Some days, there are bits and bobs of news that don’t have quite enough meat on the bone for a full article. Still, they’re cool tidbits worth getting some love. We round them up for you in our Quick Hits column.
Gender-Flipped ‘She’s All That’ Remake ‘He’s All That’ Finds Its Male Co-Lead
A few weeks ago, it was announced that He’s All That, a gender-flipped remake of 90s teen rom-com She’s All That, was in the works with TikTok influencer Addison Rae set to star. Now the project has cast its co-lead: Cobra Kai star Tanner Buchanan will step into the role of awkward high school nerd previously played by Rachel Leigh Cook in the original 1999 movie, which itself was a retelling of George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion and classic Audrey Hepburn film My Fair Lady. The updated take will follow a popular influencer (Rae) as she attempts to turn the biggest outcast in school into the prom king. Mean Girls and Freaky Friday director Mark Waters is set to direct with R. Lee Fleming, who wrote the 1999 movie, will also be the writer on this one.
John Cena & Idris Elba Set To Star In ‘Heads Of State’
Sometimes, project pitches take forever to come together and sometimes, they’re sold immediately. Such is the case for Heads of State, which Amazon Studios snatched up fast before the movie could be pitched elsewhere. The movie, written by Harrison Query and produced by Peter Safran and John Rickard, was built as a vehicle to reteam The Suicide Squad stars Idris Elba and John Cena. Safran, a producer on that movie, noted the pair had great chemistry on that set and reportedly started looking for a new project for the duo before landing on this. Plot details are being kept under wraps but the movie is said to be a ’90s style action-thriller with an odd couple pairing in the vein of Air Force One meets Hobbs and Shaw. It’s unclear yet whether or not this will get a theatrical release or go straight to Prime Video, but Amazon is reportedly keen to move this one along relatively quickly.
First Trailer For Robert Zemeckis’ ‘The Witches’ Drops
One of the low-key more anticipated remakes of this year was the Robert Zemeckis-directed adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book The Witches. The story revolves around a young boy who lives with his grandmother (Octavia Spencer). They run into trouble when it’s revealed a group of witches, led by the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) have come to England with a devious plot to turn all the children into mice. The bummer is that the film, which was supposed to be released theatrically, is now heading to HBO Max on October 23rd. The good news is that it released its first trailer and it looks like a lot of fun.
We do love a good Anne Hathaway leaning into glam camp role.
Alicia Vikander Gives Update On ‘Tomb Raider’ Sequel
With everything up in the air, news of the Tomb Raider sequel has been scarce, the project quiet. But star Alicia Vikander recently offered an explanation and update in an interview with EW. According to Vikander, the sequel was set to start shooting this year but, as with so many things, it’s now uncertain when it will shoot, though the hope is to begin next year. “The plan was for us to start making one this year, of course due to the [pandemic] situation, that’s now very different,” the actress explained. “We’re still in discussions about it, so I hope we can probably get to it next year.” Ben Wheatley, who is replacing director Roar Uthag for the sequel, is set to direct Tomb Raider 2 off a script by Amy Jump. Details about the story are unknown at this time, though we know it will find Vikander’s Lara Croft as an older, slightly wiser adventurer after her origin story adventures in the first film.
Idris Elba Set To Star In Survival Thriller ‘Beast’
Speaking of Elba, he’s also about to be in a battle of man vs. nature. He’s signed on for Universal’s Beast in the lead role. Based on an idea by Jaime Primak-Sullivan, the script was written by Ryan Engle and it’s said to be tonally like The Shallows. However, instead of Blake Lively being stalked by a shark, the survival thriller will find Elba facing off against a lion. Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur will direct. He’ll also be producing alongside Will Packer and James Lopez with Primak-Sullivan serving as EP. Survival thrillers are right in Kormakur’s wheelhouse; he previously directed 2015’s Everest and 2018’s Adrift. As for Elba, he’s having a great year. He wrapped filming on James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, where he’ll play Bloodshot, is starring in drama Concrete Cowboy, which just debuted at TIFF, and is leading the cast of buzzy Western The Harder They Fall.
First Images For Chadwick Boseman’s Final Movie Released
For those of us mourning and missing Chadwick Boseman, he has one last gift in store for us with his final film, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, based on the award-winning play by August Wilson. The film, directed by George C. Wolfe, focuses on the events that unfold during a 1927 recording session in Chicago with blues legend Ma Rainey and her band. Viola Davis plays Rainey and Boseman plays Levee, an ambitious trumpet player. The supporting cast includes Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts with Denzel Washington and Todd Black producing. Netflix released the first images from the film, depicting Davis and Boseman.
He’s still so missed.
‘The Gentlemen’ TV Series Spinoff In The Works
Though Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen got mixed reviews with its release in 2019, it did well enough at the box office to get the greenlight for a spinoff series. The project comes courtesy of Miramax TV, bringing The Gentleman full circle: It was originally planned to be a TV series before becoming a feature. Ritchie will serve as writer and director for the series, as well as executive produce alongside Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies, producers on the movie. It’s unclear if any of the stars of the movie will appear in the TV series but, much like John Wick spinoff The Continental, you don’t necessarily need any of the main characters from the movie to make an interesting series if the world is interesting enough. Set in the criminal underground of London’s booming marijuana business, the movie followed American expat Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) as he fought to keep his criminal empire away from those who would take it from him.
‘Blade’ Finally Hits 4K Ultra HD With A Steelbook
Marvel’s Blade was arguably a gamechanger for comic book movies. A precursor to Marvel movies today and the first Marvel character movie to be led by a Black superhero, Blade was a phenomenal success that relaunched Wesley Snipes into superstardom and spawned two more movies. The franchise ended up grossing $415 million worldwide, the equivalent of $571 million today – not bad considering their combined budget at the time of making them was only $165 million. Now, the original Blade is getting the respect it deserves and is finally being released in 4K Ultra HD / Digital Blu-ray format. Along with the standard Blu-ray, there’s also a special SteelBook edition, both of which you can pre-order through Best Buy starting today. Granted, some of the CGI from the late 90s may not hold up in the 4K format, but still, what better way to add a classic to your collection and prep for the Marvel reboot with Mahershala Ali in the lead role?
Bette Midler Seemingly Confirms Her Involvement In ‘Hocus Pocus’ Sequel
Ever since Disney announced they’d be making a Hocus Pocus sequel, fans have been wondering if we’d see the return of the Sanderson sisters. Now, it appears star Bette Midler has confirmed her involvement in the sequel in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight. When asked if she was coming back for the sequel, Midler seemed to confirm she was, saying, “We’re just talking logistics,” before adding, “I can’t wait to fly!” It supports the reports from earlier this year that Midler and other co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy were all in talks to reprise their roles as the witch sisters, with those talks happening over Zoom rather than face-to-face due to the pandemic. The original Hocus Pocus didn’t fare that well at the box office when it came out in the summer of 1993 (seriously, who releases a Halloween movie in the summer?), but it has grown beloved and been quite successful since. Hopefully, logistics get sorted as it would be fantastic to see the three back together again.
Blumhouse’s ‘The Craft’ Remake Drops A First Trailer
90s witchy teen girl classic The Craft is getting a remake courtesy of Blumhouse, and it just got a first excellent trailer. As with the first movie, The Craft: Legacy follows four teenage girls with the powers of witchcraft who must bind one of their own when her powers prove too destructive and dangerous. Check out the trailer and see if you spot the nod to OG star Fairuza Balk:
It was originally supposed to be a theatrical release, but, as with many movies these days, it’s been moved to a VOD release thanks to Covid. Still, we’re very here for this one.
Could We Be Getting A ‘Hackers’ Sequel?
Speaking of ’90s cult classics, let’s talk quintessential cyberpunk flick Hackers. For two decades, fans have been wondering if it will ever get a sequel. But 25 years after Hackers introduced the world and Gen X to the timeless cool of Angelina Jolie, talks are really in the works for a sequel, according to director Ian Softley. Speaking to Collider, he revealed there’s some real interest in what Hackers 2 might look like:
“It was a much more simple landscape at the time, in 1995. It’s much more complex [now]. It’s much more dangerous that it would become outdated almost as soon as the film’s released. But there are certain cast members, certainly the guys who work with Chris Nolan, DNEG, they’re approached all the time about, ‘Why isn’t there [more Hackers]?’ And on the internet, on Twitter and social media, people are asking about that possibility. So, it’s being explored. But I don’t think any of us would want to do it unless we thought it was worthwhile to do. We wouldn’t do it as just a commercial exercise. But there has been interest, from kind of mainstream producers. So it’s something that’s being actively considered for the first time ever, really.”
Considering all we’ve learned about the effects of social media and foreign interference in our political and social realm, as well as the success of Mr. Robot, it seems more relevant than ever.
‘Borat’ Sequel Gets A Title, A Release Date & A Trailer
Sacha Baron Cohen quietly filmed and screened a Borat 2 movie during the pandemic, much to the surprise of many. It wasn’t certain how or when it would be released, but Amazon Studios has reportedly bought the worldwide rights to the film. While it normally would have gotten a theatrical release, thanks to COVID-19, it will be debuting on Prime Video in late October. Baron Cohen reportedly hurried to finish the sequel to the 2006 film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, in time for the presidential election and the decision was made to send it to VOD in order for people across the country to see it prior to November 3rd. While Baron Cohen will be doing what he does best and skewering the prejudices of people as Borat, considering the timing and the title of the second movie, it appears he’ll also be punching up at those in power. That title? Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Even better, Amazon released a trailer for the sequel.
Disney Sets Dates For Next D23 Expo
While virtually every fan convention and film festival being canceled this year and potentially into 2021, some companies are starting to look ahead to 2022. That includes Disney, which just set a date for its next official D23 Expo: September 9-11, 2022. The biannual conference normally would have been scheduled for next year (the last one was in August 2019), but Disney decided to play it safe and push it by an extra year, likely for two reasons: One, to be held well after vaccines are expected to be distributed to the public, and two, to ensure their own movie and TV production schedule is back up and running. Disney’s other big conference, Star Wars Celebration, was previously announced for August 18-21, 2022, a few weeks before D23. This D23 Expo is expected to be particularly special, with Disney announcing their plans for their celebration of the company’s 100th anniversary in 2023.
