulan, and Dave Bautista as Glossu Rabban, the brutish nephew of the Baron.

Dune: Part Two releases November 3 in theatres worldwide.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version