In-Development

HEAT 2 In The Works At Warner Bros. Pictures

Word via Deadline’s Justin Kroll on Monday came that a follow-up to Michael Mann’s epic 1995 crime thriller, Heat, is in the works at Warner Bros. Pictures. What’s more, actor Adam Driver (65) is in talks to star in the film as a young version of Neil McCauley with Mann in negotiations with the studio to direct, and with Arnon Milchan’s New Regency optioning to board the film when it “is in a good place to move forward”. Robert DeNiro played professional thief McCauley in the inaugural film opposite Al Pacino’s ex-marine now LA detective Vincent Hanna. Mann worked on the film for well over a decade before finally landing a project at WB with producer Art Linson, which became a box office hit and a landmark success for Mann’s filmography. Mann eventually segued into prequel/sequel territory with a novel released last year while developing a feature continuation. More from […]

WAR 2: Hrithik Roshan To Return To YRF’s Explosive Spy Franchise For ‘Brahmastra’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Yash Raj Films’ Spy Universe will expand even further with the announcement of War 2, according to a report on Tuesday by Variety’s Naman Ramachandran. The film will be directed by Ayan Mukerji who takes the reins from Siddharth Anand who directed the inaugural 2019 film that featured Bollywood topliners Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, with Roshan now set to return for the second chapter. As the lore has it, the YRF Spy Universe hails from producer Aditya Chopra and is a sprawling web of action-packed stories of espionage centered on Indian foreign intelligence agents battling dastardly terrorists in the face of betrayal, romantic intrigue, and surmounting odds, topped with the usual winsome musical numbers and striking action and stunt sequences. The tapestry first began in 2012 with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif headlining Kabbir Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger, followed by Ali Abbas Zafar’s Tiger Zinda Hai in 2017, with […]

STREET FIGHTER: Legendary, Capcom Partner For New Feature Adaptation Of Hit Fighting Game

Lee B. Golden III

Trade news sources all reported on Monday that a new Street Fighter film is now in development. Via The Wrap, “exclusive license” has gone to Legendary Entertainment who are shepherding the film with Capcom. Story, plot and casting details are all unknown for the film which now adds to the monumentally successful franchise based on Capcom’s line of hit fighting video games which launched in 1987, spawning a wave of other trendy fighting games that arose in subsequent years. Apart from the original video animations that emerged, live-action adaptations were made and released in 1994 by director Steven E. de Souza (Universal Pictures’ Street Fighter), and in 2009 by Andrzej Bartkowiak (20th Century Fox’s Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li), and then in 2016 by actor and filmmaker Joey Ansah (Machinima’s Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist). I’ll leave you my thoughts on the latter installment in the Instagram embed below, but […]

TIGER VS PATHAAN: The Next YRF Spy Chapter Starts Filming In 2024

Lee B. Golden III

Pathaan, Siddharth Anand’s latest contribution to Yash Raj Films’ “Spy Universe,” will continue in the upcoming sequel, Tiger VS Pathaan, filming next year in January. Multiple reports online are confirming the news along with the expected returns of Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) and Salman Khan. Quote via NDTV: “YRF isn’t talking about this project just yet because they have grand plans to announce it in a massive way but a lot of work has already started on Tiger vs Pathaan. We are expecting the film to start rolling in January 2024. Aditya Chopra is going to keep all details under wrap because this is the biggest ever Bollywood film that the industry has attempted to make in a long, long time. It is not every day that you get India’s biggest superstars SRK & Salman in one film,” the source shared. Chopra has produced all the films dating back to […]

MAN ON FIRE Gets New TV Series Treatment At Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Author A.J. Quinnell’s “Man On Fire” novels are now subject to television drama development for Netflix. New Regency Productions, Chernin Entertainment, and writer/exec producer Kyle Killen are crafting a new live-action octet-set series based on the literary works previously published in 1980. As the series description notes: “Based on A.J. Quinnell’s book series, Man on Fire tells the story of John Creasy, a broken ex-mercenary on a mission to avenge the death of his only friend, while protecting his fallen comrade’s daughter from the forces that destroyed her family.” Scott Glenn starred in the 1987 treatment from filmmaker Élie Chouraqui. 2004’s iteration would later star Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning from helmer Tony Scott who initially attempted to adapt a film version three years after the book’s publication. The film would be the second pairing for Scott and Washington following the hit success of naval thriller Crimson Tide, with the […]

GEARS OF WAR Adds ‘Dune’ Scribe Jon Spaihts To Pen Feature Adaptation For Netflix

Lee B. Golden III

Warner Bros.’s pending Dune sequel stands to be one of the more exciting highlights for moviegoers this year. It’s certainly helped put Jon Spaihts on radar after penning the first one, adding to his resumè notably topped off with Marvel’s Doctor Strange (2016) before now. To date, the screenwriter is now on deck to pen a live-action production of Gears Of War, an adaptation of the hit video game franchise that firstly took off in 2006. The film was last set up at Universal Pictures before eventually ending up at Netflix per its announcement last November. More on Gears of War: With over 40 million copies sold, Gears of War is one of gaming’s richest and most acclaimed sagas. A society divided and on the brink of collapse faces total extinction by the Locust, a monstrous threat from below. Delta Squad, a ragtag fireteam led by disgraced sergeant Marcus Fenix, […]

VOLCANO: Upgrade Partners With Iceland And Croatia For New Eco-Political Drama Thriller Series

Lee B. Golden III

LA-based Upgrade Productions is revving up the new original eco-political drama-thriller series, Volcano. Nebojsa Taraba and Miodrag Sila (HBO’s “Success,” Netflix’s “The Paper”) created the series based on an original idea and are shepherding for Croatia’s Drugi Plan, alongside Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (“True Detective”) and Hörður Rúnarsson (“Black Sands”) for Iceland’s newly launched ACT 4, and with Upgrade exec producing. Volcano chronicles the tensions that arise between vastly different societies forced to live together and co-exist in the aftermath of a crushing volcanic eruption that devastates Iceland, ensuing a UN directive to relocate the surviving residents to Croatia. The eight-part hourlong series is being adapted for the screen by Rúnarsson and co-scribe Mateja Božičević (Amazon Prime’s “Carnival Row”), with dialogue to be mixed-language, toggling between English, Icelandic, Croatian. Plans are to film the series in Iceland and Croatia as early as next year. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with ACT 4 […]

334317794_3498453867094979_3151243110387166330_n

DEAD BY DAYLIGHT Sure to Bring Screams in Theatres!

Edward Orndorff

Behavior Interactive’s surprise success with their asymmetric horror title DEAD BY DAYLIGHT is the latest hit game to make the jump from the small to the silver screen! Teaming up Blumhouse and Atomic Monster production companies, both familiar with the Horror genre, is sure to be a great formula to bring the love letter to the genre that is DBD to greater heights. We couldn’t be more thrilled to work with Jason Blum and James Wan, two giants of the horror film industry, to further expand the Dead by Daylight universe. At Behaviour, our motto is to create unique moments, together, forever. Atomic Monster and Blumhouse are the ideal partners to craft Dead by Daylight’s killer entrance onto the big screen. – Stephen Mulrooney, Executive Vice President at Behaviour Interactive In Dead by Daylight the Behaviour team has created a love letter to the world of horror, building […]

BLOOD BROTHERS: R4 Films Developing Starring Vehicle For ‘Tom Yum Goong 2’ And ‘Jiu Jitsu’ Actor Marrese Crump [EXCLUSIVE]

Lee B. Golden III

Independent film duo Robert Samuels and Robert Jefferson are developing Blood Brothers, a new action thriller set as the first of a new line of feature projects out of R4 Films LLC. The duo is also in talks with actor and martial artist Marrese Crump for a lead role, with Jefferson penning the script for a hopeful Q4 2023 or early 2024 shoot in Thailand. Key story details are under wraps but I am told the film will take its key aesthetic inspiration from films like The Raid movies and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives. Both Jefferson and Samuels are producing the pic as well, in reunion with frequent collaborator Oso Tayari Casel, in addition to Mark V. Wiley who penned Samuels’ 2021 co-directing effort with James Lew, Made In Chinatown. The potential casting will mark a return to “The Land Of Smiles” for Crump who is a purveyor […]

HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN: Millenium, Dark Horse Revive Comic Franchise Once More For March Shoot

Lee B. Golden III

Nearly twenty years since taking shape on the big screen, Dark Horse mainstay Hellboy is on deck yet for another reboot. Millenium Media revealed its agenda at EFM over the weekend, announcing partnership with Dark Horse Entertainment to commence production on Hellboy: The Crooked Man next month in Bulgaria for Nu Boyana Studios and Campbell Grobman Film. Crank co-helmer and Mom and Dad director Bryan Taylor will take the chair from a script by Hellboy mastermind Mike Mignola and fellow collaborator at Dark Horse, Chris Golden. The new film will see Hellboy and a rookie BPRD agent stranded in 1950s rural Appalachia. There, they discover a small community haunted by witches, led by a local devil with a troubling connection to Hellboy’s past: the Crooked Man. In the comic, The Crooked Man was an eighteenth-century miser and war profiteer named Jeremiah Witkins who was hanged for his crimes yet returned […]

Steven S. DeKnight Is Bringing Back SPARTACUS At STARZ

Lee B. Golden III

Nearly ten years since its brutal and bloody culmination, Spartacus TV shepherd Steven S. DeKnight is bringing back the blood-drenched sword-and-sandal fanfare for STARZ according to a press release on Thursday. DeKnight, whose post-Spartacus adventures partly saw him crafting Marvel’s Daredevil for Netflix and directing Pacific Rim: Uprising, will return to serve as showrunner and executive producer on a new sequel series which will “explore uncharted territory and new journeys of the original series’ iconic characters. More on the show: In the aftermath of the defeat of Spartacus and his rebel army, the drama will depict a new tale of treachery, deceit, and blood unfolding beneath the foreboding shadow of Rome. Late actor Andy Whitfield inaugurated the series for its fruition back in 2010 with its first season subtitled Blood And Sand prior to his passing a year later, with actor Dustin Clare taking the mantle in the role of […]

Asian-Australian Independent Action Thriller ECHO 8 Lands Two Back-To-Back Sequels Shooting In 2025

Lee B. Golden III

Actress and filmmaker Maria Tran and her good folks at Phoenix Eye are currently tracking the festivals in 2023 with their debut feature, Echo 8. The new psych action thriller, about an assassin who finds herself at an impasse with her organization when she’s assigned her latest target, has already lined up several official nominations and awards including and not limited to Tokyo and Singapore, while the company is now priming a continuation of the story in two back-to-back sequels, Echo 8: Beyond and Echo 8: Five By Five. Reviews are also making the rounds in addition to mine which you can take a gander at here. For the sequels, Tran is reteaming with Echo 8 screenwriter Elizabeth H. Vu to outline the next two chapters. Plot and further casting details remain pending, while Tran and the producers rev up a script reading table event for this Fall, before announcing […]

THE TERMINAL LIST: Amazon Greenlights Season Two And Prequel Spin-Off With Series Regulars

Lee B. Golden III

Folks who took a liking to season one of The Terminal List will be in good company going forward as Amazon revs up season two of the hit series, according to the trades on Wednesday. With series main Chris Pratt back on board, the company is also moving forward with a prequel to expand on the character played by Pratt’s season one co-star, Taylor Kitsch. The Terminal List was created by David DiGilio and based on a series of novels from author and former U.S. SEAL, Jack Carr. Season one saw Pratt in the role of Lt. Commander and widower James Reece who, faced with deadly tragedy and conspiracy, and a brain tumor diagnosis connected to a sinister pharmaceutical company, becomes a one man army waging war on dark forces that have conspired against him. No details are available for season two, while it is known that Kitsch’s reprisal as […]

Gunn, DC Studios Announces New TV And Film Slate, DC Elseworld Plans And More

Lee B. Golden III

New DCU co-shepherd James Gunn took to social media on Tuesday to finally announce “Gods And Monsters”, detailing just part of the eight-to-ten-year plan that he and Peter Safran have in store to streamline its properties between film, television, and gaming. As Gunn notes, the plan will leapfrog off of Shazam: Gods And Monsters, followed by The Flash which will reset the DCU, as well as the impending releases of Blue Beetle and Aquaman 2. All other works such as sequels to The Batman and Joker will continue onward into “DC Elseworld” territory, leaving a total of ten projects to help reboot the current vision of the DCU. The list includes a split of five titles in a live-action series format, and five feature film projects – the first of which will be Superman Legacy, which Gunn is penning ahead of a July 11, 2025 release. The announcement comes following […]

Christmas Comes Early With The Announcement Of A VIOLENT NIGHT Sequel

Lee B. Golden III

The creative team behind one of last year’s biggest hits is coming back for more with The Wrap’s Drew Taylor reporting limited details confirming a sequel to Tommy Wirkola’s Violent Night. The report defers to quotes from Wirkola who verified the return of lead actor David Harbour in the role of a kick-ass Norse mythology-based Santa Claus who in the first film descends with a vengeance on a gang of home invaders led by John Leguizamo. Wirkola on the production status so far: “We have time to really crack the script and figure out the story,” Wirkola said. “And we have some ideas, me and Pat and Josh and the producers, we’ve been talking about where we want to take it and what we want to see.” That would be Pat Casey and Josh Miller who Wirkola is referring to as the writing duo will also be charged with the […]

HUNTER’S RUN: ‘Game Of Thrones’ Author’s Sci-Fi Novel To Get Feature Film Treatment By ‘Kodachrome’ Director

Lee B. Golden III

Kodachrome helmer Mark Raso will direct Hunter’s Run, an adaptation of the 2007 sci-fi novel. The news came via press release this week announcing the acquisition of the rights by Exile Content Studio on Wednesday. Hunter’s Run was written by New York Times bestselling author and Game of Thrones creator, George R.R. Martin, along with award-winning co-authors Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham. Raso is directing from a script co-written with his brother Joseph (Awake). The duo will also executive produce the film alongside Martin and Vince Gerardis, who produced Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. Hunter’s Run is noted as the only of Martin’s works built around a Latino main character. The book follows Ramón Espejo, a day laborer on a distant planet who flees poverty in search of a better life, only to find himself on the run for the murder of an interplanetary diplomat. Fleeing into […]

TRON: ARES, Long-Awaited Third Installment Of The Disney Saga Gets A Director And Summer Start Date

Lee B. Golden III

It was back in 2017 when actor Jared Leto was eyed for a role in a possible start of development for a third installment of the Tron franchise at Disney. That’s not to say that developments of a new chapter haven’t been without their share of hurdles after more than seven years, and now, word over at Deadline has it that a new film with Leto starring and producing will move forward this August in Vancouver. As Mike Fleming Jr. writes, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales helmer Joachim Rønning will direct Tron: Ares from a script by It Runs In The Family scribe Jesse Wigutow. Plot details are unknown but the film is described as a sequel to Top Gun: Maverick and Oblivion helmer Joseph Kosinski’s 2010 installment Tron: Legacy. That film follows Steven Lisberger’s inaugural 1982 sci-fi, Tron, featuring Jeff […]

Revenge Thriller LES ORPHELINS Sets ‘007’ And ‘Fast’ Franchise Stunt Coordinator’s Feature Directorial Debut From Gaumont

Lee B. Golden III

Industry stunt multihyphenate Olivier Schneider is on deck to direct the new crime thriller, Les Orphelins. Casting details remain pending on the film which was recently announced in French entertainment magazine, Écran Total. The film centers on two people who’ve come up on opposite sides of the law since their younger days at the orphanage. When they discover the murder of a childhood friend whose daughter sets out to avenge her, the two must put their differences aside in their quest for justice at any cost. Schneider is penning the script for the Inoxy Films production along with Nicolas Perfaillit (A Prophet, Soux X) and Alban Lenoir. Gaumont is handling international sales and will distribute the pic locally. Schneider is best known for his prolific stunt career dating back to 1996. Some of his recent credits as stunt coordinator and fight choreographer include Liam Nesson actioners Taken (2009) and Unknown […]

DON’T MOVE: Hammerstone, Raimi Team Up For New Horror Thriller Now In Pre-Production

Lee B. Golden III

Casting is currently underway for Don’t Move, the new horror thriller from directing duo Adam Schindler and Brian Netto. The film reteams Schindler with, T.J. Cimfel and David White who wrote Schindler’s 2016 pic, Intruders, starring Rory Culkin. The new movie follows a grieving woman who must run, fight, and hide before her body completely shuts down, after being injected with a paralytic agent by a seasoned killer. Sam Raimi, who directed episodes of the 2020 anthology series, “50 States Of Fright” as did Schindler and Netto, is producing Don’t Move out of his Raimi Productions banner alongside Zainab Azizi, and Hammerstone Studios’ Alex Lebovici. Capstone Studios’ Christian Mercuri is exec producing next to Netto and Schindler, along with David Haring, Marc Manus, and Petr Jákl. Hammerstone and Capstone Global are co-financing with the latter handling worldwide rights. Don’t Move also marks the latest collaboration between Hammerstone, Raimi, and Capstone […]

DEATH STRANDING: Kojima, Hammerhouse Developing Feature Film Adaptation Of Hit Game

Lee B. Golden III

Gaming auteur Hideo Kojima’s Kojima Productions is partnering with Barbarian executive producer Alex Lebovici’s Hammerstone Studios to develop and produce the highly anticipated film adaptation of the wildly popular and critically acclaimed hit videogame franchise Death Stranding. The news comes hot on the heels of announcing the tentatively-titled “Death Stranding 2” at The Game Awards. The plot is being kept under wraps but will introduce new elements and characters within the Death Stranding universe. It is on the fast track with development underway. The film marks a first for Kojima Productions whose Kojima will produce alongside Lebovici under his Hammerstone Studios banner, which is also fully financing. Kojima Productions US and Allan Ungar will executive produce. “I couldn’t be more excited about this new partnership with Hammerstone Studios,” said Kojima. “This is a pivotal moment for the franchise and I’m really looking forward to collaborating with them in bringing DEATH […]