Fox Still Hoping For Bryan Singer to Return for ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’

Fox Still Hoping For Bryan Singer to Return for ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’
Gregory Ellwood — HitFix

There’s been a lot of conjecture over whether Bryan Singer would continue to direct the next “X-Men” movie, “X-Men: Age of Apocalypse.”  Singer was behind the blockbuster “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” but two very public civil lawsuits were filed against him for different cases of sexual assault in April and May.  Singer had previously revealed he would helm “Apocalypse” last December, but many studios would have tried to figure out a way to have him step back into just a producing role while these legal matters worked themselves out.  Surprisingly, 20th Century Fox appears to have enough…

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Michael Bay Doesn’t Care About ‘Transformers’ Haters

Michael Bay Doesn’t Care About ‘Transformers’ Haters
Greg Gilman — The Wrap

When MTV asked the blockbuster director about “fanboys” who are critical of the franchise, he was very confident even those who “hate” it will go see the fourth installment, “Age of Extinction,” in theaters.

“They love to hate, and I don’t care; let them hate,” Bay said. “They’re still going to see the movie! I think it’s good to get a little tension. Very good.”

So good, in fact, that “Transformers 4” is expected to be the summer’s first $100 million domestic opener.

I hate myself for going to see this film later tonight. What penance should I do for this evil deed I am about to commit?…

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Disney Not Budging on ‘Star Wars VII’ Release Date Despite Injury?

Disney Not Budging on ‘Star Wars VII’ Release Date Despite Injury?
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

Latino Review is reporting (rather longwindedly) that producer Kathleen Kennedy and director J.J. Abrams are looking for a May 4, 2016 release date, but Disney honcho Bog Iger is still saying no. As you might recall, it was last fall when reports first surfaced that Kennedy and Abrams requested the longstanding traditional May release and were denied then, but we can only imagine that an injury to one of the major stars of the movie is putting more pressure on the director. The site also posits that the hire of Rian Johnson for “Star Wars: Episode VIII is some kind of proof that Abrams is…

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Ben Kingsley Joins Cast of Disney’s Live Action ‘The Jungle Book’

Ben Kingsley Joins Cast of Disney’s Live Action ‘The Jungle Book’
Jake Perlman — Entertainment Weekly

Oscar winner Ben Kingsley will provide the voice of panther Bagheera in Disney’s upcoming film adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. The movie, directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man), will be a combination of live-action and animation with a script by Justin Marks. Kingsley joins previously announced stars Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Scarlett Johansson (Her), and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave) as the voices of Shere Khan, Kaa, and Rakcha, respectively, for a scheduled Oct. 9, 2015, release.

This film is shaping up to have a pretty good cast. I’m cautiously…

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‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Featurette

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Featurette

This new promo for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy should finally get you interested in this film since no one was before… wait, what?

No really though, this is a little featurette kind of thing that makes my mouth water all the more. Humor, fun, comic book heroes, what more could we ask for?

‘Pacific Rim 2’ Set For 2017, Animated Series Coming

‘Pacific Rim 2’ Set For 2017, Animated Series Coming
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

Universal has now slated “Pacific Rim 2” to hit theatres on April 7, 2017. Yep three years from and four years after the first movie. There are no plot details yet, but a couple weeks back the director promised all new thrills. “I’m going for very new, very crazy ideas on the second one, which are very different from the first one—but you will get really great spectacle,” he said. Oh, that’s not all.

An animated series, set in the same world, will arrive on the small screen before the followup lands at the multiplex.

Yay for Pacific Rim 2, it should be good. The animated series however,…

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Frank Darabont To Direct ‘Snow White And The Huntsman 2,’ Kristen Stewart Might Not Return

Frank Darabont To Direct ‘Snow White And The Huntsman 2,’ Kristen Stewart Might Not Return
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

Update: THR reports that the spinoff is now titled “The Huntsman” and Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron will return….but not Kristen Stewart.

So, remember all that talk about a “Snow White And The Huntsman” sequel, well you better check yourself before you wreck yourself, because it looks like the gameplan is changing. Yes, Universal still wants to make a followup, but they’re changing course a bit while hiring a pretty top tier name to be the guiding light.

Deadline reports that Frank Darabont — previously shortlisted with Gavin O’Connor and Andy Muschietti —is now in talks to direct a…

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President Snow Has Peeta’s Support in Mockingjay Teaser

President Snow Has Peeta’s Support in Mockingjay Teaser

One of the films I’m quite excited for this year is Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Francis Lawrence did a fantastic job with Catching Fire and I can’t wait to see what he does with the next two films. James Newton Howard has also done fantastic work with the music and he’s back. The cast is back, they’re all back. This is part 1 and it’s due on November 21 in theaters, so naturally, we’re starting to see teasers. This is just the first of many. It’s actually an add from the Capitol and President Snow. I love this sort of viral marketing.

North Korea Declares Seth Rogen & James Franco’s ‘The Interview’ Is “Undisguised Terrorism”

North Korea Declares Seth Rogen & James Franco’s ‘The Interview’ Is “Undisguised Terrorism”
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

We’re in a weird moment with mainstream movies and presidential assassinations. “X-Men: Days Of Future Past” offered up its own scenario of the killing of President John F. Kennedy, and this fall, James Franco and Seth Rogenwill try and eliminate Kim Jong-Un in the comedy “The Interview.” Hilarious, right?  Well, not unless you’re the North Korean leader or part of his circle.

With the trailer now online, though probably not viewable by most people who actually live in North Korea, officials have come out hard against the movie. Speaking with The Telegraph, Kim Myong-chol, executive…

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New ‘Predator’ Film Not Reboot But Inventive Sequel

New ‘Predator’ Film Not Reboot But Inventive Sequel
Adam Chitwood — Collider

While the initial report said that Black’s new Predator film would be a reboot, Black tells us that he and Dekker see the project as definitely not a reboot, “As far as Fred and I are concerned anyway,” Black said, adding “Why start over, when you’ve all this rich mythology yet to mine?”  Black said he doesn’t like reboots generally, but can “really get behind inventive sequels”, noting that he likes “the idea of expanding and exploring the existing Predator mythology, rather than hitting the restart button.”

I really like this:

More often than not, a reboot is a lazy way of avoiding the…

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