Focus News 24th-30th Jan
The biggest movie news headlines of the week.
This week's movie news was fairly limited. But what the week did bring was an array of trailers. The week started with a trailer for Godzilla vs. Kong which gave audiences a glimpse into the future we may still get in cinemas. This film needs to be on the biggest screen possible, and hopefully that's how we get to view it. What followed was more and more hope for films: A first glimpse at Benedict Cumberbatch in The Courier, a full trailer for the upcoming Disney film Raya and the Last Dragon and a brand new trailer for Crisis starring Gary Oldman, Evangeline Lilly and Armie Hammer.
All of these trailers do confirm that there will be a varying degree of content for audiences to consume; when cinemas reopen to the public again, people better have their wallets ready!
Ken takes on the BoJo
Legendary actor and director Kenneth Branagh is set to take on the current Prime Minister of the U.K Boris Johnson. This will be in the form of a new Television mini-series called This Sceptered Isle and will detail the government's handling of the Coronavirus outbreak and Johnson's time as prime minister.
The show has been commissioned by Sky and is expected to premier in Autumn 2022. But is this too soon? The former mayor of London is still the PM, a show about his time in charge may be too current and difficult to watch when people are searching to move on from the pandemic.
Misha Green: Tomb Raider
The most recent Tomb Raider film starring Alicia Vikander in the leading role was received with mixed feelings. Some people loving a more modern take on the role and others missing the nostalgia of the original games and 00's films starring Angelina Jolie.
It's been known for a while now that a sequel to the 2018 adaptation was in the works, but this week the project took a step closer to production as director of hit show Lovecraft Country, Misha Green was announced as the director for the film. An exciting, up and coming director could be just what Lara Croft needs to receive commercial and critical success.
Surprise, surprise...some more date changes
Although every week brings new trailers and project announcements, it also brings inevitable pushbacks. Last week saw many of Universal and Sony's upcoming projects moved to later in the year, but this week sees even more much anticipated films being pushed back.
The first is prequel to the Kingsman films The King's Man, which has been moved to 21st August later this year. Fans will have to wait even longer for the sequel to the 2018 film A Quiet Place as that has also been moved, to a the 17th of September. But the big project movement this week comes in the form of an Untitled Elvis Presley project starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. The film was set for an original release date in 2021 but now the project has been given a Summer 2022 date. As a huge Presley fan this is one I'm apprehensive about, but the sooner it releases the better, to put my slight anxiety to rest.
Noah on Netflix
Outstanding auteur Noah Baumbach has signed a new deal with Netflix, in which he will create projects exclusively with the streaming sight for the foreseeable future. His latest two films The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story were released on Netflix. So this seems like a bold yet likely move for the director.
Baumbach is currently working on his next film White Noise, which will be the third in his filmography to be a a Netflix original. The film is an adaptation of Don DeLillo's seminal novel, and it will begin shooting later this year. Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, both having worked with Baumbach before have already been cast in the upcoming film. Will this be the Oscar win that the director has been close to receiving? Only time will tell.
Baby Driver 2
What? You want more new director project news? Well here it is, in the form of Edgar Wright and a sequel to the excellent Baby Driver.
In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, Wright said: "I can say the current title is not Baby Driver 2. It's written, and we'll see this time next year whether we're actually in production."
There is no news yet on who is set to return for the sequel. Assumably it will follow the travels of Ansel Elgort's Baby and Lily James' Debra, but what that will entail isn't known. Maybe the story will be something completely different. The fact that the title will not be Baby Driver 2 is good news, and possibly suggests that this will be a very different story. It will be the first sequel that Wright has been at the helm of, and it's an exciting prospect that we'll be given the chance to spend more time in this world.
Biggest films released this week
The Dig | OUT NOW | Netflix
Malcolm & Marie | 5th February | Netflix
Bliss | 5th February | Amazon Prime