News of the Week: Tom Cruise & Chris McQuarrie Planning 3 New Projects

Summer has charged into August, bringing the tail end of blockbuster movie season. Even though August is typically a slow month for Hollywood, that doesn’t mean we’re without exciting movie news and announcements. This week brings some huge news of exciting McQuarrie/Cruise projects, a few big release dates, some news on a long-awaited horror franchise reboot, and more.

As always, Atom Insider brings you a few hand-picked stories we think you’ll like. Ready? Let’s dive in.

‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ Release Date Set, Will Go Up Against ‘Avatar 3’

After the success of the first two Sonic the Hedgehog films, Paramount quickly hustled Sonic the Hedgehog 3 into production, with the third movie being announced even as the sequel was still in theaters. Things seem to be zipping along rather quickly, too, as the studio already has a release date set for Sonic the Hedgehog 3: December 20, 2024. Interestingly, that pits it against the huge title of Avatar 3. It’s a bold move, but clearly, Paramount has a lot of faith in its threequel, though the holiday break will certainly help expand the moviegoing timeframe and reduce competition. The story of Sonic 3 isn’t yet known, but the sequel set up Shadow the Hedgehog as the villain for the third movie, and we can expect Sonic to once again be joined by Tails the Flying Fox and Knuckles the Echidna. Shadow is a genetically-engineered dark copy of Sonic and arguably superior to him in every way, so it will be interesting to see how Sonic and his pals stop this new threat when it hits theaters in 2024.

Zazie Beetz In Talks To Return For ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’

Though the biggest name to be added to Joker: Folie à Deux‘s cast is Lady Gaga, there’s good news in the form of a returning cast member. Deadline reports that Zazie Beetz is likely to return in the role of Sophie Dumond in the sequel, though it’s unclear how large her role would be. In the first movie, Sophie was Arthur Fleck’s neighbor and a struggling single mom. Throughout Joker, Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur had delusions that they were in a romantic relationship; the reality was that her odd neighbor unnerved her. It’s not yet known what the story will be, but it’s all but certain Gaga will be playing Joker’s thankless girlfriend, Harley Quinn, with the two sharing an infamously toxic romance in the comics. It’s also been widely rumored that Joker: Folie à Deux is set to be a musical; with Gaga joining, this wouldn’t be at all surprising. Production on Joker: Folie à Deux is set to begin in December with the sequel planned to hit theaters on October 4, 2024.

Tom Cruise & Chris McQuarrie Are Planning Three Different Projects Together

With their enormous success working together on the Mission: Impossible franchise, actor Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie are apparently keen to keep collaborating, even when it’s not about Ethan Hunt. McQuarrie, who was also a producer on the monster hit Top Gun: Maverick, and Cruise reportedly have a trio of projects brewing, and they’re all completely different. Unsurprisingly, one is another action movie they’re hoping to turn into another franchise. More surprisingly, however, is that one of the projects they’re developing is reportedly a song-and-dance musical that they’re crafting as a vehicle for Cruise. The third project they’re working on will reportedly revolve around Les Grossman, the fast-talking, short-tempered studio exec Cruise played in Tropic Thunder. It’s not known if it’s being planned as a spinoff movie with Grossman as the lead role or if they merely wish to bring the character back in another capacity. Either way, those are all very intriguing projects. McQuarrie and Cruise have made onscreen magic every time they’ve teamed up so far, so it will be fascinating to see if these projects come to fruition.

Box Office Roundup: ‘Bullet Train’ Exceeds Expectations

Bullet Train was this past weekend’s big draw, and the Sony pic has happily exceeded projections. The Brad Pitt-led assassin action-comedy has pulled in $62.5 million globally in its debut, becoming the biggest overseas opener (that’s non-IP/franchise) since Tenet. Just as it’s doing in North America, Bullet Train is faring somewhat better with audiences than with critics, with audiences clearly happy with a good time instead of reinvention. The movie’s performance is great news for theaters, as it’s the last big studio tentpole of the summer, capping off a summer of broken records and milestones.

In other box office news, Jurassic World Dominion has become the second-highest grossing movie of the year worldwide, thanks to it being one of the few Hollywood films allowed to open in China. Currently, Dominion sits at almost $961 million. That’s second to 2022’s star performer, Top Gun: Maverick, which, even without China, has grossed a whopping $1.35 billion so far and is still climbing. Third on the list is Thor: Love and Thunder, which also has not opened in China, but has grossed $705 million and is still adding to that total.

‘Insidious 5’ Is A Go, Patrick Wilson To Make Directorial Debut

After quietly becoming the leading man of horror after starring in both the Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, Patrick Wilson is finally set to make his directorial debut. Screen Gems and Stage 6 Films are reportedly set to begin filming on Insidious 5, this time with leading man Wilson pulling double duty behind the camera. Also joining him are returning stars Rose Byrne and Ty Simpkins. Wilson will also have some new faces to contend with, too, as Insidious 5 has added some newcomers to the cast: Sinclair Daniel, Peter Dager, and Hiam Abbass have all joined the cast.

Insidious 5 is set ten years after the end of Insidious 2, with Wilson’s Josh Lambert waving goodbye to his son Dalton (Simpkins), who heads off to the Ivy League university of his dreams. However, Dalton’s fresh start becomes a nightmare when the demons from his childhood return. Scott Teems penned the script based on a story by franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell. Insidious 5 is set for a big summer release, hitting theaters on July 7 of next year.

We May Be Getting That ‘Friday the 13th’ Reboot After All

Some good news on the horror front for fans of the genre: a Friday the 13th reboot, which has seemed impossible for years, may be happening after all. The rights to the franchise have been bogged down in a legal quagmire since 2009. The troubles stemmed from original screenwriter Victor Miller filing a lawsuit to regain the rights to his work from original director Sean S. Cunningham. However, while Miller won the suit and owns the rights to the 1980 screenplay, Cunningham retains the rights to the character of adult Jason Voorhees. Thus, the two had to work together if they wanted to produce anything with either of those two elements–clearly, that was not something either of them wanted. So for the past 13 (hah!) years, a Friday the 13th reboot was dead in the water.

However, things may be changing on that front. Producer Roy Lee, the founder of Vertigo Entertainment, has teased that there may be light on the horizon. In 2018, Lee teamed up with LeBron James, who showed interest in rebooting the franchise, but it never happened because of the ongoing legal battles. However, on the Bloody Disgusting podcast, Lee offered a tantalizing update on the Friday the 13th situation, saying, “That one is something that I would love to talk about. You may be hearing something by year’s end… on that front.” Clearly, some talks have been going on behind the scenes as Lee seems hopeful things will be resolved. Who knows? We may just be seeing a new Jason Voorhees hitting the screen by the end of next year.