Newsarama: September 9th

Newsarama: September 9th

Time for your weekly round up of the biggest happenings in the world of movies. Plenty of sequel news this week, as well as the sad passing of one of Hollywood's greats.

10 - Henry Cavill offers further insight into next year's Man of Steel.

Superman himself Henry Cavill has described director Zack Snyder's approach to Man of Steel which is due for release next year. Speaking at a convention, the British actor said "What I can say is that it's a modernisation of the character and a very realistic view of one, obviously, very fantastic individual. It's an unreal situation, but it's approached from a very practical viewpoint. We wanted to make the character easier to identify with."

Very realistic view? Sounds rather Batman Begins-ish. Just like Christian Bale before him, Cavill is aware of the huge amount of pressure on his super-shoulders, saying "It’s important to do the role justice. There are a lot of people relying on me to do this well. I gladly accept that responsibility, and it’s a great one to have because it’s a wonderful opportunity."

9 - Sequel to animated hit Gnomeo and Juliet announced.

2011 saw a huge success in Gnomeo and Juliet, an animated take on Shakespeare's classic love story. Now, Touchstone Pictures have announced a sequel by the name of Sherlock Gnomes.

No news on a release date yet, and it is also unclear as to whether the original cast will return to voice the garden gnomes once again, however Elton John is writing and performing the soundtrack. Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson has also signed on to direct.

8 - Jon Landau confirms only two Avatar sequels.

James Cameron made headlines this year when he claimed he would spend the next few years making Avatar 2, 3 and 4. "I'm in the Avatar business," he had said back in May. "Period. That's it. I'm making Avatar 2, Avatar 3, maybe Avatar 4." However, it now seems he's settling for 2 and 3, with producer Jon Landau confirming the next two films will shoot back to back.

"We are doing two back-to-back, but not a third," said Landau, before giving a brief update on how the next two sequels are coming along. "The scripts are pretty far along. We have a team of people already working on the film at Manhattan Beach Studios."

7 - Safe House given the greenlight for a sequel.

Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds made quite the thriller in 2012's Safe House, an action packed film about a rookie CIA agent with the unfortunate task of protecting and hiding a fugitive criminal. Now, Universal studios have given screenwriter David Guggenheim the greenlight to pen a sequel.

So far it is unclear as to whether Reynolds or Washington will return - of course given the film's ending, one of their characters could be rather difficult to work in to the script. That said, Universal are very keen to have both the actors on board.

6 - Director J.J Abrams gives Star Trek 2 an official title.

Following 2009's surprisingly well recieved Star Trek movie, the sequel is currently in production. The film is slated for a release date of May 17th 2013, and after much speculation it has been revealed that the title will be Star Trek Into Darkness.

Meanwhile, star Chris Pine who plays Captain Kirk has promised a "bigger, bolder" offering than the original movie, saying "The force that the Enterprise Crew are met with is much more frightening. It's relentlessly action-packed."

5 - The Dark Knight Rises Blu-Ray/DVD may include director's cut.

Christopher Nolan isn't usually one to include extra footage or deleted scenes with his releases, however rumours are abound from Warner Bros. that The Dark Knight Rises may include a director's cut of the film. An extra 30 minutes of footage could be added on to the already extensive 2 hour and 45 minute running time.

A source reportedly told Nuke the Fridge: "It's going to include Bane's origin plus a bit more screentime for Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson), which were omitted from the current theatrical cut of the movie.... We will be able to see how Bane learns to fight plus more scenes involving Ra's al Ghul," the site claims, before going on to categorize all of this as a rumour. There are also claims of more brutal fight scenes between Batman and Bane, as well as more screentime for Anne Hathaway's Catwoman however until these rumours are confirmed they should be taken with a pinch of salt for now.

4 - Marvel's Phase One box set delayed until Spring 2013. 

Comic book fans with far too much money to throw around might need to wait a little longer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled Blu-ray box set to arrive. As it turns out, the nifty case that houses the 6-film, 10-disc set (and the glowing tesseract) isn't just a prop made by the studio, but is actually a copyrighted case design crafted by a German luggage company Rimowa BhmbH. According to a recently filed lawsuit, Marvel allegedly didn't get proper permission to release a replica version.

As a result, the box set, which contains both Iron Man movies, Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers, has been delayed until at least Spring 2013. Disney released the following statement: "The Collection will come in a new briefcase and include even more than the content and features that were first advertised. We know that you are disappointed in this delay, and we are working hard to get your Collection to you as soon as possible. We will have an updated announcement for you in the coming weeks which will include actual timing and final details. Once again, we apologize for the delay and hope that when you do receive the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled Collection, you will enjoy it as much as Marvel enjoyed creating it."

3 - Daniel Craig will be James Bond at least twice more. 

If studio executives have their way, Daniel Craig will play James Bond a total of five times. The fansite MI6 claims that Craig has signed on for the next two Bond movies after this year's Skyfall. Craig has often suggested that he would like to explore the character as much as possible, and he clearly takes the role very seriously, saying "The Bond movies force you to care about what people think. And I’m involved in them on a very deep level. I have it in my mind all the time."

Meanwhile, Sony Pictures want to begin making 007 movies on a two-year cycle to combat the inconsistency of the last few releases, particularly Daniel Craig's offerings Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. This means that Bond 24, whatever its official title may be, could reach cinemas as early as 2014.

007: Skyfall is released on October 26th in the UK before its worldwide distribution in November.

2 - Jim Carrey officially cast as Colonel Stars in Kick Ass 2: Balls To The Wall

Kick Ass 2 is stocking up on its supervillains, as Jim Carrey has now officially signed up to play Colonel Stars in the comedy action sequel. Stars is the leader of "Justice Forever", an eccentric group of supervillains brought together by Red Mist.

Carrey will join returning cast members Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and, somehow, Nicolas Cage. Shooting began this week and the movie will be released in the UK on July 19th 2013.

1 - Michael Clarke Duncan passes away aged 54.

Academy Award-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan has died whilst recovering from a heart attack he suffered in July. On Monday morning, his fiancee released a statement confirming that he had passed away.

Duncan first made his name with audiences as Bear in Armageddon, before experiencing his big break in 2000's The Green Mile. Tom Hanks, Duncan's co-star on The Green Mile was one of the first to lead the tributes to the actor. "I am terribly saddened at the loss of Big Mike," said Hanks. "He was the treasure we all discovered on the set of The Green Mile. He was magic. He was a big love of man and his passing leaves us stunned."

After The Green Mile, Duncan went on to star in films such as Daredevil, The Island, The Scorpion King, Planet of the Apes and Green Lantern.




That's Newsarama over for this week, check back to Movies Under The Microscope during the week for reviews of Lawless, Dredd and The Sweeney as well as the usual mix of features, previews and opinion articles.