Jack Huston to star in The Crow

The Crow reboot has found the replacement for Eric Draven after Luke Evans left the project a few weeks back. Boardwalk Empire star Jack Huston will star in the reboot in Evans' place. The studio expressed interest in Huston a couple weeks ago so it seems like they got their wish.
Huston is a bit of Hollywood royalty despite not being a household name. He is the nephew of Anjelica Huston and Danny Huston. In addition to Boardwalk Empire he's been seen in American Hustle and Kill Your Darlings where he played Jack Kerouac. He's currently filming Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and will star in the new adaptation of Ben-Hur. 

This reboot has run into trouble since it was announced, so the fact that it's finally happening is just scary. It shouldn't even be happening.

Josh Gad joins Beauty and the Beast

We've heard Josh Gad already portray a ridiculously annoying snowman in Disney's Frozen and it seems like the studio isn't finished with him yet. In addition to being confirmed to return for Frozen 2, he just joined the cast of the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. He will play Gaston's devious sidekick, Le Fou.

He joins existing cast members Emma Watson (Belle), Dan Stevens (Prince Adam/The Beast), and Luke Evans (Gaston). Gad rose to popularity after landing a lead role in the original Broadway run of The Book of Mormon and has since been seen in The Wedding Ringer, Frozen, and is currently co-starring with Billy Crystal on FX's The Comedians.

Fantastic Four 2 delayed one week in 2017

After confirmation that Star Wars: Episode VIII will be hitting on May 26, 2017, 20th Century Fox has decided to shift the sequel to this year's Fantastic Four reboot by one week. Fantastic Four 2 was originally set to hit theaters on June 2, 2017 but the studio wants more of a break between the two films and it will now be released on June 9th.

As it currently stands, Fantastic Four 2 has June 9th to itself but I highly doubt that will hold. Not to mention we haven't seen Fantastic Four yet and there is no telling how it's going to be received. If it sucks and people hate it, Fox might scrap the sequel altogether. Only time will tell.

Fantastic Four stars Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Michael B. Jordan, and Toby Kebbell. It hits theaters on August 7th, 2015.

Star Wars spin-off receives an official title

Gareth Edwards' Star Wars spin-off now has a confirmed leading lady and an official title. Star Wars: Rogue One is currently set for a December 16, 2016 release and will star Oscar-nominee, Felicity Jones.

Many are speculating, including myself, that the Rogue One title isn't necessarily referring to a single character but to a ship. Originally the rumor was that the film would focus on a young Han Solo, but with Felicity Jones being cast in the lead role I don't think it will have much to do with Solo. The title also could be referencing the "Rogue Squadron" within the Rebel Alliance. Let's not forget Luke was the "Rogue Leader" for a while.

In addition to this news, Disney also announced today that Star Wars: Episode VIII will be released on May 26, 2017 with Rian Johnson directing. It appears the studio wants to get back to the May tradition Star Wars has always carried.

Disney confirms Frozen 2 is happening

Disney has been quiet about the continuation of Frozen and has even gone far enough to deny that a sequel was in development, but today the studio broke their silence and officially confirmed that a Frozen sequel is indeed happening.

The only information they gave aside from the fact that it is in development is that Josh Gad is returning as Olaf the talking (and annoying) snowman and that Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck are returning to direct. Apparently Disney decided to greenlight a sequel after having such a great time making the Frozen Fever short that is screening before the live-action adaptation of Cinderella.

This doesn't surprise me one bit. I personally hated Frozen and I was hoping the whole thing was going to die out, but I guess that's too much to ask for.

Fifty Shades stars demand higher salaries for sequels

Fifty Shades of Grey has managed to bring in over $500 million internationally since the Valentine's Day release and apparently the actors want to bring in some of the profits. The film's lead actors, Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, are reportedly demanding higher paychecks for the still unannounced sequels.

Dornan and Johnson were each paid $250,000 for Fifty Shades of Grey and were given a 3-film contract along with it. They are entitled to box office bonuses that they are no doubt rolling those right now, but the bottom line is Universal negotiated such low salaries to keep the film's budget low. Why? No one knew if this film was going to be successful. The international box office shows that viewers were curious enough to see it, but the 73% drop in the second week shows that people weren't into seeing it more than once.
It seems that the actors are trying to negotiate for deals similar to what actors in the Twilight and Hunger Games franchises have gotten. An example being how Jennifer Lawrence's salary from The Hunger Games to Catching Fire went from $500,000 to $10 million. Kristen Stewart had a similar jump as she went from making just $2 million for Twilight to over $12 million for the final Breaking Dawn film. She also became the highest paid star in Hollywood back in 2012 and currently has a net worth of $70 million. As it currently stands, Dornan's net worth is sitting around $3 million while Johnson is at $1 million.

You can't blame the actors for wanting a bigger slice of the pie, especially considering the amount of money this movie raked in. However, there are a lot of people out there that think Universal might seek a less expensive option for the sequel which would be replacing the actors. Personally, I don't think they'd replace the actors given the familiarity they have with this story and the fact that Dakota Johnson was fantastic but you never know. Weirder things have happened in Hollywood.
There currently is no start date for the Fifty Shades sequels and Universal has yet to officially announce them, but insiders are claiming that Universal is aiming for releases in 2016 and 2017.

Rumor: Tron 3 shooting this year in Vancouver

VanCity Buzz is reporting that Disney has set plans to finally move forward with the third installment of the Tron franchise. According to the article, production is set to begin in Vancouver this fall with Garrett Hedlund returning as Sam Flynn and Joseph Kosinski returning to direct.

We received the sequel, Tron: Legacy, back in 2010 and pretty much haven't heard anything regarding the third movie since the lackluster reception with both reviews and the box office numbers. Disney is no stranger to dragging their feet on future projects, but if this is true it's assumed that the reason is due to the success with Marvel and the assumed future success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens later this year.
Personally, I wasn't the biggest fan of Tron: Legacy but it wasn't by any means horrible. I enjoyed it for what it was but that was about it. The best part of the movie was the score by Daft Punk, so hopefully Disney could work their magic and get them to return for one more film. It just wouldn't be the same without that music. Also note that a release of a third film would accompany the opening of the new Shanghai Disneyland in China which, coincidentally (?), has a Tron-themed ride being built.

I'm not opposed to a third Tron. I'll go see it if it ever sees the light of day.

Tim Burton to direct Dumbo reboot

Disney still has faith in Tim Burton as it appears he will direct the upcoming live-action reboot of Dumbo. There is no timetable on when this project will be moving forward and if Burton is truly directing, it will have to wait a while. He is currently wrapping Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and the rumor is his next film will be Beetlejuice 2.
If you've somehow never seen Dumbo, it follows a baby circus elephant who is tormented by others for having large ears. His mother is locked up after trying to protect her baby and he is forced to perform dangerous stunts in the circus. After much humiliation, Dumbo discovers his large ears actually allow him to fly and he amazes the crowds with his newly discovered talent.

Personally, I always thought Dumbo was ridiculously sad so I never liked watching it. Even as a kid it would always upset me. But from what I can remember, I think Tim Burton is an interesting choice. It would be interesting to see a version similar to what he did with Frankenweenie, but if it's truly live-action I would expect something similar to Alice in Wonderland. In other words, an overly colorful CGI dump.

Wolverine 3 to start filming in 2016

The Wolverine director James Mangold went to Twitter to confirm that the sequel, still starring Hugh Jackman, will begin filming sometime in 2016. The only thing we really know about this project so far is that it's been in development at Fox pretty much since The Wolverine hit theaters in 2013 and it's set for a 2017 release.

Hugh Jackman has been Wolverine seven times since making his debut as the character in 2000. He previously stated that he wanted to wrap up his tenure as the character after this new Wolverine film, but he now says that he wants to play the character as long as X-Men movies are being made.
I'm pretty sure Jackman is on board to play Wolverine in X-Men: Apocalypse but I'm not positive. We're getting Apocalypse on May 23, 2016 while the release for the third Wolverine movie is set for March 3, 2017. 

Toy Story 4 not a continuation of the Toy Story trilogy

Pixar Studio president Jim Morris dropped a bomb on everyone regarding the announced fourth installment of the Toy Story franchise. Morris stated that rather than making it a continuation of the existing trilogy, Toy Story 4 is being pitched as a romantic comedy.

"The third movie ended in a beautiful way and completed a trilogy. I think this movie is not part of this trilogy. It is a separate story, which in turn I do not know if will be continued. Never begin a project with that in mind. It is not a continuation of the end of the story of Toy Story 3. Temporarily it is, but it will be a love story. It will be a romantic comedy. It will not put much focus on the interaction between the characters and children. I think it will be a very good movie."

So far all we really know about this Toy Story 4 project is it's aimed for release in 2017. In a way, I understand them not wanting to continue the story because Toy Story 3 was truly a beautiful ending. It wrapped up Andy very nicely and it showed how these toys really were a family no matter what happens. But with that said, I don't understand why they have to make another full movie. They've been successful with the short films and TV specials so I would continue on with that. But that's why I don't work at Pixar.

Can you complete the ultimate Marvel marathon?

AMC Theaters and Regal Entertainment are giving moviegoers in select cities the ultimate Marvel Cinematic Universe experience with the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Select theaters will be screening an 11-movie Marvel marathon starting on April 29th. Yes, this marathon begins with Iron Man and ends with Age of Ultron. There is no word on if those who complete the marathon will get special perks or prizes, but those who choose to complete it better expect to bring blankets and some coffee... and prepare to fork out a hefty price to see all 11 films.

The schedule looks like this:

6:00pm - Iron Man
8:25pm - The Incredible Hulk
10:35pm - Iron Man 2
1:00am - Thor
3:10am - Captain America: The First Avenger
5:30am - The Avengers
8:48am - Iron Man 3
11:15am - Thor: The Dark World
1:45pm - Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4:20pm - Guardians of the Galaxy
7:00pm - Avengers: Age of Ultron


So far it looks like Regal is only showing the marathon in Houston, Ontario (CA), Atlanta, and King of Prussia (PA). AMC doesn't give the locations, but I'm sure they will surface before too long.
Personally, I wouldn't do this but I can see why people would. The idea of staying awake that long in a movie theater just isn't happening.

Poltergeist shifts release date

Not much to talk about here, but the reboot of Poltergeist has moved dates for release and will now hit two months earlier than originally expected. We will now get it on May 22nd instead of July 24th.

Also moved with Poltergeist was the upcoming Fox comedy, Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy. That will now hit theaters on June 5th instead of May 22nd.

Taking the old Poltergeist release of July 24th is Paper Towns which was originally supposed to be released on June 5th.

Dan Stevens joins Beauty and the Beast

Downton Abbey star, Dan Stevens, is reportedly joining the cast of Disney's upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. Stevens has been cast as The Beast (aka, Prince Adam) while Dracula Untold star Luke Evans has been cast as Gaston. Stevens and Evans join the previously solo cast member, Emma Watson.

So far this cast is all British so I would expect that trend to follow with future characters that will be cast. Twilight director Bill Condon is on board to direct with the film being produced by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman.
Beauty and the Beast is joining a list of animated classics being adapted into live-action movies. Kenneth Branagh's version of Cinderella hits this month while we've already gotten an adaptation for Maleficent along with the loosely based Disney musical, Into the Woods. 

Rumor: Lily Allen in talks for Fifty Shades sequels

More rumors surrounding the yet to be officially announced Fifty Shades sequels. The newest rumor to join the pack is that British musician, Lily Allen, is in talks to join the sequel(s) because she was seen with Fifty Shades of Grey director, Sam Taylor-Johnson, at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood for over an hour.

Now... there is no telling if this is even true, but if it is my guess would be that Allen will be a part of the soundtrack and not the film. Allen has only four film credits to her name and two of them are short films. Seeing how successful the soundtrack to the first film has become and how Universal has stated that creating a strong soundtrack relevant to the film was a priority I don't think they will let another installment be released without another great soundtrack.
However, on the odd chance that Allen is being sought after to act in the film it might be possible that she's on the radar to portray Christian's ex-submissive, Leila Williams. If that isn't it I would guess she will be part of the office staff at SIP where, no doubt, Anastasia will be hired at in the sequel.

Netflix sets premieres for OITNB and more

Netflix has ended the wait for many eager viewers regarding series premieres and returning seasons. Among the list included Orange is the New Black, Sense8, and Wet Hot American Summer.

OITNB will kick off its third season on Friday, June 12th. The show is coming off a couple award season wins and this season will be the first, so far, to not feature Jason Biggs.

Canadian sci-fi drama, Between, will premiere at some point in May. The show follows a pregnant teenager living in the wake of a disease that has killed everyone over the age of 21. It will run for 6 episodes that are each an hour long.

Sense8 is the newest offering from the Wachowski's and it will premiere on Friday, June 5th.

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp premieres Friday, July 17th.

Also getting premiere dates on the streaming service are Chris D'Elia: Incorrigible (April 17th), What Happened, Miss Simone? (June 26th), and Jen Kirkman: I'm Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine) will hit on May 22nd.