News Of The Week: Donnie Yen & Bill Skarsgård Join Cast Of 'John Wick 4'

Hollywood was on temporary pause but productions are gearing back up, release dates continue to be tweaked in preparation for theaters reopening, and things are slowly starting to return to normal – or at least, our temporary new normal. Movie news is once again starting to flow, with us bringing you a few hand-picked stories we think you’ll like.

Let’s hop to it.

Donnie Yen & Bill Skarsgård Set To Star In ‘John Wick 4’ Opposite Keanu Reeves

The cast of John Wick: Chapter 4 is just getting bigger and adding more impressive names to its roster. Less than a week ago came the news via Deadline that Donnie Yen, star of the Ip Man franchise and Rogue One, was on board. A few days later, Collider broke the news that It franchise and The Devil All The Time star Bill Skarsgård has also joined the cast. According to the report, Yen will play an old associate and friend of John Wick with the same assassin background and many of the same enemies as Wick. It’s not yet known who Skarsgård will be playing, but it’s entirely possible he could very well be playing one of those shared enemies of John Wick and Donnie Yen’s character. With the addition of these two names, the fourth John Wick movie gains two actors who are deeply respected by their in Hollywood and favorites of movie buffs the world around. Impossible for the sequel not to be elevated by the presence of Yen and Skarsgård.

Issa Rae To Voice Spider-Woman In ‘Into The Spider-Verse 2’

The Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel is heating up and an important piece of the voice cast puzzle was just added to the cast. THR reports that Insecure star Issa Rae is set to voice Jessica Drew, a.k.a. Spider-Woman. Rae joins the cast that already includes original voice cast members Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, a.k.a. Spider-Man and Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen-Stacy, a.k.a. Spider-Gwen. Jessica Drew has had a really interesting history in the comics as a former villain turned hero, and a master spy and intelligence operative. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are writing the script along with David Callaham, who penned Marvel’s upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Lord and Miller are also back as producers along with Sony’s Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinberg, and Alonzo Ruvalcaba co-producing. Peter Ramsey, one of the directors of the first movie, is on board as executive producer alongside Aditya Sood. The sequel is getting a new set of directors in Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson, with Dos Santos and Powers previously having directed Pixar hit Soul. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 is set to hit theaters on October 7, 2022.

‘Cruella’ Sequel Already In The Works At Disney

It’s been out for less than two weeks, but already, Disneys’ Cruella is enough of a hit that the studio has already greenlit a sequel. Worldwide, it’s grossed almost $90 million, which is well below its $200 million budget, but a respectable haul in our still Covid-upended times with capped theater capacities. However, it also hit Disney+ Premier Access on the same day. Whatever Disney saw in the numbers, it was apparently enough to not only push go on the sequel, but also to bring back the same team of director Craig Gillespie and writer Tony McNamara. Of course, star Emma Stone is also certain to return. A Disney spokesperson released a statement with the news, saying

“We are very pleased with Cruella’s box office success, in conjunction with its strong Disney+ Premier Access performance to date. The film has been incredibly well received by audiences around the world, with a 97% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes in addition to A’s in every demographic from CinemaScore on opening weekend, ranking it among the most popular of our live-action reimaginings. We look forward to a long run as audiences continue to enjoy this fantastic film.”

‘The Matrix 4’ Adds Christina Ricci To The Cast

This flew well under the radar, but Warner Bros. has gone and quietly added Christina Ricci to the cast of The Matrix 4, which is rumored to be titled Matrix Resurrections. The news came courtesy of an updated press kit sent out by the studio; Ricci was a newcomer to the cast list. As with virtually every new character for Lana Wachowski’s upcoming movie, the details surrounding Ricci’s character are unknown at this time. However, she joins an absolutely stacked cast that already includes returning franchise stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie Ann-Moss as Trinity, Jada Pinkett-Smith as Niobe, Daniel Bernhardt as Agent Johnson, and Lambert Wilson as The Merovingian, along with franchise newcomers Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jonathan Groff, and Priyanka Chopra. While we still don’t know any details about the story or the characters yet, we do know its release date. It will be hitting theaters and HBO Max simultaneously on December 22.

Tenoch Huerta Reportedly Playing Namor the Sub-Mariner In ‘Black Panther 2’

Consider the source and then take this one with a grain of salt. Still, if true, this is exciting news: The Illuminerdi blog is reporting that Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta, who was cast in sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in an undisclosed role last November, is actually playing a character fans have been waiting to see for years on the big screen: Namor the Sub-Mariner. Namor has had an interesting history in Marvel comics as less a hero and an antihero and sometimes even crossing the line into villainy. Half Atlantean, half human mutant, Namor doesn’t have much use for humans and will do whatever it takes to protect his kingdom of Atlantis. He and T’challa, a.k.a. Black Panther, have butted heads over the years. It’s been rumored that Wakanda would go to war against a rival nation in the sequel; now, it appears that might be Atlantis. There’s no love lost between Namor and most of the rest of the Marvel Comics universe; even when he teams up as allies with another superhero, it’s a certainty that they debate punching him at least once. With his resume of playing villains and bad guys, Huerta would be spot-on casting for the prickly, combative, and arrogant Namor. Fingers crossed the rumor proves true.

Rob Zombie’s Next Movie Will Be…The Munsters

Director Rob Zombie has been relatively quiet for a while, but he’s returning to the director’s chair with a project that seems…well, unlike Rob Zombie. The director took to Instagram to confirm his next project will be…The Munsters.

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The caption read, “Attention Boils and Ghouls! The rumors are true! My next film project will be the one I’ve been chasing for 20 years! THE MUNSTERS! Stay tuned for exciting details as things progress!” Reportedly, Zombie’s wife and longtime creative partner, Sheri Moon Zombie, will be playing Lily Munster and other longtime collaborator Jeff Daniel Phillips will be playing Herman Munster. The cast will also reportedly include Richard Brake, Dan Roebuck, Jorge Garcia, and Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson. There’s no word yet on whether or not Zombie’s take, which reportedly began filming in Budapest this past May, will be more in line with Zombie’s straight horror filmography, or if he’ll hew closer to the spooky comedy of the original 1960s series. There’s talk it may be an exclusive original release for the Peacock streaming platform, which is also where you can find episodes of the original series. Zombie’s Munsters remake doesn’t yet have a release date.

And now…