First Stills from JURASSIC WORLD Drop, Director Might be Up for Sequels and Williams Returns?

If you're looking forward to next summer's Jurassic World, which is currently filming in Hawaii, you'd be in luck to see three new stills for the upcoming sequel as well as some interesting news regarding director Colin Trevorrow and some upcoming inevitable sequels.

 

Empire spoke with Trevorrow:

“We definitely talked about [sequels] a lot,” the director/co-writer revealed. “We wanted to create something that would be a little bit less arbitrary and episodic, and something that could potentially arc into a series that would feel like a complete story.”

With those story arcs already in place, Trevorrow hinted at the characters likely to participate in them across further films. One of them is cast newbie and Untouchable star Omar Sy, who's soon to be seen as Bishop in X-Men: Days Of Future Past. “He’s essentially Chris Pratt’s best friend,” he said of the Sy character. “They work together and have some pretty cool action scenes together. I wanted to create a relationship there that could be memorable and potentially carry on to future films.”

But don't get too cozy with Pratt:

Before anyone points and shouts ‘Spoilersaurus!’, Trevorrow did say “could” rather than “will”. There’s still a chance, albeit a slender one, that Pratt’s ex-military man will end up on a pterodactyl’s water biscuit.

Trevorrow also confirmed to expect animatronic dinosaurs akin to the acclaimed visuals we saw in Spielberg's 1993 film, Jurassic Park. The film will also be moving to New Orleans after they're done in Hawaii to film. 

Also according to fan-site Jurassic World-Movie, fans should expect the legendary John Williams to return to score the film:

John Williams is in fact returning to do the score for Jurassic World, and is currently working on it according to my source and Jurassic Park Legacy.

Jurassic World, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Ty Simpkins, Irrfan Kahn, and Vincent D'Onfrio stars principal photography this month, and will release June 12 2014 in theaters and IMAX.

Third HOBBIT Film Gets New Title; Probably Gets Split Into 2, Eh

 

The upcoming sequel to The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, which was set to be released as The Hobbit: There and Back Again will now be referred to as Peter Jackson Presents Lee Daniel's The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies: A Spike Lee Joint.

Variety reports:

Originally titled “There and Back Again,” Jackson wrote that the new name will be “The Battle of the Five Armies.” Rumors of a name change have been circulating for the past week, sparked when fan site TheOneRing.net reported that New Line had registered the name “The Hobbit: Into the Fire.”

The franchise’s studio Warner Bros. confirmed the change.

If I were you, I'd also expect an announcement soon that the film will be split into another part for maximum IMAX 3D money.

Jackson took to Facebook to address the change:

Inside Information...

Our journey to make The Hobbit Trilogy has been in some ways like Bilbo's own, with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we've gone along. “There and Back Again” felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo’s arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived “there” in the "Desolation of Smaug".

When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate.

And so: "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" it is.

As Professor Tolkien intended, “There and Back Again” encompasses Bilbo’s entire adventure, so don’t be surprised if you see it used on a future box-set of all three movies.

Before then however, we have a film to finish, and much to share with you. It’s been a nice quiet time for us—Jabez and I happily editing away in a dark cave in Wellington—but those halcyon days are quickly coming to an end. It will soon be time to step into the light. Expect to see and hear much about The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in the coming months.

And there’s also The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Cut, which we’re in the process of finishing, with over 25 mins of new scenes, all scored with original music composed by Howard Shore.

It’ll be a fun year!

Uhg. 

Anyway, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies cash-grabs into theaters this December.

New Poster for EDGE OF TOMORROW Promises Mecha Suits and Swords

The Official Facebook Page for the upcoming Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt starring sci-fi thrilled, Edge of Tomorrow debut an exclusive new poster earlier today, which shows Cruise and Blunt staring into the face of annihilation on a war-torn battlefield.

The epic action of "Edge of Tomorrow" unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world.
Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again...and again.

But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

Edge of Tomorrow blasts into theaters June 6. 

FRIDAY THE 13th Re-Reboot Coming from V/H/S Director

 

Jason will march through Camp Crystal Lake on a killing rampage again soon, as Platinum Dunes (Michael Bay's production company) are eying David Bruckner (Amateur Night from V/H/S) to bring the classic 1980s slasher franchise to the big-screen again after their 2009 adaption.

The Wrap reports:

While plot details aren't necessarily under wraps — expect a bunch of good-looking teenagers to die in grisly ways — it's unclear what approach Bruckner plans to take with the reboot, or how it will incorporate the Jason Voorhees/Camp Crystal Lake mythology.

Friday the 13th classically tells of Jason Voohrees, a deformed child who was drowned and abused at a summer camp who comes back from the dead donning a hockey-mask, a machete, and a thirst for the blood of teenagers who have sex a lot.

A release date for the reboot has already been set for March 13, 2015.

It was previously rumored the film would be told through found-footage; but that has yet to be confirmed if it's still true. 

Final X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Trailer

 

The final trailer for this summer's X-Men: Days of Future Past is here from the film's Official Facebook Page

The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from "X-Men: First Class," in an epic battle that must change the past -- to save our future.

Cowboy Leo DiCaprio Will Fight Bears to Try and Win an Oscar in THE REVENANT

 

Leonardo DiCaprio will go through hell and high-water if it means getting his long sought-after statue of a golden naked man, including starring in a revenge movie that's a remake of an old Western.

Deadline has the skinny:

Leonardo DiCaprio has committed to star this September in The Revenant, a gritty thriller that Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will direct for New Regency, for fall 2015 release through Fox.Gonzalez Inarritu and Mark L. Smith co-wrote the script.

As for what the film's plot entails, it seems like it'll be a pretty gritty revenge story:

An adaptation of the Michael Punke novel The Revenant: A Novel Of Revenge, Inarritu Gonzalez’s next film will star DiCaprio as Hugh Glass, a 19th century fur trapper who gets mauled by a grizzly bear, and then is left for dead by cohorts who rob him. When he survives, he is as pissed as a bee-stung bear and sets out on a treacherous journey to exact revenge on those who betrayed him.

DiCaprio, just off of Scorcese's The Wolf of Wall Street seems like he'll be a good team with Inarritu who recently wrapped Birdman with Michael Keaton, and has brought Javier Bardem to an Oscar win in Biutiful as well as almost bringing Benicio Del Toro for a supporting win at the Oscars with 21 Grams and himself winning an Oscar for his 2006 film BABEL.

The Mexican born director seems to space and choose his projects carefully, and his upcoming Birdman releases in the fall.

Debut Trailer for Zach Braff's WISH I WAS HERE

Zach Braff (J.D. of Scrubs) re-teams with The Shins ("Simple Song" in the trailer) to bring us the first trailer for his Kickstarter-funded Wish I Was Here which stars himself, Donald Faison (Scrubs, SKYLINE), Ashley Greene (The Twilight Saga), Josh Gad (Love & Other Drugs, FROZEN), Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), Joey King (White House Down, The Conjuring), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory, The Normal Heart) and James Avery (Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire) in his final filmed role.

'Wish I Was Here' is the story of Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband, who at 35 is still trying to find his identity; a purpose for his life. He winds up trying to home school his two children when his father can no longer afford to pay for private education and the only available public school is on its last legs. Through teaching them about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn't find.

The film made it's debut at Sundance after fans of Braff raised over $3 million for the project, which is the actor's 2nd mainstream directorial project after Garden State in 2004.

Wish I Was Here will release July 25.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Film Ramping Up at Universal.

 

BattleStar Galactica has changed the science fiction landscape from the 1970s until the 2010s and Universal is hoping to have the same impact by gearing up the star-crossed saga for the big-screen treatment.

Variety got the exclusive:

Universal is ramping up a movie version of the sci-fi franchise “Battlestar Galactica,” aiming to develop the film as a complete reimagining of the story.

“Transcendence” writer Jack Paglen has signed on to write the screenplay. Paglen has also committed to Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” sequel for Fox that will start production this fall.

Original series creator Glen Larson will produce the “Battlestar Galactica” film.

The science fiction tale of a colony of humans engaged in a deep war with creatures of their own design, Cylons, on a quest for the fabled planet known as "Earth" will be a complete retelling of the story, as imagined in the 4-season epic that aired on Sci-Fi channel that dealed with intense philisophical as well as religious themes while telling a more human story at the heart of a galaxy spanning struggle of espionage and corruption.

In my opinion a big science fiction farnchise would only be icing on the cake for Universal, who will be sitting on Jurassic World's big money next summer, as well as Fast & Furious 7 which will continue their record-breaking racing/crime saga.

While Universal has failed once recently with a potential sci-fi franchise (Battleship) they took a risk and won big with Snow White and the Huntsman in the same summer. 

Are you excited for Battlestar Galactica? 

GAME OF THRONES' Kit Harrington Joins HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

 

Just yesterday, the Official Facebook Page of Dreamwork's How to Train Your Dragon 2 posted a photo welcoming Game of Thrones and POMPEII star Kit Harrington to the voice cast of their hotly anticipated animated sequel. 

 

Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) joins How to Train Your Dragon 2 as the voice of Eret! Just like Jon Snow, Eret has a lot to learn about a world of dragons and ice. The self-professed greatest Trapper of Dragons is in for the adventure of a lifetime!

How to Train Your Dragon 2 stars Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, Craig Ferguson, T.J. Miller, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse and hits theaters on June 13.

The first film, which made about $494 million for Dreamworks, released in 2010 to critical acclaim sitting at a certified fresh 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and went on to spawn an animated series at Nickelodeon.

The sequel is expected to set up crucial elements for the (already in development) final part of the trilogy.  

The thrilling second chapter of the epic “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy brings back the fantastical world of Hiccup and Toothless five years later. While Astrid, Snoutlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace.

Chiwetel Ejiofor Might Terrorize in BOND 24

 

Variety got the details on the upcoming James Bond film, including a rumored casting choice for the film's villain and some details on the classic Bond girls.

Sources tell Variety that Ejiofor is the top choice to play the villain in Sony and MGM’s next installment in the James Bond series. No offer has been made yet and scheduling would still have to be worked out but sources insist he is the front-runner for the job.

Obviously Ejiofor has the chops, fresh off his Oscar-nominated role in 12 Years a Slave and no stranger to playing a bad-guy such as his turn as "The Operative" in Joss Whedon's 2005 sci-fi adventure Serenity and his action-packed part in SALT as well as American Gangster and Four Brothers (he was a HUGE asshole in that one)

On to the Bond women, Variety notes:

 The plan is start production in the summer in order to meet the pic’s release date of Nov. 6, 2015. Casting has been heating up with the studio also on the lookout for  one Scandinavian and one British woman to play the new Bond girls.

Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris and Ben Wishaw are returning for the film, with John Logan (The Last Samurai, GLADIATOR, Skyfall) returning for script-duty.
While I can't stress enough how much I want Quantum to return and with a female bad-guy; it seems my dreams keep getting crushed.

What would YOU like to see in Bond 24?