Category: Blog

Slick, over the top, full of explosions. It’s exactly what you’d want from a Michael Bay movie.

Variety:

Sony Pictures Entertainment and The Walt Disney Studios jointly announced that Marvel Studios and its President Kevin Feige will produce the third film in the “Spider-Man: Homecoming” series, starring Tom Holland. The film is scheduled for release on July 16, 2021. As part of the arrangement, Spider-Man will also appear in a future Marvel Studios film. Amy Pascal will also produce through Pascal Pictures, as she has on the first two Holland-led films.

No word on the financial side of this, but I had a hunch that the earlier back and forth was about leverage at the bargaining table…for both sides.

On Wednesday night, word broke via The Hollywood Reporter that Lucasfilm was officially going to be working with Marvel Studios maestro Kevin Feige to produce a future Star Wars film.

It was major news to the fanboy sect, myself included, but I think there has been some unnecessary handwringing and concern about what this means.

In turn, some quick thoughts about this all:

• Kevin Feige isn’t (at this time) replacing Kathleen Kennedy. This is a one-off movie, at least for now. Kennedy is still overseeing the majority of other projects from Lucasfilm, including the multiple Star Wars series coming to Disney+, the film series coming from Game of Thrones creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, and the film series coming from Rian Johnson. And that doesn’t even include the reboot of Indiana Jones.
• I’m not sure what this means for Michelle Rejwan. The name may not ring a bell, but she was hired earlier this year by Lucasfilm as the “senior vice president of live action development and production”. I kinda figured the ex-Bad Robot member was going to become the Feige for Lucas film. Instead now they just have, well, Kevin Feige.
• I don’t know that this is a great time for Feige to pursue other projects. The next phase of Marvel Studios films is a rather risky one, filled with lesser-known properties like The Eternals and Shang-Chi. I hope he can multitask.
• Feige may be delivering a more steady hand for Lucasfilm. With Kennedy at lead, for good reasons or not, we had the Josh Trank Boba Fett film get canned, Lord and Miller get removed from Solo, and Colin Trevorrow pulled from Episode IX. Feige has had far less issues over far more films. A good sign for the future?
• Remember: Feige isn’t the director. He’s just a guiding voice, designed to sand down rough edges. And based off of his recent choices for Marvel Studios directors, I think this should really be a great sign for the fans who have been asking for a female or PoC director on the Star Wars films.
  

All I know is this: the potential is strong. The concept is exciting. But nothing matters until we’re in that theatre and the film rolls. Best of luck, gang. You’re gonna need it.

Collider:

Colin Trevorrow has found a way to bring back the original cast of Jurassic Park, as the director announced that Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum are set to reprise their iconic roles in Jurassic World 3.

Trevorrow revealed the exciting news at a Collider-hosted screening of Jurassic World at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood on Tuesday night. And not only will Dern, Neill and Goldblum all be back, but they’ll all have sizable roles in the sequel. While Goldblum appeared in a small role in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Dern only returned to the franchise for a brief cameo in Jurassic Park III. Dern’s popularity as an actress has soared in the interim, and audiences will surely be tickled by the return of Dr. Ellie Sattler.

HELL YEAH

Finally, further movement on the Matt Reeves-directed, Robert Pattinson-starring Dark Knight flick, The Batman.

Deadline says that Jonah Hill is in talks to play a villain. Per Collider, that villain would be The Riddler.

As for Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright, per The Hollywood Reporter, he’s rumored to be the Commissioner Gordon to Pattinson’s new Batman. As for Wright, he certainly isn’t underplaying the rumors.

I think these are stellar picks for an already dope sounding, new version of the Batman saga we know and love.