Monthly Archives: February 2016
Charlize Theron Sought to Play Fast and Furious 8 Villain
Fast 8 may have found its next villain in Imperator Furiosa.
Deadline reports that Fast 8 director F. Gary Gray and screenwriter Chris Morgan are gunning for a female villain in the next Fast and Furious movie, and are particularly interested in Theron after her turn in Mad Max: Fury Road.
The publication does note, however, that no offer has been made to Theron, and as it's not finished, the actress hasn't seen a script yet.
Fast 8 will land in theaters April 14, 2017, marking the first part of a new three-film storyline.
Deadpool 2 Already Greenlit
Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are preparing a script for Deadpool 2, which has reportedly already been greenlit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Deadpool director Tim Miller is apparently not attached to the follow-up at this stage but The Hollywood Reporter claims Fox is determined to keep the creative team of Miller, Reese, and Wernick together.
Last week Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds confirmed to IGN that, while he never wants to play another comic book character again, he remains keen to play Deadpool for the rest of his life.
Disney Reports Historic Earnings Thanks to Star Wars
Disney reported $2.9 billion USD in earnings for the quarter, a figure driven by the success of its Star Wars brand.
According to Disney's earnings release, the $2.9 billion figure represents the company's most profitable earnings quarter in its history.
Box office receipts for The Force Awakens were only one part of the Star Wars-related earnings, with "merchandise licensing and publishing" also seeing an increase as a direct result of Star Wars.
Disney CEO Robert Iger called the success of Star Wars "phenomenal."
"We’re very pleased with our results," Iger said, adding the quarter helped "continue to validate" Disney's strategy of investing in franchises "to drive long-term growth across the entire company." In October 2012, the Walt Disney Company bought Lucasfilm from George Lucas for $4 billion.
Amy Schumer to Play Serious in PTSD Drama
Amy Schumer is turning serious for the upcoming drama Thank You for Your Service.
The Wrap reports that the comedienne will join Miles Teller in the film, which focuses on a group of US soldiers who struggle to adjust to normal life after a term of service in Iraq. American Sniper screenwriter Jason Hall will make his directorial debut here, and Haley Bennett, Beulah Koale, Joe Cole, Scott Haze, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Brad Beyer, Omar Dorsey and Jayson Warner Smith will co-star.
Although there's no word on who Schumer will play in the film, she will reportedly not play a soldier, unlike Teller, Koale and Cole.
Rocket League Xbox One Release Date Revealed
Rocket League will be available on Xbox One on Wednesday, February 17, developer Psyonix has confirmed in a new post on Xbox Wire.
“Rocket League has been a long time coming to Xbox One, and the team here at Psyonix is incredibly proud to be bringing it to you thanks to our development partners at Panic Button,” said Psyonix VP Jeremy Dunham. “With their help and expertise, we were able to bring Rocket League to XB1 with a high level of performance and fidelity.”
Dunham reiterated that the three previously-released content packs – Supersonic Fury, Revenge of the Battle-Cars, and Chaos Run – will be bundled with the game on launch. The Xbox One version will also include two unique vehicles inspired by Halo’s iconic Warthog and the Gears of War ‘Armadillo’ APC.
Mad Catz Layoffs Announced During Financial Results
Hardware and peripheral maker Mad Catz announced it approved a restructuring plan February 5, one that will result in job layoffs company-wide.
In its quarterly earnings call with investors today, CEO Karen McGinnis said Mad Catz is undertaking a "reduction in 37%" of the company's total work force.
The press release accompanying the investor call cited Rock Band sell-through "lower than originally forecast," something that led to high inventory costs and "lower margins due to increased promotional activity with retailers."
On February 8, several high-level Mad Catz executives resigned from their positions at the company. McGinnis was appointed president and CEO in place of departing CEO Darren Richardson.
Betty and Jughead Cast for Riverdale TV Series
Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones have been cast in the upcoming Riverdale show.
Deadline reports Lili Reinhart (Surviving Jack) will star as Betty and Cole Sprouse (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) will play Jughead in the live-action, modern-day take on the long-running Archie comic series.
Lili Reinhart as seen in Surviving Jack
DC Reveals Batman v Superman Variant Covers
In celebration of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's release next month, variants for ten of the most popular Batman and Superman comics will be released with custom artwork, and DC Comics has unveiled the first variant cover.
See Rafael Grampa's variant cover for Detective Comics #50, courtesy of DC Comics News.
Detective Comics #50 variant cover by Rafael Grampa.
The Flash Arriving in Theaters Early
Appropriately enough, The Flash is arriving a little earlier than expected.
Variety reports that an untitled DC Comics film, which is said to be a big-screen adaptation of The Flash, has been moved up a week. Warner Bros. recently changed its slated release from March 23, 2018 to March 16, 2018. That moves it out of direct competition with a Fox animated film and a Sony adaptation of Peter Rabbit.
All of this reshuffling is occurring around a recent move for Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, to take it out of competition with Star Wars: Episode VIII. Studios have been more apt to announce tentpole release dates years in advance, to stake their claim on a particular weekend or season.
Gigantic Developer Performs ‘Significant, Temporary’ Layoffs
Gigantic developer Motiga announced "significant, temporary studio layoffs" today, just months after another spate late last year.
The MOBA developer did not reveal the number of employees affected. However, in his announcement company CEO Chris Chung was frank about the impact that this will have on the development of their upcoming Xbox One and PC game.
Chung stated "that a decision of this magnitude will impact all departments across the studio," as well as those beta testers who will be left without support staff to address their concerns.
There does seem to be a ray of hope in the news, however. The CEO added that Motiga is "in active and promising discussions with a number of potential investors," though said negotiations would last "beyond the resources we have to maintain the staffing required to continue development on Gigantic."